The New Movie Magazine (Dec 1929-May 1930)

The New Movie Magazine When the Stars Were Extras (Continued from joage 98) William Boyd, first featured by Cecil B. De Mille and now a Pathe star, worked as an extra and bit man for some time before his break came in "The Volga Boatman." Boyd played bits in "The Ten Commandments," "Miss Brewster's Millions" and "The City of Masks," at Paramount. Years passed in this sort of work. Boyd says, "First comes the fact that a person who has done extra work, has watched many stars work, and has been guided by many directors. From each one can be gained valuable bits of technique. But even greater than this phase of the work, is another advantage. Anyone who has done extra work has had his share of knocks, and adversity creates a wonderful fellowship with the rest of mankind. An actor who has known what it is to be hungry and to walk with the soles of his shoes worn thin, will work harder to keep the place he has won. He is less apt to get temperamental, and is usually more amenable to suggestions that will improve his work. A slow climb to popularity on the screen is likely to be more lasting for the same reason that hard won success in any field of endeavor is the most permanent." Harold Lloyd, the biggest money maker in pictures, with never a flop to his credit, started as an extra at Universal at $5 a clay. They would not give him a break, so he had to get into the studio by putting on makeup and going in with the bunch of extras. He quit in disgust when Universal lowered salaries to $3 a day. He joined forces with Hal Roach, another actor, and the two went on to success, one as a comedian and the other as a producer. LOUISE FAZENDA tells of her first experience when hired as one of about five hundred Indians at Universal, in a scene where the Indians were supposed to be crossing a desert, while being shot at by white men. "I walked all day," says Louise, "and when I was so worn out I could not stand it any longer, I pretended to be shot so I could lie down and get a rest. It was woi'king great, and others were doing likewise, but the director felt the scene lacked vitality, and put an end to that by hollering, 'Not so many dying. please, not so many dying.' " Perhaps the funniest start in bits that is credited to any great screen actor is that of Henry B. Walthall. He came to the Biograph studio to see James Kirkwood, and D. W. Griffith gave him a bit in "A Convict's Sacrifice," in which Walthall, in old clothes and armed with a shovel, dug a sewer trench. George Bancroft played a bit as a crook in "Too Many Crooks," Mildred Davis Lloyd's picture made at Lasky's in 1927. ADOLPHE MENJOU moved about as an extra and bit player for quite some time. He had a bit in "Pink Gods" for Paramount, and in "Clarence" with Wallace Reid. His start came after Doug Fairbanks used him in "The Three Musketeers" as Louis XIV. Menjou's first highly conspicuous part, under Chaplin's direction, in "A Woman of Paris," came after Charlie Chaplin saw Menjou in Fairbanks' film. Gloria Swanson played extra and bits at the old Essanay plant in Chicago, and later came to Sennett's in Keystone comedies. She played with Bobbie Vernon in comedies before she went on to Cecil De Mille. Gloria was unusual in that she was starred a year after she entered pictures, in "You Can't Believe Everything." Mary Brian, now coming along very well at Paramount, where she has worked ever since she started in "Peter Pan" as Wendy, believes slow rises are surest. She was not put forward as Betty Bronson was, in that picture, the first for both girls; but today Mary's position is certainly better than Betty's. After "Peter Pan" she played with comedians like Beery and Hatton; she played Westerns as in "The Air Mail," with Warner Baxter and Billie Dove; and played unique roles with Richard Dix and Jack Holt. "It was discouraging at times, but I tried to realize I was building towards something worth while," said Mary. GARY COOPER worked as an extra; then had a bit in Tom Mix's "The Lucky Horseshoe," in which Billie Dove was leading woman. He stood in a gateway as Tom rode into a castle yard. In other pictures, Gary rode and acted as a henchman of the heavy. Then came "Wings," in which he played the ill-fated Cadet White, the first man killed. Gary says, "The most important thing is to get some sense, and not be swell-headed. I can't say I learned a lot of technique; I'm not that kind of an actor. I guess I never will he. I just try to figure what Gary Cooper would do in such a situation as the man in the picture, and then I do it." Dick Arlen played extra for a couple of years. He was in "Green Temptation," the last picture made by William Desmond Taylor before his mysterious murder. Arlen was in nearly all of Valentino's films, "The Youne: Rajah," "Blood and Sand," and "The Four Horsemen." Arlen was made a star in an independent picture. He flopped and gladly set about learning acting from the various directors, stars and players he worked with. His first bits were with Ruth Roland. Then he was cast opposite Bebe Daniels in "Volcano," and after three days, was taken out. He had not yet learned to act in the real sense. Then came his role in "Wings." That started him upward. Arlen says, "Extra work teaches you patience, promptness and consideration for others. If you have to wait two hours on a cold morning because a star slept late, you won't do that to extras when you become a star. 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