Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-05-10


that two hundred feet which ended in bed Of jagged
rocks miscalcuation of few inches, and the actor
would have enacted his last thriller But he didn't mis-
calculate 1t his business not to do He jumped
and landed true. But while he in the air on his
downward plunge the man turned his head away
he turned the crank He couldn't bear to the fell
low killed The rest of the company quit work for that
day. Their entirely out of order after wit
Messing the spectacle
"A close shave" you say. Yes it was; but it
premedtated by the actor. He knew the hazards and
took them. Jimmy, who all but passed away with the
hon. didn't calculate the ha card of the hypoderic
needle.
NOR did the actress calculate a hazard when she
faced the villain and let him shoot her dead with
a blank cartridge.
That was easy. They do such things on the legti
mate stage and it has been done often that there's
little thrill left in it. But the actress for the movie
company just referred to got her little thrill just
the same.
3Lsten!" she said to the villain just before the
took place. 4You point that pistol straight at my
heart, you hear? Don't shoot my head, because
that will register the film and spoil the Shoot
straight. We want to put plenty of punch into this
scene!"
The critical moment arrived. Throwing out her
an attitude of utter defiance, the actress babe the
villain shoot her-she didn't care! The villain regis
tered fendish gee and raised the pistol But he was
not villain at heart and for the life of him he couldn't
point pistol or gun at anybody.
So as he pulled the trigger his hand involuntarily
moved to the right. There was the usual explosion,
smoke and slow sinking of the KILLED heroine. Then
the camera stopped grinding, and preparations
were started for the next
Suddenly the heroine uttered exclamation of ex-
citement. She examining her dress. There was an
ugly rent the goods her left side At the in
the property man, the act of taking down the
scenic wall behind her. whist1ed softly and pointed.
of nta6C apda
deep into oak plank had penetrated the brass shell
of the blank cartridge cartridge of smaller cahber
than that of the property pistol had been used The
aversion of the villain to pointing that pistol straight
at the heroine had saved her life.
TT was stage hands bungling that all but cost the
life of we'll known movie actor The scene required
that the actor mpersonatng the villain should struggle
with the heroine and then be cast backward down
open elevator shaft
Everything had been arranged The elevator was
lowered few feet and mattress placed top of it to
break the actors fall The started and was hur
RED through to the climax. The heroine gave the
villain the fatal push, and he went into the yawn
ing shaft Then the camera stopped, and she peered
the edgeto the actor lying unconscious on top
of the mattress fifteen feet below where the top of the
elevator should have been A workman had lowered
the without stopping to find out why it stand
ing just few feet below the stage floor.
COMEDY on the film is not without its tragedy and
near-tragedy while the film is being made There
is the of the rural bicycle pc ceman who chasing
thief and falling off his wheel every few yards just to
make the children laugh suddenly rides through nest
of internal machines that the thief has planted in the
road which due to explode with great bechngs of
smoke-just after the rider had safely passed by.
But something went wrong. Either the man
who controlled the electric decorators forgot
what he doing and closed the circuit at the
wrong time, because the wires got crossed,
fbncah o,,h he toHi CT fher int The
- midst of them. The film and the laugh
e spoiled. He was taken to the hospital in