Picture Play Magazine (Sep 1925 - Feb 1926)

84 The Lists Are Full! Six one-legged veterans of the World War appeared with Betty Compson in "Old Lives for New." for work. The greatest number of calls, however, come from persons who have registered and are waiting for employment. • "Nothing to-day !" are the brief words which have sickened the hearts of countless thousands. But still they call ! fust whv there should be such a clamor for extra work in the picture studios is b^-ond my power to explain except in the cases of young men and young women courting careers. The remuneration is too miserably small to warrant it. Were there work each day, it would be ample, but the waits between calls sometimes are long and depressing. The scale of wages runs something like this : For mob scenes where persons of any age, stature, weight or nationality are taken, three dollars a day. For hand-picked mobs — men or women of a uniform stature, age and color, five dollars a day. For character people, persons who are "camera wise and picture broke," who have nice clothes, including Prince Albert or cutaway coats, afternoon or evening gowns, seven dollars and fifty cents a day. Swimming and diving girls and men, pony riders, professional butlers and the like, get from ten dollars a day up, according to the importance of their work and the effort required. Following these come the stunt men and smallpart players whose remuneration is privately agreed upon. Above these are the featured players. There are little extra girls in I Eollywood whose wardrobes would equal that of a president's daughter, seeking employment at seven dollars and fifty cents a day. And there are other extra girls reduced to that point where they must borrow when called to appear in a scene depicting an afternoon tea. ' I sat in the operating room at the Screen Bureau some days ago where the ringing of telephones was endless. Calls were coming from the studios for help and actors and actresses were being summoned. "The studio to-mor row morning, six thirty o'clock ; U. S. cavalryman, uniform furnished; seven dollars and fifty cents a day. Must ride a horse. Will you be there ?'' "The studio to-mor row at eight. Society part ; must have a frock coat of not much value because you've got a fight and it may be torn. Wages ten dollars. Will you be sure to be there on time?" "Yes, this is Screen Service ; go ahead ! 'Twenty-five men, twenty-five women, mob scene; medium age and day.' All right, we'll get 'em. sight right now. We'll call you height ; five dollars a Thanks !" "Nothing to-day.' "No, nothing in when we can use you." "I'll take the order. 'Two hundred negro men, women, and children for South Sea island scene — one hundred men, seventy women and thirty children.' Thanks !" When this last order was phoned in, the operator called up a woman in the negro section of the city and repeated it so that she could get them together. "Report to me to-morrow afternoon how many you have, together with their names !" she was instructed. "Nothing to-day!" And so the medlev continued throughout all the day and evening. Screen aspirants were handled as though by numbers. A heterogeneous aggregation from all parts of the world. The agency has -a representative in the Mexican district who rounds up a hundred Mexican types in a day, when directed. It has another in the Russian district, a third among the Orientals, and so on. Its machine works systematically. A call came in some time ago for six one-legged young This "infant" actor is Harry Earles, a thirty-year-old midget.