Hollywood Studio Magazine (November 1972)

ran GALPIN FOR deciding on that.’ “So, he never took up the contract — and it was fortunate for Technicolor in a way, because the process they used was not too practical. We used a two-color process, and the magenta and blue-green records were on two separate strips of film that were cemented together - fringing and focus were always Problems. They developed the three-color process later, and were able to print them on a single strip of film. So, it was fortunate for them, but not fortunate for Paramount, because the demand for “Wanderer of the Wasteland” was tremendous — and it wasn’t the story that attracted them, it was the color — and a very pretty girl, Billie Dove. “It didn’t hurt her any, because right after that Technicolor made a picture for Douglas Fairbanks; and Doug said, ‘I want that pretty girl that’s in Paramount’s color picture.’ And so Billie played opposite Doug Fairbanks in “The Black Pirate (UA; 1926).” Although it would be thirty years before color found use in any but “big” pictures and musicals, the pastel shadows of Irvin Willat’s “Wanderer of the Wasteland” opened new vistas for the movies and excited the imagination of moviegoers throughout the world. ‘“Why not?’ I asked. ‘It’s a hell of a good picture — you’re all they talk about in the whole thing.’ “‘Yes,’ she said, ‘that’s all - they just talk about me. I’m not in the picture - I’m only in the beginning and the end.’ “So, she refused to play the part. I’d worked this out beforehand — I have a crooked heart. I had a wife at home who was an actress, and a pretty one; but she didn’t have a real picture reputation. So, when Jesse Lasky told me that he could not persuade Bebe to play the part, I suggested to him that my wife, Billie, play it - so that’s how Billie Dove got to be in the picture; and that picture made her reputation - because I had it all planned. “I finished the picture in six weeks, which is unbelievable. I had four distant locations, including the desert and the river country around Sacramento, besides the Studio work. Considering it was a brand new medium and a brand new camera device, it was very good work. “We finished the picture, and the girl had just what the script called Carl A. “Doc” Willat, a vice-president of Technicolor, wanted his brother, Irvin, to make a picture in color. for - a few scenes in the beginning, and a few scenes at the end. But, when I got back here and started cutting, I pulled my trick. Every time that the characters spoke of the girl, I had Billie in a great big closeup that filled the screen behind the subtitles. Do you know, those closeups sold the picture? When they’d talk about “Wanderer of the Wasteland” practically all they’d say was, ‘God, Billie was beautiful in that.’ “Bebe Daniels saw the picture, and she came to me and caught me by the arm, and said, ‘You old son-of-a-bitch...’ “I said, ‘Honestly, Bebe, I didn’t know what I was going to do at the time, but I told you I’d do what I could to make the part stand out. Don’t you think I did well?’ “She said, ‘I don’t want to talk to you.’ *** HELEN HAYES PLAYS PEPPERY GRANDMA IN DISNEY'S "LOVE BUG RIDES AGAIN" Helen Hayes, distinguished American actress whose career spans 60 years, has been signed by producer Bill Walsh to star in Walt Disney Productions’ “The Love Bug Rides Again.” Robert Stevenson directs the comedy, which rolls Nov. 6 in color by Technicolor from Walsh’s screenplay. ELECTED TO MP & TV BOARD Billy H. Hunt, executive vice-president of the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers, and Lawrence Tryon, vice-president and treasurer of Walt Disney Productions, have been elected to the board of trustees of the Motion Picture and Television Fund, it was announced today by George Bagnall, MPTF President. 10