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Show How I Broke Into The Movies Copby " Herman By TOM MIX I BROKE Into the movies as a safety man a man hired to stand alongside the camera with a rifle and kill any wild animals working In the scene If they showed signs of a desire to chew up the actors. That was with the old Selig company in the days when wild animal ani-mal thrillers were at their height of popularity. I won my job because be-cause of my earlier experiences as Texas Ranger, Rough Rider under our beloved Teddy and volunteer in the Philippine uprisings. I also saw military service In the Orient during dur-ing the Boxer rebellion and had been a range rider since my early youth near my birthplace, which Is El Paso. So I was considered a pretty good shot with either pistol or rifle after all these experiences, and Colonel Selig hired me. My reason for trying to get into the movies came about through a series of events. First I had leased my ranch to a producer who was making "Westerns." I noticed how unwestern the cowboys looked and acted and this aroused something akin to resentment a lot of tender-feet tender-feet practically making fun of the West. Then I went to see some of "these here" movies and was all-fired all-fired certain the cowboys, stories .and directors were all wrong. f And I made up my mind I was going to California and tell them what was what. Finances were pretty low. As a matter of fact I was nearly broke f- Tom Mix. but I had enough money to ship my saddle horse to San Bernardino. From "San Berdue" the horse and I "hoofed It" into Hollywood with nary a brass band or reception committee com-mittee to welcome us. As a matter of fact, nobody even paid the slightest bit of attention to us. To this day a cow hand can walk through the streets of Hollywood Holly-wood and attract less attention than a fat man in golf knickers. Well, then came the job I told you about the safety man. Soon after I worked myself Into bits and small parts and doubled for the leading men on all the dangerous dan-gerous stunt riding. All this time I was still nursing the urge to tell the whole world how awful the western ' pictures were and my opportunity came with a bang when William Fox signed me to a long term contract. After much discussion pro and con, I finally persuaded Mr. Fox to let me try one picture of my "four-teen-karat genuine" brand of WestJ ern. To make sure in case anything went wrong, I was certain to get the blame, Mr. Fox made me write the stories, direct them and play the leads. The results, I say with all due modesty, were far beyond my own expectations. Their Immediate success convinced con-vinced many producers that Western West-ern stories written by Eastern ten-derfeet ten-derfeet and portrayed by the same breed of actors didn't have the same ring of realism In them, so my two reelers soon grew up Into feature length plays. Although what I have to say now has no bearing on "crashing the movies," I think It important to those who may be curious. I make It a business never to. drink, smoke or play cards In any of the scenes of my pictures. I realize that primarily, the story of the West is of supreme Interest to thousands of young boys throughout through-out the country and perhaps the world. I also realize that boys are prone to Imitate in their play many of the things they see In pictures or read about. And with no consideration of myself my-self except as a probable example, I realize that boys set some figures, like P.abe Ruth or Lindbergh, as their ideal of manhood. I, therefore, believe that In some little way I cun convince the boyhood boy-hood of America that neither smoking, smok-ing, drinking nor gambling are essential es-sential and that physical fitness always al-ways wins out over dissipation. That Is why I try to make my characters those of men of high ideals. Because, after all, the boys of today to-day are the men of tomorrow. WNU Ecrvlc |