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Wiped
FROM far back in the very indefinite beginnings of picture-making, now sweeping along majestically, now struggling weakly to keep its uneven pace in the progress of the industry, comes Poverty Row.
Poverty Row — the melting pot — the meeting-place of those who pass in the light — the shaded studio block in Hollywood where, at some
time or other, almost without exception, all the now-famous stars have struggled for a foothold.
Situated on Sunset Boulevard at Gower Street, it was, in the old days, just a row of shacks. Rising real-estate values have now eliminated any aura of cheapness, and successful production and competition have made of the shacks a neat row of small, but prosperously complete, studios. Here and there along the Row, there still remains a barnlike affair, a relic of the better, or worse, times.
This section, colored with all the romance and glamour of movie-making, steeped in legends of quick rises to fame, or of spectacular, inglorious flops, derived its name long years ago from the type of production made within its confines. Mushroom, fly-by-night companies struggled there, usually in vain, to attain places of importance in the world of the cinema; only a valiant few emerged from the crushing, cutthroat turmoil. From time to time, an obscure
Poverty Row, that section is becoming so affluent
By Louis
actor or actress, hired for a pittance, awakened to find himself famous in Hollywood, sought for by the big producers, as the result of a bit in a Poverty Row "quickie."
Cheapness was the watchword. Producers worked in terms of mere dollars and cents. Well-known actors were hired by the day. Cameras, camera men, and studio space were rented in the same manner. Not how good, but how cheap, was the cry on every side. Short subjects, serials, and features were turned out with a speed which would have put even Henry Ford to shame in the matter of volume production. Shrewd little gamblers, real adventurers, often staking their every cent on the making of a picture, were the heart and soul of this famous, fast-moving section.
Its history is not replete with pictures that have been great successes. Program stuff, of little note or value in the public eye, was the outstanding product. Quick turnover and small profits were the goal. But its roster contains many now-famous
Georgia Hale emerged from Poverty Row to sign a contract with Famous Players, on the strength of one picture filmed on the Row.
Hedda Hopper was not loath to work in cheaply produced pictures, and has lost no prestige by it.
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