Star-dust in Hollywood (1930)

Star-dust in Hollywood satellites, moons revolving round their planetary superiors, sure of employment as long as that star should continue to shine, yet aware that all chance of catching the director's eye had for ever been repudiated. Behind these were the assistant directors, the script-girls, the musicians, the cutters, the electricians, and the sceneshifters. Of all these the assistant directors and the scriptgirls belonged also to the Band of Hope. Assistant directors may become directors. Yet, as we have indicated, what a step ! From pushing crowds about, from regulating the minor details of the scenes, from watching with unrelaxed vigilance for that devastating chewing-gum he must suddenly rise to a creative task. And the penalty of failure is the headlong crash to ruin and starvation. The script-clerk is continuity or cutter in the bud. But it is a time of laborious budding. The script-clerk's work is never-ending. All day she sits there poring over her big book, controlling the scene, writing down every action, noting every variable detail. For if a scene has to be rephotographed the script-clerk must match it exactly with its predecessor. And at night after a hard day's work on the sets she must sit down and transcribe on her typewriter the whole of the day's doings. Now and again, if the director feels playfully inclined, she may have to sit on his knee and soothe the awakening libido with a nonchalant acceptance of his caresses. Nor can the importance of the orchestra be overlooked — the dramatic violinist, the spider-like 'cellist, and the organist, with his instantly packable fifty-seven-pound organ like a big suit-case. These are the men who have the task of turning on passion's tap, hot or cold as necessity demands. If there is a fight the music shrills faster and faster, exciting the [246]