New-York tribune. [volume], July 23, 1911, Page 15, Image 15

About New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924

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PART II.
EIGHT PAGES.
Xton^rtfe
MISCELLANY,
BOOKS AND ART.
NEW-YORK, SUNDAY, JULY 23. 1911.
I Sometimes It's a Real Horror That the Film Presents for Your Gaze
Light Hearted Mimicry Gives Way at Times to Tragedy Caused by Perilt
That Moving Picture Actors Confront in the Gaze of
the Camera's Single, Staring Eye.
1<iO-f,,f,f rilff whlla rnrrvinir nn uml.rplla
abovs hia dome <>t thought, <?'<> h.-inKinir
fr..in Harlem BHdge, f4) dlvlng f^rtv
f. .t thri.tiirb IRS ."'ir Into tlnrty feet <>t
watar. <?"> allghtlng frora thlrty-mlla *n
hour asprcaB tralna .ind *?'.? kldnapplng,
followed by srreal and Incarueratloa in
n local baattle. Tho stur. of this <>\
fi.nl magister artlum la Btich .'i" atitar
tBlnltlg hiim.ni document thal it Is r-'
produoed hfro:
?Mv father wsa a bsef eontractor to
t' ,? Bngllali army, so Bticcessful in busN
throtlgtl aeveral mllea of film-taklnK nnd
flnally lo th*' *"Ik" ef a horrendoiis rilff.
over wbleh we wera gupposed to leap
rather than Btay nnd ba tomahawhsd
l>> *.nr pursuers.
?At tha bottom of the cllft, out of
rsnge nf the picture machlne'a ?:??<?. waa
;, nfenet held up by Blxteen Bupera.
Each of ua want over tho <sifY Hke a
8h.it. ar.d th?- problena WM for oar-h man
t<> got Bgfely OUl of tho net before th<?
n*xt one tumbled Into it. 'For Ood'a
aafa, hurry up!' I yellad to the man
f ballet glrll flying through the alr ahovs
'< tha gtage, pretendlng to danoe, and all
! that sort of thlng? Well. tho prtneiple
I was th?- s:im>'. The trlrk was worked
Indoors arlth an outdoor stage settlng. 1
I woro a stout belt around my body, and
attached to the back of the belt, where
I tho vlslon of tho caraera dldnt get lt,
was a .-nble suspended from the fllea. AJ
tho flymen lowered the cable the fool
Bdentlat dropped Into the yawnlng
chaam, apparontly, retarded only by that
joke iiararhute.' Just tho aame, I was
glad to get to tho bottom. Suppose Ibs
rope had broken!
"N'*xt, by way of novelty, I ati/feTsd
arrcst and endnrod detention ln J*f
ferson Market prlson. As you Amerl
enns would aay, we were too 'blaraed
reallstir-.' We oertainly 'put lt over* on
that pollreman. though ln the next
breath I must arknowledgo he had the
last laugh and the best. ('lad aa a
'
r . . Riunlniorenc)!"
9 thi apeaker
'
;;. . ? ? ,:
....
that -i long
'
s ? you, Syl
. I aay?
? ' ' ? '
K, , _M,. ? \ ent to the
a "rd: ? ng or other on
j 81 I S-S-l .
unceai Ingly.
Th<-> doomi '1 * I t.in ol thi
MhataM Btayi I undt r watar an um ?n
aclonably kmg Umi, "G.1 God! to
I -;. ,i the man on the bank.
Bven Bylveater Arraltage aeomed t'> nale
aarneath hla artlfldal ollva eomplexlon.
Ar,,i th- ?;. arlth horrlble gurgilng
Bounda and amld clrellng waves and rlp
plas, thr- Htnrk body of llontmoramcy
thc erms and legs cramped reappeared
a dosao yarda fxotn tha bcat ln a
choked Tclea bf> faably Bhouted: "Heip!
Belp! I'm drownlngr' an*i boob aank
asjaln.
"He'a all rieht," cailed oui thr- man on
thr bank, raaaaurlngly. "Dolng it ex
ft.-tiv ;.s I toi.i him. But you, th< ra.
