Evening star., 1943-03-21
On Your Guard,
Here Comes Cecil
With His Trinkets
Production on His Lot
Means a Circus Display
For PasSerS.by
HOLLYWOOD.

HOLLYWOOD.
When over at Paramount, people
like TO make it point to stroll
past the De Mile gate and peek in.
Not that the small bungalow hous-
ing the great c. B. and staff is
anything to be looked at, especially:
it's what is apt TO be hanging about
outside.
At various times their curiosity
has been rewarded by the spectacle
of a troop of Northwest Mounted
Police in full regalia, 78-foot fish,
ing smack, pair of Camels, small
but picturesque raiding party Of
indians, stage coach. a Roman
chariot, a bevy of Nautch dancing
girls. a practical model of a giant
squid and Ulysses S. Grant. You
come to expect almost anything
around that bungalow. The stroller
is seldom disappointed.
No other producer in Hollywood
has such a fascinating outside-of-
an-OffiCe as De Mile. The reason
is that the other producers prepare
their productions more or less
quietly. De Mile Is still using the
circus method Before the big show
he likes to put on a parade.
Over long period of years his
staff mas been trained so that when
ever a prop is ready for his okay,
no matter how big it is. it is hauled
over in front of his Office and kept
there till the old Snowman is ready
to come out and take a look at It.
The same goes for costumes. and
even actors-with the exceptions, of
course, of the stars; they get inside
the office.
Stand BY for Actoin.
The other day, when c. B. was
about ready to get going on The
Story of DR.. Wassell." there was a
whole string of United States Army
trucks, at the tail end of which stood
a fat little water buffalo hitched to a
cart. Prop men were running
around arranging things in the
trucks, and an assistant director was
| fiddling with an ack-ack gun
| mounted on the lead vehicle.
Sure enough, pretty soon out strobe
De Mile, followed by two secretaries,
a script girl and another assistant
| director. He was in full uniform
/ boots with riding pants and coat
! to match-and he was frowning.
/ His aides stood aside, differen-
TALLY, as the boss walked rapidly
around the convoy. He stopped to
flick something off fender, with a
proprietary air; looked critically into
the rear of truck, resumed his
walk and came to the water buffalo,
gray animal with the body of a
paunchy burro and the head of a
contented COW. 1t and De Mile
stood there mutually appraising
each other. Then the water buffalo
blushingly dropped its eyes. Having
stared it down, the little corporal
now swung triumphantly on his
heel-and spotted the ack,ack gun.
With one bound he was into the
truck and tinkering with the
weapon.
rs it loadedP" he asked at ran
dom.
Yes, Mr.. De Mile" answered
both assistant directors and all prop
men in unison.
Sheer for a Buffalo.
Suddenly De Mile swung the muz-
zle into the sky and began blazing
away. Ack-ack- -ack -ack-ack ack-
ack. He was firing blanks. of course,
but the racket was real. The gate
man rushed out of his kiosk to see
what the trouble was. The water
buffalo was goggle-eyed. Executives
and secretaries stuck their heads out
of Office windows. Ack-ack-ack-.
ack- -ack-ack. De Mile was having
a whale of time. But by now the
water buffalo was rearing and
plunging in the shafts. De Mile
stopped shooting as two prop men
sprang to quiet the animal.
Gun shy, eh?" De Mile sneered.
Hes all right, sir" defended one
prop man. And the other reminded
the producer, He doesn't work in
any of the scenes where there's
shooting, anyhow"
Hmm" said De Mile. He
climbed thoughtfully down from the
truck, turned around and looked
back at the gun wistfully. The peo-
pie in the Office windows were still
watching him, wondering what was
going to happen next. The water
buffalo gradually Gained down.
De Mile took another quick turn
around the convoy and gave few
concise directions to the prop men.
Then he said, "Alf right, they'll do"
And returning up the steps of the
bungalow, he strobe back through
the screen door-and was gone.
The watchers in the Office build
ing withdrew their protruding heads
and shut the windows, Paramount
went back to work.
/ RelesSed by the North American Newspaper
Alliance, Inc.t