The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1914-08-12

! When learned from Mr.. Charles
]. Hite, that Beating Back" was 10
be the first big production which /
was to direct for him, my feelings
were a mingle Of pleasure and appre-
| hensios. Pleasure, at the thought OF
handling so big and interesting a sub
| ject as the life story of a real ban
/ dit. and apprehension in contem-
| plating the difficulties ahead of me
, in securing satisfactory representa-
tion Of Jennings at the hands Of my
actor for the screen, no matter how
clever he might be.
On expressing my doubts on the
subject to Mr.. Hite, he promptly dis
sipated my fears by assuring me that
Al Jennings would play himself. On
his arrival at the Thanhouser studio,
later leading candidate for the gu
bernatorial nomination in Oklahoma,
announced that he had just three
weeks to devote to the work of trans
posing 10 the screen his tempestuous
career. His longer absence, he said,
from the seat of the campaign, would
seriously jeopardize his political
chances.
Enter worry.
With one hundred horses, scores Of
bandits, marshals, a real railroad train
and passengers to be robbed, extras
innumerable, three yoke of oxen, and
all the requirements of cattle camp,
to be assembled and shipped Ia the
mountains eighty miles away, left
little time to indulge in the maxixe
or the Castle walk
Then it rained, and rained
In the words of the oldest inhabi-
tant of the Ogden Range, the wealth
er was plumb juicy. | can still see
Jennings booted and spurred, seated
bumped up in a chair on the porch of
the little tavern where we stayed
gazing at the sodden skies with an
expression on his face which some
of his victims of the old bandit days,
would doubtless recall as fearfully
familiar.
At such times yours truly made
it a point not to venture within talk
ing distance of the little human dyna-
mo in the gray suit, for the Obvious
reason |, and | alone, was RESPONSE
BILE for such outrageous weather con
ditions. Who else could be? Jen-
nings knew this, the actors were
certain of it, and the very horses,
saddled and ready at the improvised
racks in the muddy road, which lit
orally ran by the little tavern, gazed
at me with accusing eyes,
Then suddenly from my observation
tower from an upper porch, | would !
note the breaking Of the clouds on
the far horizon, certain precursor
of coming sunshine. With a sigh of
relief, l would leave my post, stalk
up to my star, and delight
edly announce that we would begin
taking pictures in exactly so many
minutes by the town clock.
Luck, or the fact that it was April,
or some other indefnable influence,
almost invariably seemed to favor my
and to this fact I attrib-
ute my being able to hold in leash
the most high strung, temperamental
nan have ever known. Now. strange
y enough, it was these very character,
stics in him that, as his director, |
valued most, for he had no previous
experience as an actor Without these
my task might have
Ieen almost hopeless, so far as the
central figure in the story was CON
'erned
In the earlier scenes the work was
lard for Mr. Jennings. Here was
nan who. living over the most vital
eriOd Of his career. dressed armed
nd accoutered. identically as he had
cen at the very moment of his un-
awful experiences, was called upon {
lstantly to reproduce the emotions G
'hich controlled him al such times q
nd then to give the outward express.
IN which would make them by way
the camera and the screen, abso-
ltely clear to the moving picture
ldience. e
And the marvel OF II is that Jen- p
ngs did this. In a somewhat wide j
I'd varied experience as a director u
actors, I have never known man "
assessing a technic more natural. A
ore certain or more effective in 3,
aiding definitely required results pl
an that with which nature has CT
uipped Al Jennings. Never self. CT
nscious. direct in method and abso- oi
.elv earnest In nurnose ha nIa,od