When the movies were young (1925)

1 86 When the Movies were Young long legs kept striding merrily all over the cut harvest field — most miserable place to walk — Arthur musing as he looked on. "There goes Griffith, he'll die working." In a few moments Mr. Griffith right-about faced and with not a symptom of being out of breath said, "Set her up here, Arthur." That winter we lost our genial Arthur Marvin, but David Griffith is still hitting the stubble field. Well, he took good care of himself. He did a daily dozen, and he sparred with our ex-lightweight, Spike Robinson. The bellboys at the Alexandria Hotel called him "the polar bear" because he bought a bucket of cracked ice every morning to make the Los Angeles morning bath more tonic-y. One could not have better equipment for the trying experiences of movie work than patience, and a sense of humor. And the "polar bear" is well equipped with both. But there were times when even a sense of humor failed to sustain one. Nothing was funny about the uncertain mornings when we'd gather at the 125th Street ferry for the 8:45 boat, having watched weather since daylight through our bedroom window, only to cross and recross the Hudson on the same boat, the cumulus clouds we delighted in for photographic softness having turned to rain clouds even as we watched from the ferry slip. Back to the studio then to begin another picture and to work late. And oh, how we'd grouch! But when it rained while we were registered at some expensive place like the Kittatiny at the Delaware Water Gap, there was need for anxiety, with the actors' board bill mounting daily and nothing being accomplished. Yes, we had worries. But we were getting encouragement too. The splendid reviews of our pictures in The