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Show f j Breaking Into the Movies !: 1 j By A K GlEBLER- ij 8YNOP8I8, MYRA JON15H and "LIIIIb Ma," who toll tholr Mory, n.T( nmbltluUB lo bouomo movie no-troPtoB. no-troPtoB. They nro taken In by n nwlndlor who promises to gat tliom place by neiidlntf tholr photographs to tho ntlldloa. A hnwnpnpnr' ro- porter, who Inform thoin they li:ivo boon swindled, swin-dled, lelln thorn how lo not work ftn ox Iran. MyrAi who liM3 lost Iior Job In Urn fi and 10 cont MOro, whero nho Workod, hnunln tho ntu dloB nnd gt wurk hi n mob nconn. "Llttlfl Mo." quits tho laundry n'nd gncn (ilonfr to wnteh hor "not." Whllo tho picture In bning rehoarncd Alio "Iniltji" In tho roone find mnhes Rood. Both girls mako a good Imprcoslon on Bonroy, tho director, and would have uol oil If ho hnd not died. rf together In tho strike picture, nnd thnt was nil tho inovlo acting wo did for quite n while. Things fell flat, Mr. Fcnrley, jr I f V tho director, seemed to j (? have taken a liking to ftf us, nnd I nm suro he would havo found moro ji work for uh If ho hud lived, but ihroo daj'H aftor tho plcturo wan finished, ho wan taken away from tho studio In un ambulance, and wo never ( eaw him again. I M'o got tho nowo of JjIh death nt tho studio j nnd watcliod tho paporB for notice of tho funeral. Ho whk burled In Zuiionvlllo, Ohio, and that day, up In tho llttlo hnll room, Myrn and I sat vory qulot and held each other's hands during tho i tlmo wo thought tho funeral bolls would bo ringing for him. Llttlo nH wo know Mr. Scar-loy, Scar-loy, wo both felt that wo hnd lost a friend. Ho wnn a most kindly man, and according to tho fltatoinonlH of tho pcoplo at tho studio, a great Ronhm at dlroctlng, find 1 am suro ono of tho moot patient eouls I havo over known. A llttlo aftor this wo foil depressed, and wont down to tho O rook a for our usual dissipation, lco croant sodas, and Just whon wo woro In , tho mldut of them, Myra eat her glass down, ! grabbed mo by tho arm and marched mo out on .i the sidewalk. 9 I' "Kid," sho said, solemnly, "wo'vo mndo an awful mistake Wo prnyod for Mr. Soarley an hour ago by Eastern time. They aro Just now burying hlml" Myrn was that way. Sho was n constant eourco of troublo lo herself because of her doubts and worrlos. I trlod to tell hor it wns of llttlo consoquonco whothor wo said our prayor for our frlond at ono tlmo or anothor, that It was tho Intention as well ns tho performance of a deod that counted, but sho would not bo convinced, and both of us felt thnt finishing our sodus would bo wrong under tho clrcuni3tnncos. I do not know why I am putting all of this In our story, unless It Is to show how vory seriously seri-ously wo took llfo nnd things In thoso days. Wo wont back to the studios day aftor day, but met with no oncourngomont. No big plcturo, plc-turo, whero extras would ba needed, was contemplated. con-templated. We applied at tho Dlograph Company and saw David W. GrlUlth dlreotlng a plcturo, with his hat pulled down ovor his oyos. Ho was not tho famous GrlOlth then, and did not Impress Im-press us groatly. Wo traveled tho Third avonue elevated to tho Bronx Park neighborhood, whero Thomas A. Edison has established his producing plant and got what Myra roforred to as a "wator haul," which Is somo fishing torm and moans nothing. Thero followed another lean porlod, but wo etuok, tho thing was in our blood. Oh, how wo hoped and planned and mado castlos In tho clr! Ono day Myra said: "Kid, I'vo figured this thing out. Wo'vo got to dress better; we don't look Hko actressos. The mark of tho ilvc-and-ten Is on me, and you look Hko a laundry. Wo want to dress up look nifty!" Wo looked at tho slip of paper that waB our bank book; twelve of tho thlrty-flvo dollars wcro loft, nnd no moro was said about tho ! clothes question, except that Myra. declared: "Just wait till wo do register, then watch mo buy things!" Wo practiced mado faces at ourselves In tho mirror, In tho fond bollof that wo wero producing pro-ducing tho sovon dramatic expressions pictured pic-tured by some prominent player In a Sunday f paper. Myra's hopo was to bo a groat dramatlo star. 