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picture production, as Leonard envisaged him. Like Ince and Sennett and other top directors, he chose the story, worked on the writing, and supervised editing.
He found Mae provocative and exciting. From the moment he met her he felt as Griffith had felt with Pickford and Gish. He had something tangible to work with, a star. He took her with him to see the daily rushes. He took her to dinner. They sat for hours over a red-checked tablecloth at a little inn in the mountains talking of the girl they'd just scrutinized on the screen. He was as enchanted as she was with the shadow creature who emerged on film with her soulful, childlike eyes and wistful charm.
On the set all was cordiality and calm. Bob directed in a soft, steady voice. He sat in his cross-legged chair, close to his players, as if they were all on a stage chatting. He put his cast completely at ease and treated Mae — yes, there was no question about it, he treated her with adoration. The director's attitude set the tone for everyone on the set. Oh, it was simple now that she understood it. She had been forced on Melford and Young and O'Brien. They'd wanted a star and instead had been given an unknown dancer; but Bob Leonard wanted her, he'd been hired for her.
They shot the flogging scene. Theodore Roberts raised his whip, there was a close-up of her cowering, an action shot of the whip, then a close-up of her, clothes torn, the tears welling. She hovered near the director's chair.
"Would I be stepping on your toes," she asked, "if I asked you to shoot this scene again and don't cut until I say so ?"
When they saw it in the projection room Bob Leonard said, "That's how a close-up should be developed, how Griffith does it. We're good partners, Mae." He never told her not to emote in the long shots. He knew she was a dancer, and movement was essential in expressing her emotions.
Outdoor sequences were shot at Lake Tahoe; they stayed at the hotel and rode horseback to their location. The first day, she rode out in the plowgirl's loose trousers and an old checked
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