Armitae. . why in thr- l.lanki?iv-l.larik
biank. dldnt >"u Btand by? Tha aec?
ond tlme up, you K<t him surr. and then
he can s?im out of tba plctura and
rnako the sborc."
But Arnrltaga dJdn*! look n<>r ad as
lf ho could "fat- anybody. A Bpacta
tr.r oloaa anough arould hava noted ha
was BhaJdng wlth taarror as ba gased Hk<
a palsled wratch on tho apot where a
momaait ago his dlatraaaed ?vn*my
BhOWad. Not a ripplo. at last fllsturb.-d
tha Purfar o. Tha man r,n tho bank was
tearlng hia lonp balr an*l rgclng back
and Cblth lmpntK-ntly
Thrre WBa a Mg mmmotjon en tho
lakc-slde. The br-r-lng and whlSS-S-Ing
thlng had atopped- A r-'<rtv headed by
tho br-Rs grabhi-d a boat drawn up OB
tho bank and put fi.nh hurricdly. Thoy
v.vre too late. Before th*y had made
half the dl.-tanre to the drowninsr man
his body carae up the last timc. but no
Botnad lassmd from his Mpa As ho final
ly Bank, tho llttla fn-sh water pond?a
iak.-i.-t aaaaB awoajgh f*>r "ki*is" to eauaoa
in?waa his death trap.
That (or aomo-thlng qulte like lt) hnp
mmal a *ew day8 ago on BttBft Pond.
i.rasmcro, Staton Iflund. Wh8B tho
n el.fldrama mnsquerado of a company of
rn* tlon pi'turo players waa convcrt'd
lr.t?.- tcrriblo nality. You that have 4-n
jc-yi-d tha aaeoad hand thrills or audden
death nnd du.il.ivil cJeedB that the plct?
ure fllrns Irnpart, havo J09 <vtr before
isatlarl tha diiaparata chaajeaa tttm of
thaaa aaotloai ptctura aotora takal
''It'B BDflSra tri. k work," you aay. No,
not all of tt. llluslon plays tho major
part ?t ta trua; yat in thc graat out of
diM.rs, partlrularly. the camera actor
hads a btrcnuous Hfc and faecs a*:tual
dangers.
Llves a man on Washington Ildghta
?afhaaa buBincss lt la, ln front of that
camera eye. to leap from a doorway onto
he back of a galloplng horse, aans Bttr
rup or bridle.
A Bronx tntbuslast has dlved a hun
ilr* d ? ' ' ''"'
Fallsadi -; Into ll Hudsoi
An* ll ' ,!' "'"
? arl* i... it a
.
rd< r,
A thlrd I it per
ed to th* ? ? tra ?
appr achlng i.tnol Ol h*
I ... ? . . ngine would be dul topp* d
in tim<-: Btlll. Bom* how he i ouldn l
r. ralllni m.fortal ;-. thal i
nd a f* rai bacB
when an engine drlvt-r gol the
..... and '.-iti "??' r th* body of a rn- ?
tlon plcture actor tii >i to thi
?Ai cldei ta.' W< nev* hav*
dlri. tor ol on* of the
? i iur |... .
ple don't run any moro * hancea Ih in
regular bi lora We tell '< m Bafel
th*- first conalderatlon, and it' they don't
vrtsh to undertake anythlng thal looki
well hasardouB, thes don'l have la
Bealdea that, we take all aorta <f pre
cautlons."
When thla aame man learned thal hia
atudio wasn't ta !'<? named n<>i- tha pcrlla
of the bualneaa exaggerated In "yellcnt
Journallsm" Btyle he took a dlffereni
tona and reii l* I aome tru atorlea "f
rsot nl Halrbn adth * aoap* a
"Witt ln the laat ali n onti b," hi aald,
"I hava been wlth mj company In
Maine, In Cuba and In the Canadian
Rockiea Off the Twln Lights, nesi
Portland, we ataged tii- drama of a
Bhlpwre* ked aallor. II waa an excltlng
affnir. Flrst, we had '?< VOBBel 81 .-'.'i
which waa auppoaed to ba wrecked; l a
?allor, despaiting of rescue and absn
donimr the ahlp lashed hlmaelf t*> a spar
and drlfted arlth the waves. Further
more. ^^..? i.ind the government llfe
aavlng crew and their boat. Among tha
reajular tlfasavsra aome <-f our own
sxtorg were gaadwiched In al tha oara.