'r "1 want to thrill 'em, fold," sho said. "Mako Ml cm s,t up 00 lnclr toos! TnrI11 'om ani1 nwko S 'cm wcopl" How far sho missed her ambition can bo seen fl by tho comedies sho now appears In. My hopo i wan for comedy, whoro I thought my slzo, I which ono allltcrativo presB agent has referred M ;: to as a potlto and pleasing physlquo, would bo :) a holp. But tho fatC3 and furlon decided oth-S oth-S . nni mv nmdii ficiirn r a crcat handi- i "'""I " cap. It Is very hard for a tragedy qticon to ' : look majestic with a C-foot 3-Inch height and a rather flat chest. ' A number of new compnnles wcro springing 1 up In Now Jersey. Wo Used to cross tho Tlud-i Tlud-i Bon on a ferry and walk long, weary miles to i these places, and ono day, whon wo woro down to f four dollars and eight cents, wo got work In a bathing picture, being mado by a French concern con-cern that wero filming subjects on this sldo ; becauso their own products wcro becoming a drug on tho market with the advance of tho American films. Wo earned our money In that film. It was a comedy of tho cruder sort, about a woman who l catches her husband flirting on tho beach, and then attackn every bathor sho can find with an d umbrella. Thlfl part was played by a man and ft ho was very rough. , Thero woro supposed to bo flftcon or twenty I bathers, but thero woro only flvo of us, Inolud-fc Inolud-fc Ing tho leading woman, and wo had to ohango costumes and keep our facos away from tho gfj camera In many of tho scones. It was a modification of tho chaso picture vll then so popular, and It ondod up with tho flvo 03 altinff on'a Pol ovpr.Tvhat was supposed to bo tho Atlantic Ocean, but whloli wan In roallty a nmall tank. NVo woro poeod and phntonrapliQd on tho bonoh, then mnrohnd Into tho water, Aftor thnt Wo took our plncoa on tho polo and osl thoro, nwlnglng our Uge, and Mra. Anpry Wlfo coirtos nlonw and make u nwlpo nt un, and wo all go ovor backward. Wo, rahcnriod tlda nix tlmou boforn Wo got It right, and altogothor, that day, wo workod In twonty-ono twonty-ono sconco, and woro tlf ort at nhrht. Along about thin tlmo wo moved from tho 111-tlo 111-tlo hall room, and had a drnndful oxporlonoo, but 1 will pnnii ovor thin until lator, bccuuno thoro In rnucli In tho oplnode about Myra'c nwoothuurt thnt mut bo told. Othof thlnsn bo fell Us after tho bathing ploluro. Wo put tho now 910 In our nccount and folt qullo licit ngnln, In oxporlonco, if not hi conn. And thon wo visited ovory ntudlo within ronoh of Now York, and ono day wo mcnt tho star of tho ntrlko picture, and iiho told un about a company that was going to mako a "back to natura" film and would nood fifty girls. Wo woro at tho ofTlco on Vot Fortloth nlroet bright and early next day. nnd so woro about 200 othor hopo huntem. Wo took our placet; In tho lino and Inchod up nlowly, it lookod an though wo would novor got to tho dck, but an vo got a llttlo cloMor wo saw that moro than half of thoae that did got thoro woro not nlcnod. Two of them pnnnod un on their way out. "If undruped stuff," ono of them eald. "Nono of that for mlno." I looked at Myra nnd put ono foot out of tho lino, but she pulled inn bade. "YVo'll stick, kid," Bho Buld. "That sister Who Juat pauaod In not arfllctcd with modesty lip.lf an much no with a ntrlng-boan nhapo." Wo r.tuck, but when wo got to tho desk tho man who was doing tho onguglng turnod to tho ono who wrnto tho hamos and said, In a quoo-tlonlni; quoo-tlonlni; voice: "I guuHS that'll bo about all." Thon ho looked at us and shook his lioad, "I am bo sorry," I said. Then, with a lying tono to my voloe, 1 nddod: "Miss Chandlor cald sho was suro wo could got on." That turned tho trick for us. "Ouosa wo can uso two moro," ho oald, and wo wereon. - " 'ThAT plcturo! AV'o went ovor" In Now Jorsoy In uutomoblloo forty of us, oxtrao nnd tho regular company. Tho story was about a man who roads mythological mytho-logical llteraturo- nnd dreams that ho lo back In tho days whon nymphs and oatyra roamed tho woods, and tho great god Pan was dominant dom-inant ovor nil, Tho producers had found a farmer who ownod a big barn that was noar tho woods whero tho cccnes wero staged. This barn they rontcd for a dressing or rather an undressing room, for that film was "undruped stuff with u vengounco. There wcro three costume women with tho o.utflt, who mado tho things wo were to wear almost fit us. Somo of the girls wore tllmy, gauzy stuff, like wood nymphs aro plcturod as wearing In company, and others woro furs. It was very preposterous, and