South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-05-01
Seeing America
First
BY Fred Kelly.

Imagine a place where nothing ever
happens except the unusual.
Imagine a community whose in
habitants all wear strange costumes,
grease paint, penciled eyelids, or false
Whiskers.
Imagine a place where scarcely
anybody is his real self-where every
body is playing a part.
Just such a place is one of the NOV
ing picture studios at the edge of Los
Angeles. This studio covers more
than $50 picturesque acres of hills and
dales. More thrilling things, more
astonishing things, occur on those 450
acres than occur on any correspond
ing bit of territory anywhere.
If it is interesting TO peek behind
the scenes of a big theater, it is a
thousandfOld more interesting to
spend a day or so as an innocent by
Stander at this big movie studio, which
is a hundred theaters, a dozen wild
west shows, a couple of wild animal
shows. and a number of other things,
all rolled into one.
The place is a little make-believe
world unto itstelf A day there is a
page from a sort of modern Alice in
Wonderland.
From early morn TO starry eve you
see strange folk strOlling about ready
for the call TO duty-that is, with cos
TUNES and grease paint on. Comedy,
tragedy and melOdrama are being pro-
duced all at once, side by side.
Being in a world of their own. the
actors do not dash into their dressing
rooms to remove their makeup the
moment they have played a part They
stick to one makeup until there is Oc-
casiOn TO be somebody else. You walk
about seeming to find yourself face TO
face with people from every land and
every cline.
Go to lunch in the cafe and you
find there harem favorites. society
queens, cowboys. bandits, and a grand
duke or two sitting together on a
basis of perfect amity and accord. &c
back at dinner time and the same
people NAV be at the same table, only
now everybody is somebody else. The
cowboy has become, mayhap, a tired
business man or a railroad magnate,
and the grand duke is made up for
a village blacksmith.
No matter how funny anybody
looks, he is so accustomed 10 look
ing that way that he gives no sign of
self consciousness, any more than the
average Indian sees the humorous
side of decorating himself with a lot
of five and ten cent store pocket mir
rors
Walk back over one of the hills
]
ing an elephant TO rescue a girl from
tiger. or "A force OF Indians about
/ to flood a town by blowing up a
| reservoir. or perhaps a desperate
| battle is in progress between two fe-
/ rocious film forces of mimic war.
on the first day l visited this trick
community. there was some horrible
affair taking place in Cairo. They
I had built a street in Cairo and filled
\ il with natives, camels, cavalry, and
! tourists. The man who sees thai
/ film and suspects. without being told
I that il was not made right in Cairo
would be suspicious of his OWL
mother.
Carpenters are an important par
I of the big working force in this little
magic world. They are prepared tC
build a quaint little village stree
! or an African jungle with almos
/ equal despatch. II the director need.
a castle 10 storm. they build him
/ Notwithstanding big painted can
vas castle
After watching the exciting doing.
in the Cairo street 1 walked 10 a
stage a few yards distant and saw
the production OF a calm little dOmes-
/ tic drama in a New York fiat There
are two immense stages at this studio
and each one is divided into dozens OF
/ scenes which are changed from day
/ 10 day 10 lit scenario demands one
I may walk three feet from a scene in
| an Alaskan mining camp and steI
Y into the saloon of an Atlantic liner.
The things that occur in these vari-
/ Gus settings. in one average fore
noon. II they really happened would
/ furnish a city all the gossip needed
for 10 years.