"\Noii, alr, a aojuall thal aprang ap
during the plcture taklng gave me a bad
quarter of nn hour. Tha poor fellow nn
tha apar, though n*?t in mortal danger,
Bwailorwsd more salt water than I ? i
meant to, and was well battered by tha
ccanbara, The ajovarnment craw and ihe
aetor lif-'.savers didti't bit it off well at
all. The CTSW was slmrf nn 'biislnesV
and the artorai too V'ulti' to SSV8 llves,
Portunatety. we sojuessed through; she
lashed man was pulled aboard. Bparand
all. gnd the boat, after tWO <t three un
aurressfui triais. mastered tha hsavy
hreakera and broughl all handa aahors.
"Down in Cuba," continued tha di
re.-tor, "whlthcr we wenl to g"t trop*'I
orajsn s*-enes, our plcture outfit waa
twi*e wrecked. and BBveral *>f 'is had
doaa eaiis. ?m one occaafcm tho ma
ehlne and its OfWrator w. ra hnrle*! (J'lst
think ef it:> bv tha Bhaar foree of ihe
wind Into tho gaa from g proJSOtlng K* h
on which they w< w Matlom d. The otii-r
mcldent makaa ma laugh to raeallaol it.
although it waa no laughlng matter al
tho tlme. Wa wero Working tO wind
wurd ln a Behooner, with the plcturo
machino whlrrlng away on the dc-ek and
my astlstant and myeclf closo by it.
"Of a auddon tho ropes parted that
held the maln booifl in placs. CTnghl
went tho bo*>m as lt ewept clrnr arrors
the dtck, tmpcllcd by the tremcr.dous^
?i^amJmm>***** ?* ?
-?, .... i.a. NET TOO MOM, THE NBT C0U.A88B8 UNDER THE UNUSUAL ITBAIH.
LEAPING INTO THE LIFE NBT TOO ^^ ^^
""ET".T..''o.tTth^ Wllo^o? ano "tuallV run, over th. boov or a motion
,N ENGINE DRIVER GETS THE WRONG OBBB- ^^ ^ T|(f RA|L^
f,r!,, (,f tha wind on Ihi i atl above.
An*i i radhl wanl tha moving plcture out
nt. gnd s few mlles, more <>r less, ?if
liims. as the hurrylng boom ireanorse
lessly Bwspl them Into th?' ocean. Too
oughl to hava aasn us duckl Aa it was.
tha boom carrlsd ofT our eapa and nesrly
Bcalped ns. it would hava baan goodby,
Mr. Btage Director, gnd gooby, Mr. As
aiatant, If if had really Jammed ua oa/er.
The aea was full of man oatlng aharka,
gnd tha vasssl waa aklmming along al
auch ? apesd that H would hava taken
fnily ftfteen mlnuteg to pui back, even st
tha aharka had klndly refralned fr.im
maklng ita the placa <!'? rtelatanca of
their iiiiin* r.
"in tha Rocklea," rambled on thepict
tire man, "i almosl Btumbled Into death,
as it wara. Leavlng th*' hotel ona morn
Ing, my man and I thought we'.I ggjoy B
little glacler holl*lay Of our own before
huckl'.ng down to the serious work of
photographing Alplne rescuea, landslldes
and moving rlvers of lee. As v.e found
the footlng good, W8 eonttaUSd over '.he
l-.ard, hammocky gurfgca of the glader
.until. without warnlnj_ i ia_.k to t_y
%v;,i!t I,, .-. amsll heap of Bnow. M)
companloB Belied ma and draggad ma
back to lha aolld Burfaca 11 waan'l
untll two daya Iater tbal i thought it
worth whlle to ralata tha lm *-'*??* lo an
Aipirn-t. Ha * Bamlned lha pta< *
.. .|4r / ii.. gald, < ?!* neetli. il ls
., mlrarle tbal you im sllve t*> tall thla
Thal fraali anoa .* aled ;? cravlca iwo
hundred feet deep, and Ifa ;. wonder lf
,..,?!, ri, ol ? BPlorei i Hka rourself ara nol
1(iii,.,i in travi i ilna ? ''u daBgeroua
?rround!' Bure - nough, on my raaurn 1
read i" b Bewaimpet lhal a party ?<
?Ightaeelng glrla bad been engulfed In
th;it v?ry crevaaBe. Two wera killed,
im,i two others. I belleve, wara nearly
sUrvad and frosen lo death ln the awftil
ftbysa bafcra Ihei *?* rescued M
r,, nt tha atudk) ruled hy this plcture
man when ha la boI tralpalng around
tba country buotlng now "ihriiiers
works at. oxfiinl Mast.r of Arts, who
has tbara BaaBterad nmro arts than
the oxford facutty arar Uught him.
