International photographer (Jan-Dec 1934)

Four The INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER August, 1934 In the Motion Picture Prop and Research Department (Associate Editor of International Photographer) studi By Earl Theisen HAT kind of a dress would a baby have worn for christening during the time of Napoleon?" That is just one of the many questions that must be solved by the Research Department of The second question, "Where can such a dress be obtained?" must be solved by the Property Department. During all their hours these professional question answerers are bombarded with questions. Who did this and when did that happen ? There is nothing they are not required to answer. It is amazing when it is realized the amount of research required in making a picture. What kind of buttons did a postman wear in England in 1915? Or, what did the police uniform of Vienna look like ten years ago? In each instance, it is the duty of the Research and Property departments to be accurate, even to the minor details. A slight error would be noticed and immediately scolding letters from fans would arrive. A mistake never gets by; it is always noticed by someone out of the ten or eleven million persons who see pictures each day in the United States. Back in the days when pictures were not taken seriously, mistakes were passed off as "license." In the "Black Maria," the first Edison studio, there were no props. The interior of the stage was bare and persons, while being photographed, stood before a black background. Before 1900 it was more or less common practice to do without the elaboration of much furniture or other set dressings. In fact most of the early picture makers, notably Biograph and Vitagraph, painted part of the furniture on the canvas walls of their sets. It was a common sight to see a piano with a vase of flowers on top painted on a wall. It was the duty of the audience to imagine a beautiful piano in the set. Also, windows, chairs, and other pieces of furniture not in direct use in the picture were often painted on the wall. One early Vitagraph picture which I have seen in a recent screening, by J. Stuart Blackton, of Vitagraph, shows the hero with the heroine sitting on his lap — and the hero was apparently sitting on a chair which was painted on the wall. Another such, shows the heroine playing a piano, while the hero leaned against it. The piano, too, was painted on the wall. But that was all right ; love was the theme of the picture and the audience was thinking about that. Of course, when picture making became established and acquired a box-office, studios were built in which were scenery and prop departments. Even with the established companies as late as 1910, the travelling units which were making "westerns", continued to use "flats" on which was painted much of the furniture. This was done to avoid carrying a lot of furniture and heavy props over poor roads of the sparsely settled western states. Usually these "western units" had enough "flats" which could be set up in a few minutes to make a "cabin set" when the desired location for their picture was found. On these "flats" were painted windows and some furniture. Many of these units however, settled down to definite locations. One such was sent to Hollywood, in October 1911, by the Nestor Films, which had its home offices at Bayonne, New Jersey. That was the company headed by David Horsley. They came to Hollwood looking for a new locality in which to settle to make pictures. Hollywood, then, was not a part of Los Angeles, but a smallish village a long way from Los Angeles. Transportation between the two ran every two hours. One of the men to accompany the Nestor Film Company to Hollywood was Joe Murphy, who is called "the Mayor of Cahuenga Boulevard", because of his long residence there. When he, the first prop man in the film capital, came here, the items used in making motion pictures were borrowed from the neighbors. A chair, or a dining room table were borrowed easily, but if a more valuable item was needed, Joe Murphy had to cut the lawn or do some odd job in return for the loan. It seems his round and jovial landlady furnished more than her share of the props, but after a time she became irked. As Joe says: "She was tired of having her furniture taken to the studio and of sleeping on the floor while she waited for her bed to be Example of a very early form of transparent glass made by the Romans. Often the studios use such items in the filming of pictures. Roman tools used in the making of Roman ships during the time of Christ. Courtesy Victor Merlo Collection Los Angeles Museum. returned, so she gave orders to her housekeeper, 'don't let that fella have no more things'." One day Joe was given a rush order by Al Christie, maker of comedies for Nestor, for eight pairs of curtains. Joe knew of no other place than his landlady to get them and he also knew better than to ask her for them. So he Please mention The International Photographer when corresponding with advertisers.