WEBVTT 1 00:00:05.900 --> 00:00:10.540 Would you tell us about now the films that you were making, because we lost some of that. 2 00:00:11.140 --> 00:00:15.820 The films that you were making, Kelly and so on, it was a documentary. 3 00:00:16.060 --> 00:00:17.860 You were making them for whom now? 4 00:00:19.080 --> 00:00:26.520 There were political, not political, but organization of Czechoslovaks in Chicago that gave all 5 00:00:26.520 --> 00:00:34.380 kinds of entertainment and tried to raise money for a new republic. 6 00:00:35.720 --> 00:00:37.800 That was the purpose of all of this. 7 00:00:38.020 --> 00:00:41.240 And also to have a record of what was going on. 8 00:00:44.040 --> 00:00:50.460 So I picked up, I got some actresses. 9 00:00:50.460 --> 00:00:54.020 See I belong to a theatrical organization. 10 00:00:54.020 --> 00:00:58.900 I was wondering, because you directed that film so beautifully, that you had had some 11 00:00:58.900 --> 00:01:00.940 dramatic training, a good deal of dramatic training. 12 00:01:01.040 --> 00:01:01.380 Had you not? 13 00:01:01.400 --> 00:01:04.780 Had you been in the theater at all or done any theatrical work here? 14 00:01:04.920 --> 00:01:05.900 Yes, I did. 15 00:01:06.080 --> 00:01:08.100 Tell me about that, because that's really very important. 16 00:01:09.620 --> 00:01:11.960 I really don't know what to say about it. 17 00:01:11.960 --> 00:01:13.960 Maybe later on I'll tell you about it. 18 00:01:14.060 --> 00:01:22.020 Anyhow, what we did is we took a good looking girl from our theatrical organization and 19 00:01:22.020 --> 00:01:24.100 photographed her with Colonel so and so. 20 00:01:24.760 --> 00:01:28.840 You know we tried to get a little life into that, a little action, otherwise she just 21 00:01:28.840 --> 00:01:31.100 can't stand there and stare in the camera. 22 00:01:31.860 --> 00:01:33.900 So that's the way we were doing things. 23 00:01:35.100 --> 00:01:37.240 So that was with my documentary. 24 00:01:40.460 --> 00:01:51.360 Well I went to Czechoslovakia to make a long film, which I was hesitating because I never 25 00:01:51.360 --> 00:01:53.020 made a long film before. 26 00:01:54.140 --> 00:01:56.280 And I talked to my brother about that. 27 00:01:56.440 --> 00:01:58.840 They're asking me to make Janosik. 28 00:01:59.580 --> 00:02:02.880 I never made a long film and he said, don't worry about that. 29 00:02:02.880 --> 00:02:05.520 Long film is easier to make than a short film. 30 00:02:06.760 --> 00:02:12.460 And I said, well, in the same area somebody got to write a scenario. 31 00:02:12.740 --> 00:02:14.260 That depends on scenario. 32 00:02:14.380 --> 00:02:19.340 A whole lot, just like a blueprint in your shop depends on a good blueprint and you produce 33 00:02:19.340 --> 00:02:20.020 a good machine. 34 00:02:20.020 --> 00:02:21.840 He said, well, that's very important. 35 00:02:22.580 --> 00:02:23.900 Now where had you learned that? 36 00:02:23.960 --> 00:02:26.500 Had you learned that at Selig that a script was a good blueprint? 37 00:02:27.280 --> 00:02:28.560 Oh yes, sure. 38 00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:30.060 Sure, sure. 39 00:02:30.680 --> 00:02:35.500 Many times some of those fellows were criticizing, it's written that way, you know. 40 00:02:37.400 --> 00:02:42.360 It's awfully, I can't even explain to you just what was going on in there. 