Moving Picture World (Nov-Dec 1927)

8 MOVING PICTURE WORLD December 17, 1927 “MIKE” SIMMONS Broadcasting M. P. World’s “Movie Chat*' Station WPCH Nat Rothstein on “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” Following are the highlights taken from the interview of Nat Rothstein, Director of Advertising, of Universal Pictures Corporation, at station W. P. C. H., Hotel McAlpin, as conducted by ‘Alike” Simmons in his broadcast of Moving Picture World’s “Movie Chat.” SIMMONS : About two years ago I had the distinction of broadcasting over this station an interview with Harry Pollard, director of “Uncle Tom s Cabin,” who was then in the throes of getting his material together for this photoplay. At that time he told us what he intended to do, how he expected to do it, and other details of production of more or less pertinent interest to moving picture fans. This evening I have another executive of the Universal Pictures Corp., who is in a unique position, now that the film has been completed and is being shown to the public, to say just how these things that Mr. Pollard had intended to do were really done, how new, unexpected problems were solved, how a stirring epic, not alone in a photoplay but in the making of a photoplay, was enacted, how a veritable romance in personnel organization was established. With Mr. Nat Rothstein present, a gentleman who will give us at first hand the benefit of his observations right at the studio and on “location,” we are 1 sure to get an unusual close-up of what actually happened. Folks, meet I Mr. Rothstein. ROTHSTEIN : “How do you do, folks. Let me offer to be your guide in taking you behind the scenes of Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” SIMMONS: Tell us, Mr. Rothstein, something of the details connected with the shooting of “Uncle Tom s Cabin.” In such a vast production there must have been huge crowds to be. handled, mammoth settings, extensive backgrounds, and so forth. _ j^P^HSTEIN : There were over Z400 minor players and ensemble atmosphere personalities engaged during the period of this production. In order to select the necessary footage for the successful showing of ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” 977.000 feet of film were exposed. There are 3531 scenes shown in the fourteen reels of this work. This is almost twice as many as in any other super picture ever made at Universal City. The biggest order of breakfast food ever sent into action at one time was 12 carloads of ‘cornfetti,’ a [ special southern breakfast food. And here is the paradoxical phase of this ■ order. It wasn’t used for food at all — but for snow effects. Six hardwood, laminated airplane propellors were worn out during the snow scenes due to the eroding effects of the artificial snow which ‘chewed’ up the propellors used for propulsive force in driving the ‘snow’ into the scenes. The “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” company traveled over 26,000 miles on location trips throughout the counI try. Plattsburgh, New York; Memphis, Tenn. ; Greenville and Natches, Miss.; Jonesville and New Orleans, La. ; Cairo and Chicago, 111. ; Franklin, Penn., and various points in California, were some of the centers visited to get locale and atmosphere for the scenes shown in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” SIMMONS: To strike a note of authenticity, I suppose you must have obtained some of the still-existing relics of the period in which the story is staged. ROTHSTEIN : Yes, indeed. For example : One of the historic ‘props’ and scenes is that of one of the Mississippi mighty sidewheelers, the old “Kate Adams,” on which the boat activities were enacted and photographed. The famous old boat was chartered for nine weeks and rebuilt to conform to the period of the ’50’s and it was renamed the historic “LaBelle Riviere,” which is mentioned M-G-M Airs “Love” at Embassy Theatre On December 20th, Ted Husing of station WPAP will broadcast the entire showing of “Love,” MetroGoldwyn-Mayer’s film, co-starring John Gilbert and Greta Garbo, from the Embassy Theatre. A special performance of “Love” will be given, with audience composed of radio critics, newspapers reviewers and motion picture notables. The picture will have the regular orchestral accompaniment. Husing, who will go on the scene of action “cold,” i. e., without having seen the photoplay, will describe in detail the action of each scene as it is unfolded on the screen. Personal messages from John Gilbert, Greta Garbo and Edmund Goulding, director of the film, will be read by the announcer before the picture gets under way. in Mrs. Stowe’s story. It required fourteen skilled craftsmen, laboring two weeks to fix up the cabinetwork, smokestack plumes, rails and other details of the historic old side wheelers of the Father of Waters. SIMMONS: Tell us, Mr. Rothstein, something about the securing of atmospheric effects. I understand ingenious devices are often resorted to. ROTHSTEIN: The unusually beautiful fog effects were obtained by the burning of twTo hundred tons of lowly, worn out automobile tires ; the picture results are most artistic but the aesthetic efforts during the actual filming of these scenes were not so pleasantly received by the nostrils of the brave players enacting the historic characters of the Stow'e story. All the way from the Mississippi forests came fifty bales of Spanish moss to embellish the trees at Universal city in order that this picturesque detail might enhance the verdant scenes and achieve the rich Scene from F B O’s Jubilee special, “Chicago After Midnight,” which was enacted by a group at Station WPCH. Preceding this, Jos. P. Kennedy launched the company’s February Grand Jubilee over the air describing the Jubilee releases. Gilda Gray, star of United Artist’s “The Devil Dancer,” who will give air to her deviltry over Station WPCH next Thursday at 6:45 P. M., in an interview with “Mike” Simmons. tropical atmosphere. This moss was so arranged as to give the same effect that one views in passing through these southern forests when admiring the filmy lacelike moss hanging like weeping tears over the drooping branches of the forest trees. In order that the right kind of grass might be in the St. Clare patio, six giant sun arcs were kept burning all night for two weeks to augment the sun’s rays and hasten the growth of a plot of grass specially needed for this particular scene. SIMMONS: How about some data on wardrobe. ROTHSTEIN : In the wardrobe department there were made and furnished over fifty' thousand major pieces of clothing to array the principals and extras in the various scenes. And this garbing and titivating of the personalities enacting the leading characters, as well as the minor and extra people, required 28, 000 sticks of grease paint for their respective make-ups. SIMMONS : I am sure that Mr. Rothstein has opened up an illuminating vista to that rare visualization that stirs the imagination of all movie followers in the making of a film and in this case in the making of an unusual film. I am grateful to him for coming here to entertain us with his “inside” knowledge on the subject and I wish to thank him on behalf of the invisible audience. ROTHSTEIN: It has been a pleasure to be a go-between, so to speak, between the public and the film base of operations and I merely need add that those of you who are interested to see how these technical points, which I have delineated, have materialized in the finished screen version of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s famous story, will get an opportunity to visualize this at first hand in your community. “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” as most of you know, is playing at the Central Theatre in New York: it has opened up in Detroit, and will soon gradually cover the country like a carnet There is a good time in store for you when you see this film. 1 thank you. Good night