another picture.
By JOSEPH
W. LaBINE
. not the “piker” way like
do it.
the super something-or-
mind of Darryl F. Zanuck,
chief. Today about 60 acres of
20th Century-Fox’ production
1871 Chicago stand in faithful
City Hall and scores of other build- ¢
ings have been authentically brought |
back to life. An old timer walking
down those streets might be tempt-
ed to hum a chorus of ‘‘Shoo, Fly,
Don't Bother Me' or some other
catchy tune of yesterday.
“In Qld Chicago,” a story
maxed by the lamp-kicking act of |
Mrs. O'Leary's cow, cost $1,500,000. |
But it wasn't extravagance, even |
though Mr. Zanuck did build a |
1,865,000 gallon artificial lake to |
simulate Lake Michigan. Nor was
it extravagance to use 1,100 extras
in one scene. Sure, it cost a lot
of money, but Hollywood producers
are skinflint as a building contractor
when it comes to planning the cost
of a production.
Research—the First Step.
How is it done? Well, let's get
started with “In Old Chicago.”
When Darryl Zanuck decided to |
produce this film he immediately |
set the research department at work
collecting data on the 1854-1871 pe-
riod in Chicago which the picture
was scheduled to cover. He decided
that the great holocaust which laid
waste 18,000 buildings at a loss of
$196,000,000 should be reproduced
only as a concluding sequence. The
picture would really relate an im-
portant epoch in the building of
America's second city. An impov-
erished American family of the
frontier type would be chosen,
around whom the epic of growth,
destruction and rebuilding could be
constructed.
The O'Learys were chosen be-
cause Mrs. O'Leary’s cow with the
high-kicking rear legs is supposed
to have started this greatest of con-
flagrations.
It took the research department
one year to gather data covering
manners, costumes and buildings of
the 1854-1871 era. Then Niven
Busch set to work with his original
screen story, ‘“We the O'Learys.”
This was turned over to Lamar Trot-
ti and Sonya Levien, crack script
team.
Costumes, Properties, Masie.
The research department fur-
nished information for the style di-
rector, Royer, who designed cos-
tumes for the principals. Art Di-
rector William Darling supervised
construction of scts and properties
from old building prints and maps
furnished by the researchers.
Since modern films need music,
Lew Pollack and Sidney D. Mitchell
wrote “I'll Never Let You Cry,”
“I've Taken a Fancy to You,” and
“Take a Dip in the Sea.” Mack
Cordon added “In Old Chicago” as
a fourth tune. Among old-time
numbers studied by these crack
iths were “Aunt Rhody,”
“Come Home Father,” “The Dark
Girl Dressed in Blue,” “We Never
Speak as We Pass By” and “The
Captivating Due.” Remember any
of them?
Actually, two cities were built for
the production. First came the Chi-
cago of 1854, a sprawling cosmopolis
of dirt streets, inhabited by set-
cli- |
tlers, frontiersmen, ruffians, sharp
traders and all the other sturdy and
warped souls who drifted through
of “In Old Chicago.”
Through its morassed streets rum-
the covered wagons bearing
Alice Brady, the newly widowed
“Molly O'Leary,” and her three
brave youngsters,
Sets Are Rebuilt,
When the prologue
filmed the 1854 sets were rebuilt to
match 1871 Chicago.
were paved,
cars were laid.
tough section of old Chicago occupy-
Barbara McLean, one of the few
top film editors of the industry,
scans some of the several hundred
thousand feet of film shot for the
new spectacle. Actually, only part
of this immense footage is used.
the studio’s north lot, was also re-
built to conform with the changes
of 18 years in Chicago's growth.
Costumes presented a problem.
Every costume company in the Los
Angeles area had to help clothe the
1,100 extras used in one scene, When
confronted with the necessity of
housing these costumes, the studio
erected a four-pole circus tent next
to the women’s wardrobe. Another
tent, almost as large, was used to
house the 500 policemen’s, firemen’s
and soldiers’ uniforms. Then came
two more tents for dressing rooms.
| a real lake front, Zanuck snapped
his fingers and ordered an arti-
ficial lake built right on the lot!
This wasn't extravagance, because
| it was cheaper than transporting
hundreds of extras, properties, crew
and equipment to a loc
miles away.
Filming the Holocaust.
To film the lakeside scenes—most-
ly pictures of the fire—the studio
built the highest parallels ever con-
| structed for a film, towers 165 feet
tall. The complete picture of deso-
lation and horror could be seen
from cameras at such an advan
tageous angle. A dolly, 20 by 30
feet, was built to run along tracks
laid in the lakebed, holding three
more cameras.
