The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-01-12
PERILS IN FILM POSING
Real Tragedies That Mark Production
of Moving Pictures

From the Chicago Tribune
Acting in front of the camera Tor NOV
ing pictures isn't quite so soft job as
people not In the know are apt to imag-
Inc. Grave risks have to be taken and
more or less serious accidents are COM
mon. Sometimes these result fatally
The other day, for example, man
named Bttner descended in a parachute
from the Column OF Victory In Berlin
with a view to being cinematographed as
he was falling, but something went wrong
with his apparatus and the parachutist
was dashed to his death.
Similarly, picture player named Dunno
was killed on the railway while acting a
part. The unfortunate man was only
supposed to be run over by the approach
ing train, it being the intention to sub
stitute a dummy figure at the last mo-
ment But the rails were slippery, the
driver was unable to pull up his engine
in time and the actor was mangled TO
death beneath the wheels.
Not long ago an actor playing the part
of cowboy in Chicago. fell and was
killed. during the rehearsal.
Miss Alice Holister, whose face and
figure are familiar to frequenters OF pic
ture shows, nearly lost her life while re-
hearsing in Egypt. Attired in the volu-
minous draperies of an Arab peasant
woman she was seated on a primitive
wooden wheel which brought up from a
deep well water for irrigating pur-
poses.
At a certain moment she had to bring
the camel which worked the wheel to a
halt and descend from her seat. Unfor-
unately the camel resumed its walk too
soon, the wheel started revolving again
and Miss Hollster was jerked into the
we'll which was more than 100 feet in
depth.
Luckily, her cumbersome garments
caught a projecting stone in the side.
and, being of athletic build she managed
to hang on until she was rescued by
means of a rope in the hands of her
dragoman. But it was a narrow escape.
No one viewing on the screen the su-
perb riding of Alice Joyce, exponent of
Cowgirl parts In western drama, would
suppose that any horse could ever sue
ceed in throwing her AS matter of
fact, however, she has met with several
accidents.
Miss Gene Gauntier, a moving picture
company's leading woman, has been ex-
ceptionaJly unlucky. Only recently she
was attacked by Bedouins in the Sahara
and had to fight hard to get away In
Florida she was nearly engulfed in a
quick sand. In a battle scene she was
kicked by horse and nearly killed In
another war scene there was a prema-
ture explosion of caisson that hurled her
high in the air. and the fall made her
unconscious, but it made a great pic
ture.
Once, when she was to be rescued from
burning house, the company bought an
abandoned farmhouse in the country and
set 1t Attire. The fire burned more rapid
ly than had been provided for in the
rehearsal and Miss Gauntier was uncon-
scious and almost dead when the rescuers
chopped a hole in the roof and pulled her
out. They had intended to take her out
through a window, but the real thing
made a much better picture.
A naval lieutenant is another picture
player who has had many narrow es-
capes, his latest exploit in this direction
being fall from a high cliff near Bright
ton, England. Once. too. he was badly
wounded in a sword duel with picture
player antagonist. OF course the injury
was quite unintentional and accidental
Alfred Brighton, young American pic
ture player. lost his life in the Hudson
river year ago. He had to leap into the
water to rescue a girl who was sup
posed to be drowning. While swimming
toward her he was observed to throw up
his arms, sink once or twice and strug-
gled frantically on coming to the sur
face.
The spectators on the bank applauded
imag ginning 1t to be part of the perform
ance, and the operator kept turning the
handle of the machine, while shouting to
the drowning man, Keep it up!' Only
when he had sunk for the third and last
time did anybody suspect that anything
was wrong.