Screenland (May-Oct 1939)

Itered, following my gaze. "Let's go out I see if we can buy some shells for my jtgun." p the hardware store Gary purchased ;j shells. "Lotsa dove and quail in Mexico v," the shopkeeper told us. ijjary turned to me. "Remember that time were on thr.t cruise on Dick Arlen's |ht and that restaurant keeper in Tia .na gave us those quail and you cooked jn for breakfast ?" He licked his chops, oy, those were good !" ''it's a pleasure to cook for an appreciae clientele," I murmured expansively, lembering Gary had eaten six of the Bye. Before we go back to camp I want to tie Sandra (his wife). She's in Phoenix 'h the baby. The baby has a cold." ie phoned, Sandra reassured him colliding the baby and we drove the sevenn miles back to camp — mostly in silence, quacity is not one of Gary's besetting 6. The wind had died down and the npany was shooting. "We'll go up to the rt," Gary announced. "They may be iting for me." He slipped into his uni•m of a soldier in the Foreign Legion 1 we started out. Ify eyes practically bulged out of my id. The day before, when I had arrived, sand had obscured things. Today, in sunlight, it was different. Off in the Itance, loomed the sand dunes, refracting my colors in the sunlight — grim and eboding in the dusk and night. High, jp one of them, stood Fort Zinderneut, onghold of the Legion in the desert, rhaps a hundred yards from the fort, ramount had built an oasis. Fifty palm es were transplanted 250 miles from the : ramount nursery in Hollywood for this feis. An entire date orchard had been r.splanted a distance of forty miles. A ter hole had been dug. If you looked the opposite direction from the camp it s an easy thing to imagine yourself in : vastnesses of the Sahara. Inside the pit, the company was assembled, the tras wearing the most villainous make; I have ever seen. Gruesomely realistic, ■se "veterans" looked battle-scarred, right. ""Come on, Gary." Wellman snaps, "we're .king." jary takes his place in the formation men. The gates leading from the desert r o the fort swing open and two scouts ■ ng in a couple of dying deserters. 'After the desert, Zinderneuf does not jim so bad, eh?" the villainous Sergt. onlevy sneers softly. "'No, Sergeant, one of them whispers. 'Water — water." moans the other. ,Donlevy orders water and then, as the ;n crawl towards him, he throws it on h sand. "Find it in the sand," he mocks. :'s yours !" He watches them a moment, d then, "I insist you escape." The men f for mercy and cling to his trousers, e attempts to kick them off but they ; Id on with the grip of the dying. He atches a whip from one of the scouts d starts lashing them with it. Somehow e two manage to get to their feet and agger to the gate. Brian hands the whip one of the scouts. "Drive them out lere you found 'em — and keep them away om the oasis." Then he turns to the asmbled men : "Any more of you want to sert? If you do, you can go now. I won't Jp you." No one speaks. In the backound, the deserters and the scouts can ill be seen. Donlevy grins sardonically, ^ater," he says, "you may wish you had ken my offer — I promise you !" He waits moment for his words to sink in. There a dead silence. He walks to his quarters. "Cut!" calls Wellman, and turns to me. 'ou know, Dick, I don't often shoot off y mouth about the things that are close to me but, by George, sometimes I wake up in the night in a cold sweat over the magnitude of this picture. I've made big pictures before but this is the most pretentious re-make that has ever been filmed. The original 'Beau Geste' was one of the sensational successes of all time. It's no small undertaking to attempt to follow it. The budget on this picture is almost $1,750,000. That's about three times what the other one cost. Look at the investment in this camp alone. It took another six weeks to build after the plank road was completed. We hauled 50,000 lbs. of equipment out here two weeks before the company started shooting. When you stop and think that you and you, alone, will be held responsible for the returns on this investment it's enough to give you the willies. On top of all that, I'm here and Dottie (his wife) is 250 miles away, expecting a baby almost any minute. This is a hell of a business." He paused a moment. "I guess they're about ready for the next shot. Come on, this is one of the best scenes." It is the scene, near the end of the picture, where the Arabs are attacking the Fort. Donlevy, an excellent soldier despite his despotism, doesn't want the Arabs to know he is short of men. So, as a man falls, he seizes him and props him up against the parapet, with his rifle sticking through. The remaining soldiers rush from one opening to another, firing at the enemy. At the end, all are dead except Donlevy, Gary (who has been mortally wounded) and Robert Preston (Gary's youngest brother). Donlevy, thinking Gary is dead, stoops to search him for a jewel he thinks Gary has. Preston rushes at him in a frenzy. "Keep your filthy hands off my brother or I'll kill you !" he shouts. Brian pulls his pistol to shoot Preston but just then Gary, not quite dead and aware of what is happening, jerks Donlevy's leg and throws him off balance. Preston runs a bayonet through Brian and kills him. Brian Donlevy is wearing a wooden jacket to protect him from the bayonet. Thej rehearse the scene once and then shoot it. But, in the shooting, Donlevy loses his balance and instead of falling where he is supposed to fall, he falls a little to one side. Preston's bayonet actually pierces his body and goes within two inches of his heart. There is a horrified gasp from the assemblage as Donlevy sinks to the floor, blood spurting from the wound. But the cameras keep grinding. Such an air of tenseness pervades the set no one can speak. When Howard Batt nudges me and whispers, "We've got to go," I merely nod. But, before leaving, I exact a promise from Bill to have someone phone and let me know how Donlevy is. Bill keeps his word. The wound, though painful, is, fortunately, not serious, and four days later the plucky Mr. Donlevy is back at work. That's how movies are made — on location. Answer to Last Month's Puzzle [HHHK3 hob raann [saiziiia qbei hluecth amaa eisqqb ssna BBS BHBQtZlHra BOH oaraama nsna ons BHESBQ C3BHD HBSBQ HHBQ G3HSO ara aasia ntaoa hq □hbh BQBD EHanta □gush raanocis bhh nana saaoaa fflfflH hhbhshh nran guw anraaa □□BGS tsaHQE SBQ SDSHB shbe] orasa GBSB WAKE UP YOUR LIVER Bl Without Calomel— And You'll Jump Out of Bed in the Morning Rarin'to Go The liver should pour out two pounds of liquid bile into your bowels daily. If this bile is not flowing freely, your food doesn't digest. It just decays in the bowels. Gas bloats up your stomach. You get constipated. 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