The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1916-08-10

the boat, which was drifting farther
away every second. Suddenly, her
strength gave out and she sank, to rise,
struggle and sink again. The third
time she went down a man on the op-
posite bank, who had been steadily
turning the handle of moving picture
camera, tore off his coat and dived in,
brin girg the girl to the surface just
in time.
Unfortunately this was not preme-
ditated action, and 1t went unphoto-
graphed. The scenario had called
merely for the rescue of the infant by
the girl, and all would have gone we'll
had not the leading woman over
estimated her swimming strength. AS
it was, she had to be rolled in blanket
and otherwise resuscitated before she
regained consciousness, while some one
else rescued the infant and restored 1t
to it's terrified mother. The lake which
was part of large estate on Long
Island, had bottom of black mud
that nearly suffocated the camera man
in his dive and made the rescue ex-
tremely difficult. And to make it more
interesting, some of the villagers stood
around and recounted the gruesome de
tails of how the lake had a secret out
let, the body of one man drowning in
its depths having been recovered float
ing far out at sea. In spite of this &C
cident, however, the leading woman
returned the next day and played the
scenes required to complete the picture.
The life of movie star these days
is pei petual risk. In order to achieve
any great popularity a picture must
have at least two good sized thrills, and
1t is up to the actor to lend himself
amiably to walking off precipices or
sliding over falls, if he would win
prestige with the fans. A man who
asks for substitute every time there
is Iisk, moreover, does not acquire
merit with his directors. Substitutes
are usually expensive, and the director
must keep the cost of his picture down.
Then, too, the moving picture audience
is getting to be expert in the detection
of deception or fake, which makes the
use of substitutes and dummies pre-
carlous.
1t must be said to the credit of the
moving picture companies that the
risks are always made as safe as
possible, Mattresses are provided
for people to fall on when jumping
out of window in the fourth story;
boats are sent out to pick up the
players who cast themselves into the
water in a wreck scene, and a squad
Of police accompanies the company
when it enters the Chinese section to
take scenes. The Chinese have many
weird sIperstitions regarding the
camera, which is supposed to set
loose a whole gang of evil spirits, so
that as ule John Chinaman would
as SOON commit suicide as have his
picture taken. One director and his
company barely escaped with their
lives from the Chinese section of New
York. when they attempted to take
some scenes of a certain restaurant
there. The Chinese proprietor had
promised the day before to let the
place be photographed for a good price,
but on talking it oyer with some of his
companions he thought it expedient to
change his mind. The director. how
ever. having made all his arrangements
and brought the entire company down
with him, was determined to get the
scenes he wanted. He ordered the
camera man to proceed. Instantly a
mob Of Cinnamon surrounded the play
ers, and it took a large squad Of police
men to escort them safely out of the
danger zone.
In the majority If eases, the really
bad accidents that occur are due to the
recklessness or carelessness of tbs
players themselves. If ~ actor is
seriously hurt so that he can not work.
the entire company is held up on the
picture which is a great annoyance:
cons Iuently, every precaution is taken
to see that be does not get hurt. A
young actress playing the lead IN a
thrilling serial recently was required
by the script to jump out of a third
story window and lower herself by a
rope to a lower window in the next
house Seen in the picture it appears
to be remarkable and dangerous feat,
but as a matter of fact it was simple
and safe. A heavy metal belt was
placed around her waist beneath her
skirt, and to this the rope was attached,
which made it impossible for her to fall.
When the time came to take this scene,
the director thought that the belt was
not quite strong enough and the work
was DELAYED until the property man
could have it strengthened.
The necessary element in moving
v.oA,,ran toJo, e ronIiev, Mo-,