41 00:02:42.940 --> 00:02:46.780 But then said, if it's well written, it's easy to do. 42 00:02:46.780 --> 00:02:50.620 If it's long, it'll be easy to shorten it or to lengthen it. 43 00:02:50.620 --> 00:02:56.900 And it helped a lot to feel that way because the hesitation which I had in the beginning, 44 00:02:56.900 --> 00:02:58.600 I kind of lost. 45 00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:02.900 But then we had help there too. 46 00:03:03.100 --> 00:03:08.480 We had a leading man that had a theatrical experience and motion picture experience. 47 00:03:09.380 --> 00:03:12.960 So very often I would turn to him with suggestion. 48 00:03:13.740 --> 00:03:15.200 Now he was from what theater? 49 00:03:15.200 --> 00:03:16.700 He was from Prague. 50 00:03:17.600 --> 00:03:20.060 His father owned a theater in Prague. 51 00:03:20.580 --> 00:03:24.500 He was one of those matinee idols. 52 00:03:25.480 --> 00:03:26.920 Had he been in films before? 53 00:03:27.020 --> 00:03:27.920 Yes he had. 54 00:03:28.920 --> 00:03:35.160 He was on contract with a motion picture company in Prague and we went to the company and asked 55 00:03:35.160 --> 00:03:42.420 them would they loan us PISTECH and they said yes, we'll pay them so and so many dollars 56 00:03:42.420 --> 00:03:43.720 and they release him. 57 00:03:43.720 --> 00:03:50.260 Tell me, was he then, since this was the first feature, he had been only in one reelers or 58 00:03:50.260 --> 00:03:51.580 rather short films, correct? 59 00:03:51.660 --> 00:03:56.900 He was in longer stories but what kind of stories, I don't know. 60 00:03:57.100 --> 00:04:02.220 All I know is that he mentioned going to Berlin or going to Vienna. 61 00:04:02.400 --> 00:04:05.140 In Slovakia they had not come up with a feature. 62 00:04:05.240 --> 00:04:11.220 In Slovakia there was no such a thing but in Bohemia, which is in Prague, they already 63 00:04:11.220 --> 00:04:19.720 had an old brewery turned into a motion picture studio and motion picture lab. 64 00:04:20.580 --> 00:04:23.180 That was one of the saddest things. 65 00:04:24.460 --> 00:04:26.840 My brother came with all the equipment. 66 00:04:27.080 --> 00:04:30.600 We carried our own cameras, our own film, everything. 67 00:04:31.500 --> 00:04:37.200 We went to Europe with everything that we needed for film and we were introduced to 68 00:04:37.200 --> 00:04:44.640 AB film company and my brother went down there and he looked at that basement in that old 69 00:04:44.640 --> 00:04:48.780 brewery and that's where they were developing and printing films. 70 00:04:49.280 --> 00:04:53.920 That's where they were doing all that work, how different it was, how crude it was in 71 00:04:53.920 --> 00:04:56.320 comparison to what we had here in Chicago. 72 00:04:58.460 --> 00:05:01.740 But we managed to produce a film. 73 00:05:03.080 --> 00:05:05.660 I managed to put the two negatives together. 74 00:05:05.660 --> 00:05:09.400 We actually had two cameras too, grinding continues. 75 00:05:09.720 --> 00:05:10.920 Which ones were they now? 76 00:05:11.080 --> 00:05:12.840 Were they Sea Lake Standard cameras? 77 00:05:13.160 --> 00:05:14.920 Yes, Sea Lake Standard and Pathé. 78 00:05:15.600 --> 00:05:17.760 Pathé was left in Europe. 79 00:05:18.860 --> 00:05:20.880 Was it a Pathé portable or a Pathé studio? 80 00:05:21.100 --> 00:05:22.120 Pathé studio. 81 00:05:22.560 --> 00:05:25.020 It was used throughout the... 82 00:05:25.020 --> 00:05:26.580 You were there in the summertime. 