The Motion Picture Director (Sep 1925 - Feb 1926)

38 THE MOTION PICTURE DIRECTOR February John Ford, The Director photoplays which have been styled screen epics, in its emphasis upon human drama rather than the movement of peoples, or upon war, or conquest. With Director Ford and the production staff were George O’Brien and Olive Borden, romantic leads; J. Farrell Macdonald, peerless “Corporal Casey” of “The Iron Horse,” Tom Santschi, Frank Campeau, Lou Tellegen, Jay Hunt, Otis Harlan, George Harris and a host of others appearing in chief supporting roles. In the very heart of the celebrated “Hole,” John Ford and his company lived in the open, undergoing the test of the rugged climate of late autumn and early winter. The towering Tetons, on one side, and the glorious Shoshone range on the other with their snow-capped peaks and deep canyons, inspired the production to the greatness of pioneer picture undertakings. Death Canyon, notorious retreat of the old-time cattle rustlers who inhabited the Jackson Hole country, was used for a scenic background for many of the big scenes in the production. While in the “Hole” filming exterior scenes, the director took advantage of the proximity of the noted landmark and “shot” scenes on the very spot where, in years past, widely known thieves had assembled. The story of the construction of the Wyoming camp wherein the company was of “The Iron Horse.” The advance guard was sent from the Los Angeles studio three months prior to the time that Director John Ford led his picture-makers to the scene of activity. Threefourths of this time was used in clearing the campsite of growth to allow for the construction of the tent city. Once this clearing was made, five weeks sufficed for the gang of workmen to erect the tents, build floors and set up stoves. Difficulties in transportation and the inability of the merchants to meet the heavy demand for material handicapped the construction of the canvas town. Lumber, used in such quantities that mills in the vicinity of the camp were startled at the size of the orders, was purchased from four sawmills, three being located in Wyoming and the fourth in Idaho. The mills were all located more than forty miles from camp, causing a long delay in the delivery of the necessary lumber. After the first heavy drain upon the resources of the sawmills, these institutions were unable to cope with the situation and as it was vitally necessary to have a constant supply of lumber to complete the camp before the invasion of the production unit, crews were sent into the forest, timbers were felled, snaked to the mills, which turned them into the planks, thus eliminating long delay. After the initial influx of workmen, the construction engineers were confronted quartered is as full of daring exploits and romance as a fiction story. The campsite at Jackson’s Hole, while it is in northern Wyoming, was situated nearly one hundred miles from the path with the problem of keeping their supplies coming into camp. To insure regular deliveries, one hundred and fifty trucks were constantly traveling between the Fox Films camp and Victor, Idaho, a distance of nearly one hundred miles. When climatic conditions were favorable, these trips were completed in forty-eight hours each. In spite of such difficulties and setbacks, the camp was completely finished when Director Ford and his company arrived. The production unit arrived late in the afternoon and started camera work the following morning with every department functioning as swiftly and smoothly as though the protecting hand of the studio was just around the corner. From Pocatello, Idaho, to the lower end of Hogback Canyon, Wyoming, a distance of three hundred miles, emissaries of Fox Film Corporation traversed, gathering the herds of horses and wagons; covered wagons and surreys ; oxen and wild animals and the vast horde of humans that appear in the production. Two hundred and fifty horses and fifty wagons were utilized during the construction of the camp. These were added to five hundred saddle horses for the big scenes in the photoplay. Three thousand steers were rounded up for the picture. To feed this large herd of animals, thirty hay wagons, using one hundred and twenty horses, were constantly hauling hay from Jackson, Wyoming, thirty miles away. These teams never stopped. Night and day the procession moved across the Jackson Hole flats with the loads of hay. One hundred and fifty laborers and fifty carpenters, augmented by machinists and loggers, comprised the working crew. More than half a million feet of lumber was used in building the camp. The public little realizes what forethought, preparation and organization is involved in a huge motion picture location movement. The only news to reach the outside world during an activity of this nature is of the fanciful brand: interesting notes of the players, fictional tales of the surroundings and catchy paragraphs pertaining to the new experiences of the stars. In the production of “The World of Promise,” a vivid example of motion picture efficiency was shown by the moving of the huge Ford camp from Wyoming to the Mojave desert, near Victorville, Calif. At the outset the studio officials were confronted with the huge task of providing sturdy, clean, warm living accommodations for nearly five thousand people, which alone constitutes a herculean task. Not only this phase of preparation was intensive. Three thousand horses and other kinds of live stock had to be sanitarily corralled. Over a million feet of lumber was used in the building of the street sets for use on the desert location. One hundred and fifty carpenters and skilled studio mechanics worked for two months prior to the arrival of the production unit erecting (Continued on Page 66)