Altogether, seven outdoor sets
| were made for the picture In-
terior settings are scattered through
five sound stages at Twentieth Cen-
tury-Fox. One, illustrating the in-
terior of Chicago's old Nineteenth
Regimental armory, used as the
scene of a free-for-all election
fills
ation many
Fifteen fire engines of 1871 vin-
picture after a search that covered
most of the nation. Furniture was
obtained from second hand shops
| and antique dealers, much of it
| coming from an old house recently
wrecked in Los Angeles. But a num-
| ber of pieces had to be built to
| riod.
Although “In Old Chicago” de-
tails the romance of Tyrone Power
the great Chicago fire. Everyone
wants to know “how it was done”
and “how much it cost.”
It’s An Expensive Job.
000 was appropriated for “special
effects’’—and this mostly means the
fire,
real Chicago conflagration spread
ter square miles,
proximately a third of the city’s
ing those who would reproduce it.
No chances were taken during the
filming of the fire sequence.
equipment from the Los Angeles
fire department was also on the
spot.
Yes, there was also “Daisy
O'Leary,” the famous Jersey cow.
“Daisy’’ was discovered on a farm
near Stockton, Calif. With her three
sisters as ‘‘standins,” the bovine
Thespian was moved to Hollywood
and taught the proper technique of
kicking over a lamp.
But the important part of this and
most other Hollywood productions
is that behind-the-scenes workmen
seldom get the credit they deserve.
The stars glitter before the cam-
eras, but their glittering would be
in vain without the prods
amount of research, construction
and planning which lies behind ev-
ery film. Costumes, scenery, sound,
photography, makeup, research and
are but a few of the
fields in which Hollywood workers
occupy themselves.
Think that over when you take in
HEADLINES FROM THE LIVES
OF PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELF!
“When Two Spies Meet”
By FLOYD GIBBONS
Famous Headline Hunter
| ELLO EVERYBODY:
You know, boys and girls, when you stop to think of it,
venture,
great adventure of marriage and fatherhood, Leo says, the greatest
Let's go back over the years with Leo. The World war was on and
was playing soldier with little John Ferara and other Italian-
American youngsters of the neighborhood. These boys’ forefathers were
of a race that once conquered the world, and playing soldier came nat-
ural to them. When it was suggested that Leo play the part of a Ger-
man spy and hide, he agreed.
The shades of night had just fallen and it would soon be time for the
boys to go home, but there was time for one last game. Leo, as the spy,
slipped away to hide, He knew a swell hiding place behind the black-
smith shop, which backs on the right of way of the Pennsylvania rail-
There were lots of wagons standing in the yard, between the rail-
road embankment and the building, and Leo slipped in between them like
a real German spy and lay, quiet as a mouse, on the ground.
Play Spy Met Up With a Real One.
Leo could picture the other boys looking for him—everywhere
but here. The spot was the sort of place that people would avoid—
unless, of course, they were determined German spies like Leo.
Out in the street traffic went by now and then and once a train
roared by on the tracks over his head, but otherwise the spot
was as quiet as the grave.
Suddenly, however, Leo became aware that he was not the only per-
son hiding out that night. The tall figure of a man rose quietly—only
about ten feet away from him-—and furtively arranged some sort of
He Handled the Box Very Carefully.
box he carried in his hands. he actions of the man frightened Leo.
“Perhaps he is really a German spy,” Leo thought, Frightened but de-
termined, the boy lay still and watched. He could not see the features of
the man, but he could see his outline and hear him tinkering with the box.
Once-—{rightened apparently by someone passing in the street—the
He hid himself so well that
even Leo could not see him. Leo was glad of that because it meant
that the man in turn could not see him.
There Was a Ticking in the Box.
Minutes went by during which Leo shivered with excitement.
Here he was out playing that he was a spy and suddenly the tables
were turned and a real spy was before him. He hoped the other
boys wouldn't come hunting for him here and spoil it all. Leo
wasn't very old to be a detective, but he knew from the man's
actions that he was doing something he shouldn't be doing and
Leo wanted a chance to get the police. What a feather in his cap
if the man did turn out to be a spy!
As he was thinking these thoughts and listening to his own heart
thump, the man’s tall figure rose suddenly again right beside him! He
was closer, if anything, and Leo was scared stiff that he would be dis-
covered. The boy got ready to make a break for it at the slightest sign
of suspicion.
But the man—whoever he was—seemed unaware of Leo's presence.
He was intent on the box before him. He handled that box very care-
fully, Leo noticed, and once when a passing car threw a light in the yard,
Leo saw a tense, cruel face under a mop of gray hair. He hugged the
ground and waited.
