Evening star., 1922-02-12

Hugh was on the lot early. He came
over to me, looked at me for a min-
ute. and shook hands without saying
a word Then he turned and walked
off
"Hughie" called after him.
About this fight this afternoon-'
Never mind telling me anything
about it," he replied. This is going
to be real fight. kid"
PLENTY of ginger?" l said.
wait and see" Hugh answered.
and continued toward his dressing
room.
and then we all started for the final
job. There was larger crowd than
usual. because the other folks in q
studio always like to horn in and
watch a fight. Everything was in
shape. and just before We started OF
I noticed Julie Howard come in un-
obtrusively and climb upon a pile Of
trunks In one corner, where she could
see and hear the job in hand. 1 wan
dered over to her.
Did you tell him?" l asked.
Il told him.
81 hope he fights I continued
He ought to-" Julie repeated con-
fidently. Il think he will"
He acts sort of queer" I remarked
hopefully. IF it all comes out in
this scene, we ought to have the
south end of pogrom."
The two important characters ap-
peared presently. Hughie began the
action. He was dressed in an ordi-
nary business suit, whereas Sidney
wore evening clothes. which. accord
ing to the schedule, ought to be
pretty well destroyed when we fin
ished the scene.
They came in from opposite siies,
looked at each other, said few BIT
ter words. and struck. The entire
action lasted only six minutes.
I planted four cameras where the y
would miss nothing, because ] real
lied before We turned a crank that
this would be one encounter between
gentlemen which could never be snot
a second time. I either got all Of it
the first time or I never got it. One
Of my cameras was up among the
rafters, shooting down. and the others
aimed in from various advantageous
angles. There is never q closeup in
that entire scene, because you need
no close-ups when you can see mur-
der being done at short distance.
Hugh uttered no sound after the
formal set speech of his entry. The
Instructions called for him to look as
ferocious as possible, and that was
what he was doing without any ef-
fort. He was not acting, and I knew
it. Just before we began cranking
spoke briefly to Sid Hopper. who un-
til this time believed he was as good
a man as Hughie.
you watch yourself in this scene"
I cautioned. This is going to be =
real fight, so look out you don't lose
a leg"
Quit kidding me-" Hopper replied
airily, and that was the last airy
remark he made that day, or for
many days.
There was one person missing from
the group of spectators. Old man
Felt aan had made a hurried trip to
Chicago. and was sorry. I wished
he had delayed his trip SO he could
have witnessed this fight. However.
I consoled myself with the thought
that he would see the result when he
returned. I yelled at the four cam
eras and we began cranking.
At THE beginning I heard Hugh
\ say something to Hopper. Five
minutes after the start voices were
raised in protest, and the bystanders
began urging me to stop Hughie from
killing Sidney Hopper before their
eyes. 1t was fight. No doubt at all.
Both of Sid's eyes were banged
shut in the first three minutes and
his evening clothes were destroyed in
no time, as demanded by the script.
It was not plain flsticuff combat.
but bordered more on the knock-down
and drag-out type Of battle. 1t must
have come as genuine surprise to
Sidney, who had fought Hughie In
other pictures without the aid OF am
balances or hospitales. Tables and
lamps were knocked over very real-
istically and curtains dragged from
their poles, windows were smashed
and plaster Venuses went to bits In
tthe uproar. h was q humdinger OF
a fight, and every time Hughie
landed Hopper Topped.
Finally, Sidney dropped under the
remains Of a table. and when he
failed to rouse up and continue I or
dered the cameras to desfst. The
reason Sidney stayed where he was
was plain-he was clear out, sleeping
the sweet sleep Of unconsciousness,
and far away. then shooed the
company physician into the ruins, and
he endeavored to restore the villain.
Hugh Foley walked slowly out Of tile
studio and across the lot toward his
dressing room.