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438 Casting
afternoon"; "policeman, big Irishman, good-natured and able to get a laugh " : " toothless hag to shake fist at car " ; "a couple of Italian and Jewish vendor types " ; " ambiilance doctor, young student type, keen, scientific, good actor, and able to speak lines."
Except for the fifty " walk-throughs," who will simply pass back and forth through the background and who must be well mixed in age and type, the casting director must suggest, from memory, at least two people (in case one is working at another studio) for each of the other parts. And, in addition to giving a short physical description of each one, he is expected to name two or more pictures in which this actor has. appeared, so that the assistant-director can refresh his memory.
In other words, the casting director is supposed to present his wares in such a manner that the assistant can approve or veto each one in the course of that one telephone conversation !
And many times, of course, the requests are far more dillEicult than that. Quite apart from the " freak " calls for snake-charmers, human skeletons, bearded ladies, men who can imitate a co5-ote, yodellers, " man with experience as hind legs of imitation lion," and so on, there are everyday requests for particularly mixed groups for ballroom scenes, where each one of the actors or actresses will have to speak a line or do a bit of " business " ; or a typical group of soldiers, who can drill and know the manual of arms ; or aviators, horsemen, chauffeurs, barbers, swimmers, and the like.
Calls that are by no means in the " freak " class, but everyday occurrences, include such unexpected requests as : "A pretty blonde with a high baby voice who can get a laugh " ; "a cross-eyed woman, must be six feet tall " ; "an ex-convict, who knows how to sing " ; "a tall brunette, good at polo " ; " big, mild-mannered man with a squeaky voice " ; " female impersonator, experienced at parachute jumping " — • and so on, through an endless list, each one of which seems almost impossible at first glance.
Yet — except for the instant placing of the individual in the memory — it is really not quite as difficult as it might appear. For it veritably seems that every condition and class of person has come to Hollywood with the fond dream of making a success in pictures. Nor is it only the beautiful who are hopeful. The moral that can be read from the success of such players as Polly Moran and the late Louis Wolheim has not been wasted. There is, therefore, a tremendous reservoir of assorted humanity from which the casting director can choose almost any conceivable type he wants.
He is the liaison between the outside world of aspirants and the inside world of studio requirements. As such, he is often looked upon as a miracleworker. If only one can " get on the good side of him," as the saying is, is he not in a position to clear one's road to stardom and electric hghts ?
He is not !
And therein lies the greatest hardship of his work. He is in the position of a famine-relief worker who has food for thousands where millions are in want. But for drastic restrictions brought about by the studios themselves, there would be in Hollywood something between half a million