Talking pictures : how they are made and how to appreciate them (1937)

Talking Pictures that he performs a prodigious amount of constructive labor in a day with great efficiency. Normally a grip is very graceful in his physical movements. He has to be. A grip needs physical size, it is true, but an awkward, large man could be a veritable bull in a china shop, overturning rare vases, scratching priceless antiques, and in general being more troublesome than valuable. Just out of sight of the set, a man is busy scrambling eggs on a gas plate. He is a property man giving a final touch to food which will be immediately required on the scene. Another property man is placing a vase of roses on a table. The roses are too long, so he goes to his "prop box," a portable case about six feet high which moves on rollers. He takes out a pair of scissors and clips the stems of the roses. But scissors are only one item in this "Pandora's Box." In it are the immediate "hand props" which may be needed in the current scene: the mortgage on the old family place, a Bible, a fountain pen, calling cards (printed in advance with the character's cast name), and a host of other articles. It also has a large standard inventory. This inventory is planned to reduce delays which might be caused by unexpected emergencies. How this box can be a protection against emergencies is obvious when one reads the list of the contents. It includes pens, pencils, paper, aspirin, pins, bandages, cigars, cigarettes, hammers, nails, tacks, mucilage, paste, eyewash, mouth wash, chemical "blood," fuller's earth (for the dramatic soiling of clothes), picture hangers, absorbent cotton, stamps, furniture polish, silver polish, [ 17° ]