83 00:05:27.980 --> 00:05:33.380 Because the Pathé cameras were subjected to... 84 00:05:33.380 --> 00:05:34.940 Yeah, they were made out of wood. 85 00:05:35.760 --> 00:05:36.280 Static... 86 00:05:36.280 --> 00:05:41.820 Well, that's something that Dan has been able to overcome at Silly. 87 00:05:42.160 --> 00:05:49.960 Someday I'm going to show you that little thing because that was a small invention, 88 00:05:50.080 --> 00:05:51.400 not an invention, a small... 89 00:05:51.400 --> 00:05:52.860 Do you know what year that would have been? 90 00:05:53.500 --> 00:05:55.200 Because would it have been before 1920? 91 00:05:56.060 --> 00:05:57.220 Oh yes, yes. 92 00:05:57.260 --> 00:05:58.760 Maybe four years before 1920? 93 00:05:58.860 --> 00:06:00.060 Oh yes, at least that. 94 00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:03.720 Well then it was one of the first anti-static devices and what was that then? 95 00:06:03.720 --> 00:06:05.400 What was the anti-static device? 96 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:12.820 The little plate or little unit that was pressing on negative or other positive. 97 00:06:13.780 --> 00:06:17.240 And the reason why they had to have a pressure block... 98 00:06:17.960 --> 00:06:21.460 Today we have an ice and flat film, you know, this... 99 00:06:21.460 --> 00:06:21.960 Doesn't curl up. 100 00:06:22.080 --> 00:06:22.800 Doesn't curl up. 101 00:06:22.840 --> 00:06:27.520 Those days it had to be kept together. 102 00:06:28.100 --> 00:06:33.600 And it had to have a pressure block and no one seemed to think of anything else but a glass 103 00:06:34.480 --> 00:06:38.060 ruby glass so you could look through, you know, and so on. 104 00:06:38.200 --> 00:06:46.980 Everybody used that until later on Bell and Howell came along with automatic changing of lights. 105 00:06:47.980 --> 00:06:56.280 First of all, you'll have to realize that the shoestack printers or rather 106 00:06:56.280 --> 00:07:02.480 shoestack silic printers were all cinematograph women, were all alike, just like projectors. 107 00:07:02.480 --> 00:07:06.920 And that's the kind of unit then brought to Europe with him too and we left it there. 108 00:07:07.500 --> 00:07:09.200 How many feet of film could they produce? 109 00:07:09.760 --> 00:07:10.620 I really don't know. 110 00:07:12.100 --> 00:07:13.460 In other words, in what lengths? 111 00:07:13.920 --> 00:07:15.740 Well, they were always 400 feet. 112 00:07:17.220 --> 00:07:20.580 They could develop continuously 400 feet? 113 00:07:21.580 --> 00:07:27.440 The printers would take up to 400 feet and the tanks would take up to 400 feet. 114 00:07:27.800 --> 00:07:30.240 That stayed as a standard even through Rothecker. 115 00:07:33.060 --> 00:07:38.240 Rothecker never had an automatic processing machine like S&A did. 116 00:07:38.800 --> 00:07:40.960 Yes, because S&A could print a thousand foot lengths. 117 00:07:41.380 --> 00:07:46.800 Yeah, well yes they could and they also processed our 28 millimeter film at S&A. 118 00:07:47.060 --> 00:07:51.820 That's how I happened to see their film there, the stereoscopic thing, 119 00:07:52.860 --> 00:07:57.360 which I didn't know anything about at that time what they were doing. 120 00:07:57.460 --> 00:07:59.720 That was sort of a hush hush anyhow. 121 00:07:59.720 --> 00:08:03.640 Well, it was also an incorrect theory because it didn't work. 122 00:08:05.760 --> 00:08:07.080 And that was... 123 00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:11.980 I really don't know. 124 00:08:12.020 --> 00:08:14.520 I remember that it had a double image. 