When the movies were young (1925)

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Somewhat Digressive 235 Gaston reported beautifully arrayed in a new spring suit purchased especially for his stock opening. Suavely spoke the director, "Now, Gaston, we have saved this scene for the finish — we must take you out somewhere and run you over." "Take-me-out-and-run-me-over? — in my beautiful new suit? Oh, no, you can't." But no one heeded Gaston's distress. Everybody piled in the automobile — after a couple of turns it landed on a quiet street. "All out." The car emptied — camera was soon set up and Mr. Bell shown the place where he was to be run over. These were amateur days in fake auto killings and injuries, but they did the "running over" to the director's satisfaction and Gaston's, as he escaped with no damage to his clothes or himself. But Gaston had reckoned without a thought of static. How many hours of anguish "static" caused us — static, those jiggly white lines that sometimes danced and sometimes rained all over the film. Early next morning his 'phone rang — Mr. Miles on the wire. "Awfully sorry, Gaston, but we'll have to take you out and run you over again because there was static." So they did it again, and again was Gaston dismissed as finished. It came close on to train time : another 'phone — ye gods, static again ! He'd be bumped from juvenility to old age in this one runningover scene, first thing he knew, and hobble onto the stage with cane and crutch, which would never do for his precious little Englishman in "Caught in the Rain." Well, they ran him over again. This was Saturday. The following Sunday the company was to leave for Washington. Thinking to cinch things, Mr. Miles offered, should