did not conform con-form to mythology or to anything else, but It was good comedy. Myra and I wero In tho fur squad. I woro a skin of somo kind that 1 strongly suspect of having been a tloor rug, markod with leopard spots hero and thoro. Thin camo to my knocs and left both arms and ono shoulder bare. Myra looked Hko a heroic cavo woman In h robo of bison that hod been cured with hoad and horns on. Sho had her hair clown hor back, and tho buffalo head tlxed so that It stuck out from beneath her shoulders In the back. Sho was a sight. We all woro fleshings under our costumes, but iur legs wero "au natural" from tho knees down, and wo wero all barefooted, and got our-boIvcs our-boIvcs scratched up something torrlblo by tho briars and twigs in tho woods. I want to say horo that there was nothing Itntnndful nr Itirlnnnnt 111 thnl nlntnrn n In (Iia making of It. Wo wcro forty-six girls, counting count-ing tho professionals, throe of whom had husbands hus-bands among tho actors. Tho men, to whom tho wholo thing was but an Incident of tho day's work, wero most gentlemanly, nnd although al-though a number of "townoro" from a noarby village camo to soo tho plcturo bolng made, thoy woro not allowed to stay. Even tho mon who drovo tho automobiles wcro sent away be-foro be-foro the company waB costumed. It was not half as bad as hundrcdB of operas and musical comedies, where actresses and chorus girls, clothed much less sparingly than wo were, faco thousands of people armed with opera glasses under flcrco spot lights. Thoro wo would have felt timid and ashamed, but In tho woods it was good fun, with no thought of evil. Wo roamed about In tho woods and feted and waited on tho comedian, who dreamed he was living back In tho days of old, muoh to his disgust. dis-gust. Ho lilted tho woods and tho nymphs all right, but wo Insisted on feeding him on berries ber-ries and uncookod fish and fowls. They hnd two rabbits In a box, ono of which wns turned loose and a girl shown chasing It, Of courso, thoy figured on tho rabbit gottlng away, but tho nymph was supposed to catch It, and tho next scono was to show her with tho othor rabbit In hor hand, Myra was chosen for this work, and sho made tho hit of her young llfo eho caught tho rabbit! rab-bit! Tho bunny scooted through tho woods at a great rate, and Myra holtcr skelter after It. As soon as they woro out of camera rango thero . was no need for her running farthor, but sho kept on, and whon the cottontail hid under a log sho dived In with hor hands and hauled him out and camo marohlng baok In triumph. Horo Is a tip from Myrn to rabbit oatohoros Novor try to catch a rabbit by tho front foot, thoy seratoh something awful, but hold them by tho hind legs and thoy aro holploss. Tho dlroctor was vastly pleasod with Myra, Of courno, tho camora waB not thoro whon sho caught tho rabbit, but they movod ovor to tho spot, tho bunny was allowed to go In tho holo and Myra camo oharglng Into tho scono and mado hor catch again and got It In tho plcturo, thon It was ottered to air, Dreamer for hla din- --V-fei;. j 5 1' Ji''':'::f9 ner, along with a bunch of sumach berries and a toad. We mado 530 In that plcturo, and went back to tho room, vastly encouraged. Wo bought some clothes and each a pair of fine whlto stockings, which to couldn't wear for somo time because tho briar scratches on our ankles thnt wc got from running around in tho woods showed up as brown scars through tho thin, whlto silk. Now about our move. Ono night Myra camo Into the room, choking with rage. "That old woman," sho said, moaning our landlady, "asked what wo woro doing for a living In such a tono thnt I told her It was none of her business, and sho insinuated things." I huntod up Mrs. Koontz. "Suro you pay your rent," sho Bald, In answer an-swer to my statement. "And thoro's many moro that would Hko to pay ront in a respect-ablo respect-ablo houso Hko mine. Go over on Broadway after 12 and you'll find hundreds of them walking walk-ing up and down." I wns shocked and horrified, and I told her what wo were doing, and hor wholo attltudo changed. It was at tho tlmo whon tho most extravagant stories woro told of tho movtos. Tho salaries wero lower thon thon now, but a movlo actress waa supposed to mako fabulous wages. Mrs. Koontz waB all apologies and spread tho personages, but a3 wo