125 00:08:15.020 --> 00:08:20.120 Well, it would alternate the image from parallax, one point of view to the other. 126 00:08:21.680 --> 00:08:23.940 It didn't work at all. 127 00:08:23.940 --> 00:08:28.060 All right. 128 00:08:28.500 --> 00:08:35.340 Now, did anyone in that material that you have, Hanselic, mentioned Schustek 129 00:08:35.340 --> 00:08:39.440 any other way than that he worked for him or...? 130 00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:40.580 No, just that he was... 131 00:08:42.220 --> 00:08:47.940 They had to depend upon him because he was their local resident genius really. 132 00:08:47.940 --> 00:08:48.300 Right. 133 00:08:49.260 --> 00:08:53.640 And you worked then at Rotheker and so on. 134 00:08:53.840 --> 00:08:56.220 And then what did you do then after the... 135 00:08:57.280 --> 00:09:00.740 Well, we were talking about the European... 136 00:09:00.740 --> 00:09:02.540 Your shoot in Slovakia. 137 00:09:02.800 --> 00:09:06.060 Well, while at Rotheker Film Company, I also worked... 138 00:09:08.320 --> 00:09:15.280 See, there wasn't so much of this short stuff sold then. 139 00:09:15.920 --> 00:09:21.580 I worked on a longer commercials with Rotheker, with other cameramen, other directors. 140 00:09:22.380 --> 00:09:30.460 And then also tests were being made on a new animation of Lost World. 141 00:09:30.720 --> 00:09:33.900 A fellow by the name of O'Brien was at Rotheker. 142 00:09:34.220 --> 00:09:37.240 Rotheker had some kind of an understanding with First Nation 143 00:09:37.240 --> 00:09:40.220 that they're going to try to produce a Lost World. 144 00:09:41.020 --> 00:09:48.220 So Dan was taken into this, and Dan was the one that had to design 145 00:09:49.320 --> 00:09:53.260 skeletons for all these animals, and then build them. 146 00:09:53.860 --> 00:10:01.080 And together with O'Brien worked out a system of animals being able to open jaw 147 00:10:01.080 --> 00:10:04.320 and even spit out blood and things like that. 148 00:10:04.380 --> 00:10:06.400 All of those things, they worked out together. 149 00:10:06.960 --> 00:10:13.600 My part again was to make some tests of animation, animating these, moving these. 150 00:10:13.760 --> 00:10:20.600 Because later on they were working with living actors. 151 00:10:21.720 --> 00:10:24.000 They were matted in? How were they worked in? 152 00:10:24.040 --> 00:10:27.100 Were they miniatures that were matted in, or how was that done? 153 00:10:27.240 --> 00:10:31.900 The miniatures were this long and depending on the kind of... 154 00:10:31.900 --> 00:10:34.620 But the rest of it was done in Hollywood. 155 00:10:34.620 --> 00:10:36.880 Done with optical printers then? 156 00:10:37.040 --> 00:10:39.620 Was it not? Were optical printers used or matted process? 157 00:10:39.680 --> 00:10:40.640 I don't believe. 158 00:10:41.280 --> 00:10:45.320 So it may have been done by masking part of the... 159 00:10:45.320 --> 00:10:46.000 Matt, yeah. 160 00:10:46.020 --> 00:10:46.680 Matt, yeah. 161 00:10:46.720 --> 00:10:47.220 Right. 162 00:10:47.400 --> 00:10:47.980 In printing. 163 00:10:48.280 --> 00:10:50.020 I really don't know how it was done. 164 00:10:50.140 --> 00:10:53.780 All I know about that part is that I made tests there. 165 00:10:53.800 --> 00:10:56.380 That's where I got my little experience in animation. 