Picture Play Magazine (Sep 1926 - Feb 1927)

18 "Old Ironsides" Goes Into Action A scene on the deck of "Old Ironsides," whose official name was the Constitution. an elaborate camp at the Isthmus at Catalina Island, and used an average of fifteen hundred extras — frequently more i:han that — in the filming of the bigger flashes between the Constitution jand the pirate vessels. It is estimated— and rather safely, too, in view of the fact that the expenditures averaged around $35,000 a day over a period of weeks — that the total cost of "Old Ironsides" amounted to something like $2,000,000. This would make it the most expensive big feature to date, except "Ben-Hur," of course. Nearly a month was lost during the filming of the sea episodes, because -of stormy weather. Hour after hour was expended merely in maneuvering the ships into position so that a single photographic shot might be obtained. Cruze considered himself lucky sometimes if he could procure as much as a single usable scene from a dozen shots taken at different angles. Filming was particularly difficult on those days when the Constitution and the Castle, the buccaneers' prize ship, Wa 11 ace Beery, in the role of a veteran boatswain, adds comedy relief. were trying to outsail and outbattle each other, sans modern propellers and with tugs as their only aids in the simulating of old-time sea strategy. In one of these scenes, the Castle was made to crash into the side of the Constitution, ripping loose her deck rails and wreaking havoc midst her rigging and her armament. At another time, the Constitution succeeded in splintering the bowsprit and the masts of the enemy vessel, and finally sank her as her crew leaped overboard. Still other scenes show huge numbers of men charging the fort after having landed from a fleet of small boats, with Decatur at their head. Every move during the big scenes was regulated by radio. By means of this, it was possible to bring the ships into action simultaneously at a single command from Cruze. Without a radio, in fact, filming such a complicated sea spectacle as "Old Ironsides" would have proved to be almost impossible. Timing the battle scenes was most difficult. A charge of powder not sufficiently large, a sail improperly caught by the wind, or an undesired smoke screen from one of the cannons might delay the whole action for hours. Something like this happened on the day when I visited the location. On that particular day, the stunt of splitting the Castle's bowsprit and masts was being carried out. The old-fashioned cannons on the decks of both ships were loaded with powder. The powder charges were blank, of course, no balls being used except in odd shots. Dynamite had been planted in the Castle's bowsprit, so that it would, at the proper moment, cause this huge beam to split asunder. First the ships were brought into x place. A slow process. Cruze was Irak particularly anxious that the sails should seem to bellv out naturally with the wind, and not look, as they sometimes do in films, as if they were blowing in the wrong direction. Several times the vessels were moved into position, but each time there was some slight delay that caused them to drift back again before the scene could be photographed. Finally, everything was ready. The guns on the Castle boomed, and those of the Constitution answered in a regular volley. Simultaneously, the dynamite charge in the Castle's bowsprit went off with a thrilling detonation, but the wood of the bowsprit was so tough and seasoned and the charge of powder so light, that the beam was only splintered. Continued on page 106