The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1900-10-04
OLD STAGE EFFECTS.
SCENES THAT USED TO THRILL
AUDIENCES YEARS AGO

A Ludicrous AIishnp That once
FIoorcd Frank Mayo In the Ga
max In "DnYy Crockett''-A Crude
Fire Scene That Was Very Popular.
Great Scott how modern audi
ence would glbe at the stage effects
that used to thrill folks thirty or SO
years ago" said an old theatrical man
ager who was in the city recently en-
route to Frisco. Take the famous
wolf scene in 'Davy Crockett for in
stance, that made a fortune Apr dear
old Frank Mayo. Chat was consiG-
cred one of the most realistic things OF
It's day, and it stirred audiences to alb
tolutely frantic excitement. You re-
member how it went: DaVy and the
heroine have taken refuge In a noun
tain cabin and suddenly they hear
long drawn wall - Ow-o-o-o-ol
Ow-o-o-o-o-o! 1t sounded like a tom
cat on moonlit fence and was emitted
by the prop man, standing In the
wings. Davy springs to his feet. He
listens with his hand to his ear. The
orchestra plays tremolo. The wolves!
he cries, and the house begins to hold
It's breath
Meanwhile the prop man puts on
more steam. The beasts are nearing.
Davy glares around distractcdly Mer-
ciful hevings! He has burned up the
door bar for fuel The prop man
howls at the top of his voice. Davy
dashes up his sleeve. He springs to
the door, rams his bare arm through
the empty staples, and two stuffed
wolves heads are poked suddenly
through n hole at the bottom! Then
the curtain drops there is more tremo-
10, and it rises again to discover Davy
falnting at the portal with n couple of
streaks of red paint around his good
right arm to show where the staples
pinched That scene would excite de-
rison today, but it kept the wolf from
Mayo's own door for many Il long year.
incidentally it was responsible for
some ludicrous mlshaps.
"On one occasion, while touring
through Iowa, the special scenery WAS
delayed by railroad wreck and a local
stage carpenter undertook to fake up
the cabin interior. BY some mistake
he made the staples several inches too
small, and when Mayo, who was
rather portly, rushed to the rescue he
was Mortified to discover that he could
not get his arm through the irons. He
pushed and squrmed and sweat blood,
Dut it was no go. and as the wolves
4 4
dead lope the situation was decidedly
critical. 1t so happened that the
actress who played the heroine that
season was very spirituelle, not to say
scrawny, and while poor Davy was
still wriggling at the door some gallery
god suddenly piped out: Break away
fatty, and let de lady try" The audi.
ence roared and Mayo signaIed for a
quick curtain.
Fire effects are regarded with dis
favor nowadays" continued the. man
Ager, because If too realistic they are
apt to create a panic in crowded thea
| ter, but in the old melodramas there
was no danger of mistaking them for
the real thing, and they were great
]
seventies Joe Murphy, the Irish come
/ lian, toured the country in a play
called Help which contained n fire
scene that was regarded as the most
/ remarkable ever produced on the road.
"rhe curtain rose on n barnlike In
terror, supposed to represent an opium
/ len in San Francisco Presently a
Jhiuaman passed an open door in the
back, carrying n lamp, and n moment
later crash was heard, indicating that
he had dropped it. A red glow imme-
liately came through the chlnks in the
rear wall and grew rapidly brighter
and brighter, while there was n sound
of excited footsteps. indistinct shouting
and furniture being dragged across the
loor. All that, occurring out of sight,
worked the audience TO high pitch of
nervous tension. Then smoke began
10 ooze through the cracks, the red
glow continued to increase, and all OF
4 sudden the entire back wall tottered
and sank forward on the stage, dis
closing n dim perspective. with flames
shooting up here and there and flremen
rushing pellmell in every direction.
THAT spectacle created tremendous
sensation wherever 1t was put on. yet
the entire effect was produced by n
few shovelfuls of red fire burned in
the wings and little lycopodlum pow
der, which flashes into a big. harmless
blaze and was concealed IN tin boxes
attached to different parts of the set
ting. The back wall was let down on
n couple Of piano wires. which used to
get stuck occasionally and suspend 1t
In midair. There was a celebrated fire
scene in Chanfrau's play Of Nose but
1t was admitted to be inferior TO the
0ne / have described. and the crudities
Of both are very laughable when COM
pared to modern attempts along the
same line.
THE last thing of that kind | saw was
In London a few years ago. 1t repre-
Bented the burning of tenement.
Smoke and flames poured out of the
easements; immense beams crashed
down, scattering showers of sparks;
walls crumbled people leaped from the
windows and were caught in nets and
Gremen sent streams of real water in
to the blazing ruins. AS ! watched the
mimic cOnaagratlon my mind reverted
to the days of Chanfrau and Murphy,
and ] smole several smiles yard wide
md oil tanth Nav OrIaaps Timps.