166 00:10:56.380 --> 00:10:58.120 Did you shoot it then frame by frame? 167 00:10:58.200 --> 00:10:59.020 Frame by frame. 168 00:10:59.040 --> 00:11:01.720 Did you know a person by the name of Howard Moss, 169 00:11:01.860 --> 00:11:03.820 who was a model animator in Chicago? 170 00:11:04.100 --> 00:11:04.380 No. 171 00:11:04.620 --> 00:11:05.580 Because he was... 172 00:11:06.500 --> 00:11:07.400 That could be... 173 00:11:07.400 --> 00:11:10.460 He was one of the great model animators of the day, 174 00:11:10.580 --> 00:11:12.980 about 1916, 17, 18, 19. 175 00:11:16.420 --> 00:11:20.800 In the department of animation in Praha gave me a book, 176 00:11:20.980 --> 00:11:22.400 the history of animation. 177 00:11:23.700 --> 00:11:27.960 They have everything, everybody mentioned and they trace the... 178 00:11:27.960 --> 00:11:29.500 Look up Howard Moss, will you? 179 00:11:29.580 --> 00:11:30.380 And see if he's in there. 180 00:11:30.620 --> 00:11:33.040 Because Moss was one of the great animators 181 00:11:33.040 --> 00:11:34.280 and he's hardly ever mentioned. 182 00:11:35.680 --> 00:11:36.200 I... 183 00:11:36.200 --> 00:11:39.560 One of his films was donated to the Art Institute and they have it. 184 00:11:39.620 --> 00:11:40.220 They have a... 185 00:11:40.220 --> 00:11:40.540 It's called... 186 00:11:43.720 --> 00:11:44.680 Cracked Ice. 187 00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:47.160 Are you speaking about drawings? 188 00:11:47.280 --> 00:11:48.200 Are you speaking about... 189 00:11:48.200 --> 00:11:49.860 No, I'm speaking about model animation. 190 00:11:50.360 --> 00:11:51.660 The same as that you were dealing with. 191 00:11:51.980 --> 00:11:51.980 192 00:11:52.060 --> 00:11:52.400 Right. 193 00:11:53.900 --> 00:11:54.320 Okay. 194 00:11:55.460 --> 00:11:58.680 We haven't been thorough at all about any of this. 195 00:12:00.120 --> 00:12:02.880 Your feelings when you came to this country, 196 00:12:02.880 --> 00:12:06.340 did you feel at all lost? 197 00:12:07.840 --> 00:12:11.360 You took the overland trip by train, of course, to Chicago. 198 00:12:12.460 --> 00:12:15.540 But did your brother come with you as that is? 199 00:12:15.660 --> 00:12:15.700 Yes. 200 00:12:15.920 --> 00:12:17.640 He came back with your brother. 201 00:12:17.720 --> 00:12:19.200 So you felt much better about that. 202 00:12:19.580 --> 00:12:21.580 We came in second class too. 203 00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:23.600 You know, he had money by that time. 204 00:12:23.840 --> 00:12:25.700 He was well paid over there. 205 00:12:26.540 --> 00:12:27.980 That's why he was able to... 206 00:12:27.980 --> 00:12:32.480 Besides that, my brother took me to Budapest for a whole week. 207 00:12:32.880 --> 00:12:37.820 We lived about six or eight hours by train from Budapest. 208 00:12:38.680 --> 00:12:41.660 And he introduced me to many people there 209 00:12:41.660 --> 00:12:44.120 which didn't mean anything to me because... 210 00:12:44.120 --> 00:12:45.420 Whom he had known when he was a student? 211 00:12:45.460 --> 00:12:46.180 That's right. 212 00:12:46.360 --> 00:12:49.900 And he treated so many people that he had met. 213 00:12:50.860 --> 00:12:58.480 See, in Budapest, we had an uncle there that had a large wine wholesale house 214 00:12:59.520 --> 00:13:02.160 besides having a tavern and restaurant. 