Aroong tho stranK" a* M'li'^monts l.o has
Kalnod in Tho BrotU BW (1? Jumptng Ofl
a 00-Ioot pictipicc, U; ualkiuh' off a
ii, Bfl thal he aenl me t.> ;) publlc achnnl
Bnd sfterward to tho unlveraity Ifter
, ,,i,ii.i. tlng my f_u< Btlon i found thal
my dadd] snd i dlasgreed; im had a
code of conducl In his buslnesa whlch
i. \?nii my unlverslly notlons, fell '
could not )i|i|.ii.\.' of tolerate; so ??"
parted. I drlfted en th.' stanc ami rame
to Amerl. a. B here l gol fairly importunt
parta In Boana of thg playa. Remember
i played Murphy In 'Th- Collega
\Vul?.\\ '.'" They had B iTUll di.adl'tll
tlme of it. i recall, trylng to adapl my
Bngliah enundatlon to Ifurphya brogue.
Finally I w.-nt <m tha moving pictUTC
sliiKe becaUSe 1 aSSded the money.
"NoW, I am ? MI ef ? eow ard, I must
oonfess, and therefora, aa a matter of
prlda and .si-lf-ris|i. i l, I ha\e tnaile tl B
rula aevar to balk danger nor decllne
any hazard that came in Ihe line "'"
duty. Parhnng that habtt *if mlna vnt
mo in line for most of the Yrazy atunts,*
gg they oall 'rm h're. One of my flrst
unpleasant oxperiinccs which I riMtrad
with a dozen other men was Juinping I
ti> death' *>ff a practplca, YVe WBTfl
whltaa puranad i>y totnahawk*carrytag<
acaloiiifl; lndlans. They dlMOd ua
ahead of me, who aaa evldentlj taklni
in tlma, i had t" follow qutckly, and
kerplunk! I came down slmoal on t"t>
I of him. Tha llfenet |ave way under
the comblned welghta, ami though tha
! fall was partls broken i bfl Bith greal
force "ii a Btony hit "f giottad. m.v ca*
n-'-r as ;i motlon ptctura actor almost
ended then and there.
"M\ nexl t.it, though i?"t ao hasartf.
'?us. looked even more daJigaroua i araa
an abaentmlnded profeaaor, holdlng i*i
: ona hand a book i dlllgently read and
tho otbar ii'imi Bupportlag an unbralla j
tn ko*'p ofl the bub's raya in this prac* j
tlcally aomnambullatlc Btata i waa tol
walk nii' -i preclplee. Th*' horror af ti t
plcture theatre asaa mblaga would ba
.sincci-ded by uproarioua laughtar aa tho j
Bunpla profaaaor, apparently Buprjorted
by his umi.roihi aiting as a parachute,
gttded slnwly and jrrai cfully to earth?
atlll int.nt on bla book.
"Now, even aboul thla tri<k i araa
nervouSi although i Bbouldn't bava baaa
ut aii. llavy you avat bccn the ucij'j.1
Black llandor, I stole a ehild from Its
mothera arma ha tha open doorway of a
ti gemont 1 footad lt down the atreet
gfl last as 1 could go, pursned by fhe
othi r actora In their hright Italian garba
and b) no amall n"mber ct real "sons of
tuntiaucd ou acvcuth