Finally Leo, listening, heard a strange sound from the box. It sound-
ed like a clock ticking. The man seemed satisfied with the sound and
moved with the box in the direction of the railroad embankment. Leo
saw him bend over and place it under a culvert beneath the tracks.
And just then the other boys nearly spoiled the whole game.
They started calling for Leo to give himself up. Well sir, Leo
says he'd seen enough anyway and was pretty glad of a chance
to sneak away, if he could do it without being seen. He crawled
along on his stomach and then made a run for it.
The other boys were scared when they saw Leo's pale face, but when
tions for a policeman. A policeman was found and he brought with him
two other men who didn’t laugh when Leo told them his story.
went on the other.
spy chasing game.
Yes, It Was a Big Time Bomb.
The policeman went along noisily flashing his light to the spot where
Leo had seen the man. Some of the boys thought Leo had just been
“seeing things” and started to laugh, but the next minute the laughs
He didn’t get far though, Leo says, before he had run right into the
Leo says he didn't look like a spy at all when they had him in the
light. But a good spy never does look like one.
The man never said a word, Leo says, while the policeman called the
Leo even began to feel sorry for him and to think he
had made a mistake, but in a few minutes he knew differently.
He led the policeman back to where he had seen the man place the
box. They picked the box up gingerly. And what do you suppose it was?
A time bomb! With enough explosives in it to blow up the
entire neighborhood! The clock was set for midnight when a train
would be passing and, according to experts, the explosion would
also have killed Leo and his whole family who lived a few doors
away!
And that, boys and girls, is the story of how Leo caught the German
spy. Luck? Perhaps. But luck and adventure are companions.
Copyright. WNU Service.
What Wax Is Made Of
Mineral wax or paraffin is made
from petroleum. Some waxes, such
as beeswax and spermaceti, are ob-
tained from the bee and the sperm
whale, respectively. In China there
are wax insects which deposit a
white wax on the ash tree This is
gathered and refined for candles.
Carnauba wax is obtained from the
Brazil palm. Other vegetable waxes
include those obtained from the bay-
berry, sugar cane and a certain
species of sumac.
Description of Humming Bird
The earliest account of the hum-
Sure to Delight
Add an old-fashioned bouquet of
dainty roses, cornflowers, daisies,
fern, and forget-me-ots to your
bedspread and preserve the glory
of Summertime throughout the
year! A lace frill-actual lace,
gathered a bit—trims your color-
Pattern 5906,
ful bouquet. Easy to do, the charm-
brief
on a bit of simple
Begin it right
n pattern 5806 you wil
find a transfer pattern of one mc
16% by 21%
by 8% inch
inches; a
requiren
- used
To otain this pattern
cents in stamps
preferred) to The Sewing Circle
Household Arts !
as
Street, New York, N. Y.
time spent
embroidery. on
inches;
en
or coins (coins
T » “Hr 1 144%
Dept., 259 § 193i
HOUSEHOLD /~
| QUESTIONS | A 4
Egg Celery Sandwich, — Chop
hard-cooked eggs up fine and sea-
son them with salt and pepper.
Add half h finely ct
celery and en aise to
3 } v pds gy Gav nread
make the mixture easy to spread.
Aw
/%
ae 1 nnned
as mu wpped
ugh mavonr
Saving Leather Chair, — The
comfortable old leather chair that
was sent to the attic years ago
because the had finally
become shabby can be made us-
able again if the worn part is con-
cealed by a slipcover. If it is
covered in nice, dark blue the
chair may be used
summer.
leather
* *
Save Chicken Fat.—Chicken fa
may be used as a butter subst
tute in cooking. Consequently, i
is a good plan to save the fa
rom boiled, stewed or fried
chicken.
» * .
Washing Window Shades. —
Soiled window shades may be
washed by spreading each shade
on a flat surface and then rub-
Polishing Furniture.—That fog-
be removed by
solution of one quart clear water
wiping dry with another cloth and
PIMPLES
New Remedy Uses Magnesia to Clear
Skin. Firms and Smooths Complexion
~Makes Skin Look Years Younger.
Get rid of A skin with this
bot pn srden. ugly JAmply da . Denton's
Facial Magnesia works miracles in
SPECIAL OFFER
- for a few weeks only
Here is chance to try out Denton's
Facial ataliberalsa . We
will send you a full 6 oz. bottle of Dene
ton's, plus a regular size box of famous
Milnesia Walers (he Soiginal Milk of
Magassia tadishs).... both only 60ci
in on this remarkable offer. Sead
60c in cash or stamps today.
DENTON’S
Facial Magnesia
ne.
BE Nath® eoucuewr aR Reena.
Street Address —————————