215 00:13:02.160 --> 00:13:08.560 So these people were all invited by Dan and then treated everybody 216 00:13:08.560 --> 00:13:12.220 and talked about United States and talked about 217 00:13:12.220 --> 00:13:17.520 that in Chicago you get nine glasses of beer for five cents. 218 00:13:18.340 --> 00:13:19.660 It was a little pale. 219 00:13:20.180 --> 00:13:22.300 And those fellows couldn't understand it. 220 00:13:22.840 --> 00:13:25.660 So he had to get a jug of some kind to show them 221 00:13:25.660 --> 00:13:28.700 just how much a pail of beer is and so on. 222 00:13:29.180 --> 00:13:30.560 But that's the kind of... 223 00:13:30.560 --> 00:13:31.040 No. 224 00:13:31.540 --> 00:13:34.120 Well, you said you were going to say a little bit about your theater. 225 00:13:34.280 --> 00:13:38.820 Now, the theater was really a community theater where you were. 226 00:13:39.040 --> 00:13:39.040 227 00:13:39.240 --> 00:13:43.440 It was a sort of a cooperative outfit. 228 00:13:43.760 --> 00:13:46.660 We all chipped in so much money to start it. 229 00:13:47.180 --> 00:13:47.700 There were all kinds... 230 00:13:47.700 --> 00:13:49.700 Do you speak now your language or... 231 00:13:49.700 --> 00:13:50.540 Yes, Slovak language. 232 00:13:50.660 --> 00:13:51.720 Slovak language, yes. 233 00:13:51.800 --> 00:13:52.120 Okay. 234 00:13:52.280 --> 00:13:55.280 Now, the Bohemian had that kind of a theater before us. 235 00:13:56.320 --> 00:13:58.860 My wife was born in that Bohemian neighborhood 236 00:13:58.860 --> 00:14:03.860 and we hired one of the men, member of this theater group 237 00:14:04.520 --> 00:14:06.220 to go with us to Europe. 238 00:14:06.580 --> 00:14:07.340 A fellow by name Horley. 239 00:14:07.680 --> 00:14:09.360 The man that played a part of Priest. 240 00:14:09.560 --> 00:14:10.280 Of the Priest. 241 00:14:10.640 --> 00:14:10.640 242 00:14:11.060 --> 00:14:14.720 Anyhow, we thought we had to have at least one Bohemian. 243 00:14:15.040 --> 00:14:15.740 Of course. 244 00:14:16.500 --> 00:14:22.560 Well, anyhow, there were all kinds of little theatrical groups 245 00:14:22.560 --> 00:14:26.500 and singing societies throughout Chicago, mainly connected with church. 246 00:14:26.500 --> 00:14:33.280 But no one had an organization where anybody could belong to. 247 00:14:33.580 --> 00:14:40.280 So in our organization, we had socialists whom they call unbelievers. 248 00:14:41.040 --> 00:14:45.100 Then we had Lutherans, Catholics, and we had Serbians. 249 00:14:45.220 --> 00:14:50.480 And so we had so many different members of this organization. 250 00:14:51.020 --> 00:14:53.200 But you spoke what language in the theater? 251 00:14:53.200 --> 00:14:53.280 Slovak. 252 00:14:53.500 --> 00:14:55.780 Slovak all in the theater, okay. 253 00:14:55.780 --> 00:14:57.780 All of your people knew Slovak? 254 00:14:58.240 --> 00:15:01.980 Those were all, very few born in here. 255 00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:04.500 Most of them were people like myself. 256 00:15:05.260 --> 00:15:10.060 But it was actually started by a socialist organization 257 00:15:10.060 --> 00:15:15.700 because they had more guts to go out after those things than they. 258 00:15:16.500 --> 00:15:19.440 Gradually, it grew up into a big, big place. 259 00:15:19.580 --> 00:15:21.720 There must have been a couple of hundred members in there. 260 00:15:22.520 --> 00:15:25.560 They gave at least a dozen plays a year. 261 00:15:26.640 --> 00:15:30.060 And they traveled also to different cities. 