When the movies were young (1925)

54 When the Movies were Young the window, apparently seeing nothing — then the barely audible remark, "I think I'll 'phone and say I cannot come." On such days he dragged heavy, leaden feet to n East Fourteenth Street. And there was an evening when, returning home after a drab day at the studio, and finding his modest menage festive with ferns and wild flowers, he became so annoyed that with one swoop he gathered up nature and roughly jammed her into the waste paper basket. A visiting relative who'd helped gather the flowers worried so over the strange procedure that I had to explain — "It's those pictures; you know they're just the fringe of acting." The emotions that would sweep over us at times ! How our pride was hurt ! How lacking in delicacy people could be ! With what a patronizing air the successful and prosperous actor-friend would burst into the studio! Mr. Griffith would say, "Well, how about it? If you're hanging around this summer, how would you like to work with me a bit?" Polite and evasive the reply, "Well, you see, I'm awfully busy just now, have several offers and — well — when I'm signed up I'll drop around again." But we, in the know, understood that all the King's horses and all the King's men could not induce such to join our little band of movie actors. We were always conscious of the fact that we were in this messy business because everything else had failed — because nobody had seemed to want us, and we just hadn't been able to hang on any longer. But David buckled to the job like a true sport. It was his job and he would dignify it. The leaden mornings came to be quite the exception to the rule. Many days were greeted with bright and merry song. And so, firm and unshakeable in our determination to do the most with what