TALKIES

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 182, 5 July 1940, Page 2

TALKIES

DERVISHES REFUSE TO DIE Many of the wild Dervishes who appear in "The Four Feathers" were required to charge down on the men of the East Surreys, dressed in old-fashioned uniforms to represent the British troops who defeated the Mahdi. These Dervishes were largely members of the Sudan Horse,'one of the smartest regiments in the country. For the film, they agreed to discard their uniforms and dress in the scanty clothing of the Dervishes of forty years ago. But there was great difficulty in making them agree to "die" for the camera lens. In fact, most natives, object to "play ,f at dying, probably because of superstitious fear. It always takes high-* ! powered diplomacy to persuade them to the viewpoint of the pic-ture-makers. Once having agreed to die, the Dervishes did the job so thoroughly that when the charge was over and long after the cameras had stopped, they remained lying on the ground. No amount of prodding or shouting made any difference* They had to be picked up eventually by the other Dervishes, who had survived in the scene,, and carried back to the starting places before they would consent to live again. USE ALCOHOL IN PLACE OE[ HISSING GAS Hollywood's greatest problem is the noise that nobody hears. An inaudible rush of air, the swish of. a skirt or the meshing of springs i/n an unholstered chair can create more confusion and excitement than the occasional tantrums of even the greatest of stars. Nobody can hear those noises, but they' are "picked up" by the sensitive microphones, and captured on sound- tracks. It is 1 the duty of an alert-eared technician, seated at a control panel to catch and obliterate such noises. One such annoyance was encountered during the filming of Columbians "The Ladj r and the Mob," hilarious gangster comedy with Academy Award winner Fay Bainter and Ida Lupino heading the large comedy cast. A constant hissing ruined the scene. Finally tracked to its source —an ordinary one-jet gas burner, turned low-—frantic attempts were made to muffle the noise. The burner, a necessary prop in the cleaning shop of Henry Armetta, was finally quieted by an ingenious prop man who turned off the gas, jammed the jet With ' alcohol-tsoaked cotton and applied a match. The resultant flame was not only sufficient for the scene but, more important, silent! . DIRECTOR IMPRISONED IN .GERMANY ■ " j The World War and German prison camps converted an embryo young artist into one of filmdom's foremost directors. James Whale is that director, who might have been a very successful artist had it not been for his Avar experiences. He was well on his Avay toward making a name for himself when the war broke out in 1914. When he returned to London aftn er the Armistice, his feeling for painting was gone. He craved an excitement, painting didn't and couldn't offer. So he turned to the stage, where he soon became one of England's foremost producers. It was Whale Avho first produced "Journey's End" on the stage and who later came to Hollywood to direct the screen version of this play. He's still in HollyAvood, Avhere he recentty directed Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and Joan Bennett in "Green Hell," initial Famous Productions film for Uni\ r ersal release. GUNPLAY, NEW TO JOAN BENNETT Joan Bennett became quite a "Molly Pitcher" during the cannibal siege of Doug Fairbanks, Jr's camp in "Green Hell" first rehearsal for this scene saAV Joan firing a regular fusilade. Prank-playing Douglas Fairbanks rushed in at the end of the scene holding up tAVo shrunken human heads about the size of his fist. (They Avere real head-hunters' trophies used in the picture). "Look, Joan!" he shouted, "you're doing fine —they're losing their heads £t>r vou!"