With the uptick in historical topics for film, has come an increase in employment for the stunt women from the Hollywood Riding and Stunt Girls Association. Goldwyn wanted at least two dozen for work on ‘The Lady and the Cowboy,’ but they could only supply ten out of their 46 total membership, and one of them was the president of the association, Frances Miles. Frances says the producers don’t mind paying the minimum of $16.50 per day for the best in the business. [16.50 was the going rate for horse riders, many of whom had their own mounts. Frances recently married Charles Everett Sinsabaugh, AKA as Duke York, the premiere stuntman of the era].
Speculation among producers continues to settle on the concensus that the next cycle of film stories will be built around historical ones. MGM had ‘Marie Antoinette;’ Twentieth Century Fox has ‘Suez;’ Paramount has just completed ‘If I Were King’ and will have ‘Union Pacific’ from Cecil B DeMille. [see May 10]
The NY street scene set on the United Artists lot was torn down this past week. It had been built for Goldwyn’s ‘Street Scene’ in 1930, and has been used in a dozen pictures. In its place will be the set for Gary Cooper’s next feature ‘The Last Frontier.’ [See June 14]
A columnist carries an article about director Woodbridge Strong Van Dyke – then at work on ‘Sweethearts’ for MGM. He carried the nickname “One-Take Woody” – because he goes through a script like a whirlwind, completing scenes before the construction crews have time to put together the next set. (He seldom gets more than 4 hours sleep a night, anything more makes him nervous). His director’s chair was thought to be made from a leopard skin, but actually it was from the skin of a spotted Arctic seal, a souvenir from his work on ‘Eskimo’. He has been happy not to be out on location with work in the studio on ‘Marie Antoinette’ and ’Sweethearts,’ but that was soon coming to an end, for his next film was projected to be ‘Northwest Passage’ with locations up in Payette Lake, Idaho. [‘Eskimo’ was an MGM film that came out in 1934. He would have four features with them for 1939, including an Andy Hardy and a Thin Man].
OUTSIDE HOLLYWOOD
A report was carried about the second unit shooting for ‘Too Hot to Handle.’ Richard Rosson and Clyde de Vinna toiling away down in South America had sent footage back to the studio in which a stand-in for Gable ferried a stand-in for Loy in a canoe to a plane. The execs got back to them, ordering them to reshoot it, and to follow the script. Gable was supposed to wade through the water with his costar. Rosson and de Vinna replied tersely, “Sorry, but had to change the script, river full of pirahna and one native bit already.” [Besides second unit work, Richard Rosson was an actor and director of note with many credits, dating back to the silent days. Rosson’s brother Harold was the main cinematographer on the picture back at the studio. Clyde de Vinna didn’t much care for working inside studios. He much preferred working on location].
