SAND WASTE

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 224, 10 December 1927, Page 18 (Supplement)

SAND WASTE

BECOMES A STAGE The vast expanse of sand dunes near Guadalupe, California, has been turned into a gigantic stage setting, one of the largest pieces of scenic work ever accomplished by a motion picture company.

The sand covers a stretch of many miles, and before a crew of Paramount studio workers came from Hollywood there was not a sign of water or shrubbery.

Such a spot proved to be an ideal location for the filming of the Sahara desert scenes in “Beau Sabreur,” P. C. Wren’s story of the Foreign Legion, a sequel to “Beau Geste.” A hundred or more studio employees from Hollywood were dispatched to build a. series of mammoth setting, Arabian villages, oases and the like.

Under the guidance of A 1 Herman, Paramount studio director, the desert was transformed. Some 125 palm trees were erected, together with 50 coloured tents and bedecked with flags and rugs of all descriptions. Five holes were dug out on the sand, and cemented to hold water. Palm trees went up around them, and now five perfect oases are to be found there. Gary Cooper is starred in “Beau Sabreur.” Evelyn Brent, Noah Beery, Mitch el Lewis, William Powell and Arnold Kent are in the supporting c*a.st. The, last scenario written by June Mathis famous writer of film stories and discoverer of Rudolph Valentino, was that of “The Magic Flame,” the big Ronald Colman-Vilm Banky production shortly to be released by United Artists.