262 00:15:30.380 --> 00:15:35.420 All of that is in a souvenir book which I have, which I'll show you. 263 00:15:36.560 --> 00:15:36.560 264 00:15:37.520 --> 00:15:38.280 All right. 265 00:15:39.940 --> 00:15:42.300 How did you learn production? 266 00:15:42.440 --> 00:15:46.940 Because I looked at the set of that house that you used, 267 00:15:47.100 --> 00:15:52.720 and you used an H-stand then, where it was an H-stand being used, 268 00:15:52.760 --> 00:15:54.720 that is for your shot through the window. 269 00:15:55.360 --> 00:15:57.300 Were H-stands being used? 270 00:15:58.120 --> 00:16:00.300 Because you had figured out some rather complicated action. 271 00:16:00.820 --> 00:16:02.560 We've done that at Selig. 272 00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:05.900 Because it was quite complicated. 273 00:16:06.160 --> 00:16:10.240 And then those things had been shot on the lot in the back. 274 00:16:11.300 --> 00:16:13.000 How big was that lot? 275 00:16:13.500 --> 00:16:16.660 Because I went over there to what's left of the studio, 276 00:16:17.700 --> 00:16:19.800 and there's a whole school back there. 277 00:16:20.140 --> 00:16:21.340 Was it a big lot? 278 00:16:22.060 --> 00:16:28.240 Well, it was so big that it had a little pool, a little lake there too. 279 00:16:31.180 --> 00:16:35.800 When we were working on a Civil War picture of some kind, 280 00:16:36.020 --> 00:16:38.080 and the reason I remember this is because... 281 00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:38.980 Called the Crisis. 282 00:16:39.340 --> 00:16:40.160 Well, whatever it was. 283 00:16:40.440 --> 00:16:40.540 I don't know. 284 00:16:40.540 --> 00:16:45.800 But I remember one of the men, fellow by name Fawcett, George Fawcett. 285 00:16:46.040 --> 00:16:49.880 I think I'd like to see some of those things. 286 00:16:49.880 --> 00:16:54.360 He was one of those fellows that was nice to me 287 00:16:54.360 --> 00:16:57.640 when he handed me a roll of film and said, please. 288 00:16:59.280 --> 00:17:02.140 I'm sorry to say, but those things stick in your mind 289 00:17:02.140 --> 00:17:05.360 more than anything else when people treat you like you're somebody. 290 00:17:06.140 --> 00:17:06.140 291 00:17:06.460 --> 00:17:06.760 Don't they? 292 00:17:07.660 --> 00:17:10.660 And fellow by name H.B. Warner. 293 00:17:10.780 --> 00:17:14.020 I would like to know if he was a member of Selig 294 00:17:14.020 --> 00:17:18.140 because he lived, he died not 15, 20 years ago. 295 00:17:18.140 --> 00:17:19.820 H.B. Warner was a... 296 00:17:20.760 --> 00:17:24.380 Yes, H.B. Warner, one of the last films was Lost Horizons, 297 00:17:25.120 --> 00:17:26.780 directed by Frank Capra. 298 00:17:27.780 --> 00:17:29.880 Was H.B. Warner in that film? 299 00:17:31.160 --> 00:17:33.980 H.B. Warner was working at Selig on something, 300 00:17:34.220 --> 00:17:37.100 not in his Civil War story. 301 00:17:37.200 --> 00:17:38.320 I don't know that, sir. 302 00:17:38.360 --> 00:17:40.360 No, but H.B. Warner was there. 303 00:17:40.420 --> 00:17:43.780 Yes, because I projected negative for him. 304 00:17:44.700 --> 00:17:45.340 Very good. 305 00:17:45.620 --> 00:17:47.260 Did you know Kathleen Williams? 306 00:17:47.260 --> 00:17:48.100 Oh, yes. 307 00:17:48.960 --> 00:17:53.060 That was one of the first leading ladies my brother introduced me to 308 00:17:53.060 --> 00:17:58.200 and my brother told me that I should behave like they do in Europe. 