The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1935-08-29

| PETERS DIT one Slue VI the helu ulC"
the air thick with cornfiakes, making
blizzard" During a pause in the
work one horse got at a big bag of
extra cornflakes, overate, was foun-
dered, and a movie veterinarian had
to give first aid. Just then an actor,
bundled up to face the "cold," got a
| sunstr0kei
Among strange sights here is an
Eskimo village with igloos, ice fields,
and all. Five hundred men used tons
of white plaster to make this set. 1t
saves the cost of sending actors up
North.
| Realism of "Berlin."
Berlin" was only about $50 feet
from Mexico" on the Universal lot
Rain" poured down In Berlin street
where actors in Little Man, What
| Now?" walked along In raincoats, car
rying umbrellas; cab horses paved the
water, and boys pedaled along on glis-
tening-wet bicycles. From out in the
dry a director called his orders.
For verisimilitude an exact model Of
a Berlin street car. all painted with
bona fide names and numbers, clattered
along under it's own power. About
kiosk, or newsstand, draped with Illus
trated German weeklies, group Of
old German types recruited from Los
Angeles lodging houses talked in Ger
man about German politics.
Barely stones throw away, on an
other "set," a cowboy actor, the idol
Of small boys the world over, was
struggling through Mexican border
brush few jumps ahead Of Texas
sheriff.
Any kind of scenery desired, from
Alpine to Sahara, can be found or
easily manufactured somewhere in
southern California.
To film an Australian drama, some
rolling plains were wanted like the
terrain near Melbourne, where the
principal action of the story took place
They were found in Les Angeles
county.
| Sometimes, however, nature plays a
joke. Once rain interrupted the shoot
| Ing VI SOluC SCCuCS WncIc were uScu
leafless gum trees. Two weeks later,
when the actors went back to COM
| plete that scene, the trees had leafed
out. In order to match the old setting,
the trees had to be picked like chick
ems, which made two days job for
20 men.
From snow scenes in mountains back
of Hollywood to seaside set-ups is only
three hours drive. Covered Wag.
on was filmed on a ranch near Bur-
bank, now seldom used because two
air lines fly over it and the roar of
planes spoils sound effects.
Near Santa Monica is an almost per-
feet bit of Cuba.
About OXnard is a made-to-order
Sahara. The "Alps" are in San Bern
ardino county, and the fishermen's vii
lage on the Los Angeles harbor has
often been pictured as Southern Italy,"
Orders for the Property Man.
One company has its own handmade
jungle in which wild-animal scenes are
filmed. Under jungle trees life nets
are used in case of accidental falls by
wild men" and others who leap from
tree to tree.
An odd order for one picture called
for 5000 moths and 200 cockroaches. ="
In "Stingaree," a tale of Australia
In 1870, the background included bull
carts, dingoes, and even a kookaburra
bird, or Laughing jackass," all brought
from Australia to give faithful local
color.
The bird enacted his own comedy
role by sitting in a tree and insulting
the players with his raucous "rasp-
berry" cry.
In making an American ''takie" of
life in 1860, more than 5000 separate
items, with hoopskirts. ruffled panta-
lettes, bustles, wall paper. and top
buggies of that period, had to be du-
plicated after painstaking research.
More than 1000 people, drawn from
almost every profession, craft, and
! trade in America, were employed be-
| fore this picture was finished.
Faultfinders in the audience protest
| WiilC uCIiSlNc IcltcTS W IL
mistakes are made in scenery, cos
tunes, weapons, etc. To avoid this
means days of intensive study.
In making films with foreign set
tings, unit director" must see that
all is true to life in that country. Ev-
cry big studio has it's research depart
ment, conducted by highly trained
women, who aid the unit" men. They
answer questions like these:
| May women dine at British off,
| GERS mess in India?"
'How do you address a duke"
"What is the marriage ceremony In
| Annam?"
what was the shape Of the oar of
Roman galley?"
May woman marry a man on the
eve of his execution?'
slow do women dress In the French
prisons?"
did it rain in the wheat fields of
Canada. during September. 1902"
It's easier to take a twenty-year-old
girl and make her look like eighty than
it is to do the reverse, but Hollywood
| can do both.