had dooldod to do light hoUEckcoplng, wo moved away In Bplto of hor protestations. We found a room with a tablo and two chairs and a lot of orackod dlahos on Ninth avenue, and paid two wcoko' rent in ndvanco, but tho plaoo was filled with tho kind of pcoplo Mrs. Koontz hnd roforred to, and tho vory first night a poor crcaturo killed horaclf In tho room next to ours. Myra nnd I ran away to keop from being quetlonod by tho pollco, and when wo slipped In after 12, and went to our room, thoro sat Mr. Morton, Myra'H nweethoart, tears streaming stream-ing down his face, and somo of tho dead glrl'H olothoq clasped In his arms. Sho was his daughtorl Mr. Morton was not really Myra's lover, wo just callod him that, Ho workod nt the 5 and 10 cont ntoro wna a kind of stock clerk, I think, pushed a blx box around on wheola, and rcplen-tahod rcplen-tahod tho tables when thoy bocame sold, out. Ho and Myra had become frlands, somehow or other. Ho used to wnlk down tho street with hor, to whero her turnlng-oft point cnine; and onco ho loaned hor Btrnio bookH, Tho girls at tho etoro mado ft JoKo of this, and callod him "My, ra's lover." and wo called him that, too, bo-tweon bo-tweon ourselves. Myra never know ho hnd been married, or had a daughter, until that night wo found him In our room, tho dead girl's things in his arms, nnd weeping. Finding his daughter there had boon a coincidence. coin-cidence. Ho had como to tho rooming houso looking for Myra and me, and hnd entered at tho front door when tho oxcltcmont over tho sulcldo was nt its height, and at about tho same tlmo that wo had slipped down tho back stairs. I think tho shock at finding us in such a IioUbo was as great as tho grief over his child. Ho grabbed Myra by tho arm. "Aro you that kind, too?" ho asked, pointing to tho dead girl's things that had fallen to tho floor. "No, no," sho an3worod, and then fell to weeping. That night Is tho only tlmo I havo ever known Myra to cry, outsldo of a play, from that tlmo to this. -Sho told hlra how we camo to bo thoro -and that wo had two weeks' ront paid In advance ad-vance "You must lcavo at once," ho said. "Tonight. "To-night. I will mako tho woman give tho money back." Ho returned In a fow minutes with tho money. Wo never know until lator that ho paid this out of his own poor purso, for, of courso, tho woman would not give our monoy baok. Mr. Morton took us awny to a place ovor a candy shop on Third avonuo. Thoro was a room near his that wo had a key for, which ho said wo might use. It was 2 o'clock in the morning, but Myra talked to him for a long tlmo out In tho hall. Whon aho camo in, sho sold: "This room was Intended for tho dead girl, Ilo has bocn keeping It for a year, hoping nho would como baok to him Bomo day, no Bays wo can havo tho room now, Ho has somo cook ing things and wa can uso them, and stay horo as lone as wa want to." Myra cried again. I think sho crlofl. rffl-TlJirht about Mr, Morton and IiIh dead child, Wo did not soo him tho next day, Wo wept over to tho studio on Long Island and Myra got on as an extra because of hor hIdo, They usod plx big, mllltnt-,00,'nR Blrln In a Boono to repro-.' Bont angry housewives who ohaiso a sowing machlno agent becauee ho had defraudod thorn. I was too lUUo 'or this, but I sat and wntchod, and later In tho afternoon tho director gavo us both work In somo "water Bluff," This was awful, Tho day turnod raw nnd cold and wo stood out on tho boach in thin bathing aultd whllo tho wind simply toro us to plocea, I could fool gooso bumps on mo fop a week aftcrward3, But, wp mado q'Ql and a half dollars. Myra got tlvo, as sho workod all day. and I drew two nnd a half for frcoxlng myself my-self on the beach. Myra got an awful cold In her head. "It's a -good thing thlo Is tho silent drabo," she said, as wc went homo that night. "I'd hab an awful tlbo tryig to talk." At the room there was a note from Mr. Morton, Mor-ton, saying that his daughtor was to bo burled noxt day. and asking us not to como to tho funeral. Ho would rather bo alono, ho said. Thin mado us feel very sad, but thero was anothor letter that astonished us. It was to James Worthing, a director who wan with a big company that had built a new studio over on tho Jorsoy shoro. Tho noto was lntlmato, addressed "Dear Jim," and asked him to give us work In tho "mud picture." What