The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-09-24
Promising Pictures Feature Programs Of Local 7heaters
Chicago Goes Up In Roaring Flames Daily,
 But It's Only for Sake of $2,OOO, ,OOO Film
Extras Don't Simulate Their Terror as Fire Leaps
 It's Too Realistic
BY PAUL HARRISON NEA Service Staff Correspondent

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 Hollywood.--Movies in the mak- ing: Day after day, on the 20th FOX lot, old Chicago has been going up in flames. This will continue for weeks. Studio supervisors, those harassed flicker economists, also are burning up - because the pie ture will cost well over $2,OOO,OOO.
 Parts of the pre-COnfIagratiOn
 city have been built on several
 different scales. There are two
 large groups of full-sized struc-
 lures, complete even to merchant
 disc in store windows. Another
 set, in large-scale miniature, looks
 Nike 8 midget colony. A third, for
 . long shot of fire sweeping over
 q wide area, contains scores-and
 maybe hundreds, by this time-of
 buildings about . couple of feet
 high.
 Nearby about three acres of the lot have been excavated and filled with water to represent part of Lake Michigan. Along one shore has been erected an elabor- ate falsework representing water front buildings. Few have any semblance of roofs; only jagged, charred upper portions from which the roofs seem to have burned. Concealed along this tortured skyline are numerous large gas pipes and jets.
 
 MUST BE RIGHT
 Between the buildings and the lakes shoreline are clustered rude shelters, thrown up by refugees from the fire. But on this day of Shoot- ing the flames are supposed to have forced most of the people into the lake. Cattle and horses have been driven a little way into the water. Wagons, submerged to their beds, are piled high with household goods, children, poultry and dogs. A few lucky citizens have boats. Most Of them merely have waded, fully clothed, into the water and stand there gasping for breath and watching the tragic finale of de- gtruction.
 , It's a tough job for extras and principals because they have had to hold their approximate posi- tions for hours. This will be one of the last scenes in the picture, and an especially spectacular one, and Director Henry King is de- ,termined to have 1t right.
 {, It's a long time between takes because smoke pots have to be replenished and fresh tanks of gas attached to the system of hidden pipes. When the smoke is pillow ing realistically, King calls for action.
 A technician turns a master
 vNlve and instantly roaring
 flames claim the waterfront buildings. The rush of gas ', through the vents provides ominous sound effects. On a
 2OO-yard front, the fire leaps 40 or 50 feet into the air. The heat
 is so intense that refugees in
 the lake have no trouble Simu-
 lating terror.
 Watching all this the first time, I thought the buildings actually had been set ablaze. But when King yelled Cut! the flames died away, leaving only 8 few portions of the set visibly smoldering. Stu dio firemen were ready with hoses to drench those.
 BUILDING OWN SUBMARINE {, Technically, the most elaborate piece of miniature construction go- ing on in Hollywood now is the building of Submarine D-1, for the picture of that name. The U. S. navy, usually very cooperative with the movies, wouldn't permit the ramming and sinking of one of its own undersea craft, so Warner Brothers have had to build one. Engineers started work three months ago with an appropriation of $10,000. So far they've spent '$20,000. The submarine is about 30 feet in length and its exterior is 50 perfect a reproduction that CIOocupo CdLl DC Idhcll OL AUs 4lloltiS is a bewildering maze of electric motors, gears, shafts and air com ,pressors. By means of & long cable leading to it, the sub car be unanswered at sea. It will dive, rise, turn and shoot torpe- does. Even the guns on its deck can be made to fire. All that re. mains now are a few finishing touches and the launching. !, Technicians are pretty jittery. They haven't forgotten that the i, huge mechanical whale, built . for the harpoOn of Lionel Barry {. more in "Moby Dick", turned |. belly up and sank without 9 : struggle.