Picture Play Magazine (Mar-Jul 1929)

24 The Spell of the Calliope An old-time melodrama played on the stage of the show boat has Laura La Plante, as the heroine, Joseph Schildkraut, the hero, and Harry Holden, the villain. on "the father of waters" during the making of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was convincing proof that the great river would never make a picture actor, misbehaving badly, obscuring scenes with fogs, indulging in stormy upheavals. So seventy people went up from the studio, and about four hundred citizens of Sacramento and environs were employed for atmospheric shots. • A stroke of fortune was the discovery, about forty miles up the river, of Knights' Landing — a river town which might have been the subject of an engraving of the period being filmed. A perfect, unmodernized spot, dressed in the late '80s! Even the oldfashioned street sprinkler creaked up and down the main street. The town appears, under various superficial disguises, with readjustment of the landing and erection of the fronts of a few fake houses near by, as the various towns at which the show boat moors for an evening's entertainment. Only in a few places did telephone wires add a discordant note. A half mile of shore line was slightly altered to resemble the banks of the Mississippi ; trees were draped with moss and a weatherbeaten touch was added. Three former Mississippi River pilots were employed to assure technical accuracy. Mark Twain's "Life on the Mississippi," and other books, were used in the research work, that the river life described might be pictured flawlessly. A rare spirit of camaraderie prevailed. Seldom have I encountered a troupe home from location without a list of grievances— "for art's sake" — and the recital of petty quarrels. The heat bothered them, but it was no worse than warm days under studio lights. With sundown, they removed makeup and were taken ashore and driven to Sacramento, to comfortable hotels. "Early to bed, early to rise," was the motto — ■ and plenty to eat, appetites being whetted by brisk work in the open air. The history of the floating theaters is interesting. One hundred years ago an Englishman named Chapman launched the first show boat in this These theatrical palaces of the water were kingdoms to the poor folk of the glittering The honeymoon of Magnolia and Joseph Schildkraut, as Ravenal, finds them often at the Chicago race track. country, splendid, river towns. They flaunted gay colors, their bands and calliopes summoned a curious, slow country to new joys. The box office was on the boat. Crossing the runway, one entered a foyer, bright with much gold paint. On either side were lounge rooms. The auditorium had balcony, boxes, and orchestra pit, the floor sloping to the footlights. Drops, set pieces, and lights were used. The dressing rooms served as staterooms. So large were the steani cylinders of the old calliope on the top deck, that its "music" could be heard over a radius of three or four miles. Comic opera and opera bouffe were presented, alternating with minstrel shows. In 1852 the Spalding and Rogers circus appeared on the main rivers. "St. Elmo," "Ternpest and Sunshine," and "Lena Rivers" were popular bills. "East Lynne," "Uncle Tom's Cabin," "The Parson's Bride," "'Way Down East" and such thrillers held audiences spellbound. The show boat was a glorified circus, made the more glamorous because it slipped upon the isolated towns from vaguely "upriver" ; it tread the mighty waters to bring them its bright array of amusement, and glided away mysteriously into the night. [Continued on page 105]