nstonlnhed us was that Mr. Morton should bo ablo to address a groat dlroctor dl-roctor In that manner, but wo lost no tlmo In getting across tho Hudson and prcsontlng tho noto to "doar Jim," who shook hands with us nnd put us right on. Tho ''mud plcturo" was anothor "strike" film, and Us extras thoro woro fifty of uh wcro tho wlvos of Btrlklng sower dlggors. A Judgo had Issued an Injunction restraining tho strikers from Interfering with tho mon who took tholr placos, but as tho order did not Bay anything about sowor diggers' wives, wo all formed a mob to' drlvo tho mon from tho work. in tno nrSl Scenes, iwomjr ui ua om ui.u- tionod In housos nnd oottngos along a poor Htreot. Tho othors, led by Myra, camo along In a body, talking and gesticulating excitedly, As ' thoy passed down tho Htreot, they were Joined by othor wives, who loft tho houscH to Join tho mob. Wo woro nil mado up to look ns though wo had Just loft our housework, One girl had biscuit bis-cuit dough on her hands, and I ran out of my cottage rolling down my sloeveB and drying my" supposed to bo dUh-watery hands on my cook apron, I managed unconsciously, to put a very good touoh In my work, Ono of tho children of tho peoplo wh ownod tho cottngo Slavish pcoplo, thoy wore oo a great fnnoy to mi and an I ran to U118 lno thing followed and pulled At my skirts, It took part of an cntlro day to drill tho people, peo-ple, rohearso and film this part of tho ploturo, Tho Kooond day wo all went to a placo In Now-ark, Now-ark, whoro tho city wan making a big sowor, for tho big scono, Tho spot ehoflori for tho worjc wis woro tho ditch was about 12 feet doop, "y"o rohearsed this by-marching Into tho scene and demanding-that demanding-that tho diggers quit, Thoy Jeered at us and r Myra threw a stono Into tho ditch, and moro stones wcro thrown, until it becamo a fuslllado. Ono of tho ownors of tho company, who' was tbcro watching tho work, wanted us all to rush up and begin throwing things at onco, but tho director argued that it was moro dramatlo to ' IH havo it dono gradually, first ono stono thon an- other, tho fow timid onos hanging back till thoy IH caught tho spirit of It and got in tho action. IH Tho owner said no, and Mr. Worthing wnlkcd fl "I'm through," ho said. "If you arc making this plcturo, mako it." I saw for tho first tlmo tho absolute powor of a dlroctor. Ho makes plotures his own way, or not at all. Tho ownor apologized for Intorfor-ing, Intorfor-ing, and Mr. Worthing had his way, which was fl really better. jJ Whllo wo wero rehearsing tho mud-throwing act, tho malo oxtras, who woro to tako tho placo of tho ditch diggers later thero wero about forty of them stood back and laughed at us. Ono young fellow picked on me, "I am going to got In your rango," ho said, "becauso you throw overhand, Just Hko all girls do, Tou couldn't hit a barn door." "Just you Walt," I Bald, "I'll show you." jH Aftor rehearsing tho dltoh scone, wo prnc- IH tlced another whoro tho strikers' wives aro seen IH marching with tholr husbands on tho way to a jH mooting, and tho samo men thnt wo attack In tho mob scenes are our husbandH In tho march-lng march-lng picture, This was rehearsed and mado first, whllo tho mon wero clean. wnon mo uirooior arranged us no put iuyra liH and another tall giant In tho lend and lot tho rest pair oft to suit thomsolvos, The young man with the bantering manner camo up to mo. "I nm going to bo your husband," ho said. "You aro not," I told him, "You aro too tall." And I chose a ntce-lookttig. llttlo man with a mustache, who confessed that he waB a barber IH With movlo aspirations, The bantering man jH Was In front, and he would turn around occa-sionnlly occa-sionnlly a"d laugh at mo, and when my com- JH panlon was not looking, would twirl an lmag-Inary lmag-Inary mustache and protond to be plnylng on a guitar, which I bollovo la supposed to be a sort IH of obsoBslon with barbers, jJ Tho tlmo camo for tho big Bcene, The real Workorq In tho ditch woro given an hour oft, Tho extras took tholr places, JM "Rub mud on your faces and clothes," di- IH roctod Mr, Worthing. "Mako yourselves look Jm Hko real ditch dlggors," IH Tho bnntorlng young man was clow to me. "You noodn't," I told him, "I am going to uso you as a target," . IH "Safe!" ho shouted back to me, A-D-s-c-i Jm 1-U-t-e-l-y. wife," - Ta Bq Contlnu?H Jjfe |