309 00:17:58.540 --> 00:18:02.620 If a lady offers me her hand, I should kiss her. 310 00:18:02.700 --> 00:18:05.620 He said if she doesn't offer, I should just bow. 311 00:18:05.900 --> 00:18:08.200 I got all that information beforehand. 312 00:18:08.720 --> 00:18:10.980 You're going to meet all kinds of people. 313 00:18:10.980 --> 00:18:15.340 It's nice and lousy and some will ignore you, 314 00:18:15.340 --> 00:18:18.300 some will call you hunky, but don't pay no attention to that. 315 00:18:18.360 --> 00:18:19.680 We're used to that now. 316 00:18:20.880 --> 00:18:22.320 It wasn't pleasant there. 317 00:18:22.440 --> 00:18:24.260 You know, when I worked at the Perf... 318 00:18:24.260 --> 00:18:25.880 Did the Germans, were the Germans nasty? 319 00:18:27.320 --> 00:18:28.480 Most of them not. 320 00:18:28.720 --> 00:18:30.660 They were more or less afraid of Dan. 321 00:18:31.040 --> 00:18:34.180 But the man in charge of Perfrating Room, 322 00:18:34.320 --> 00:18:36.940 fellow by the name of Fritz, I don't know his last name, 323 00:18:37.100 --> 00:18:41.960 he wasn't nice to me at all and he used to throw orders at me. 324 00:18:42.260 --> 00:18:43.560 I didn't like that. 325 00:18:43.560 --> 00:18:48.580 I talked to Dan and I said, man, he's kind of funny. 326 00:18:49.280 --> 00:18:51.160 So Dan talked to me and said, Fritz, 327 00:18:51.500 --> 00:18:53.980 my brother is not in here to take your job. 328 00:18:55.020 --> 00:18:57.820 He's going to go right through on to the other places. 329 00:19:00.060 --> 00:19:00.860 You better get that. 330 00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:04.200 How many people were working there, 331 00:19:04.220 --> 00:19:07.720 can you estimate, in the technical end, not in the acting end? 332 00:19:07.740 --> 00:19:09.500 Were there as many as 100, do you think? 333 00:19:09.720 --> 00:19:10.660 Oh, at least. 334 00:19:10.760 --> 00:19:11.580 At least 100. 335 00:19:12.460 --> 00:19:16.800 And most of them were, had been native born Germans, 336 00:19:16.820 --> 00:19:17.980 is that correct you would say? 337 00:19:18.140 --> 00:19:20.580 Or were they just from the German community here? 338 00:19:21.280 --> 00:19:25.240 Well, there were some, there was a Norwegian 339 00:19:25.820 --> 00:19:30.140 that was very proud of his heritage because 340 00:19:31.160 --> 00:19:34.900 a man in charge of a machine shop after Shustak left 341 00:19:34.900 --> 00:19:36.540 was a fellow by the name Johnson. 342 00:19:37.340 --> 00:19:39.600 And he was also proud of his heritage. 343 00:19:39.600 --> 00:19:42.600 And they got into each other's hair sometime talking about, 344 00:19:42.800 --> 00:19:44.120 they don't like each other. 345 00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:48.000 That I could understand because we also didn't like Madja, 346 00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:50.420 but then Sweden, Norwegian species. 347 00:19:51.140 --> 00:19:53.000 Always have been at each other's neck. 348 00:19:53.540 --> 00:19:57.600 And there were two Bohemians there, one Slovak, 349 00:19:58.840 --> 00:20:01.040 and that was in his shop. 350 00:20:01.840 --> 00:20:05.620 Now throughout the plant, it was mainly people 351 00:20:05.620 --> 00:20:07.880 that live not far away from there. 352 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:09.360 So there were a lot of Germans because they lived... 353 00:20:09.360 --> 00:20:10.340 They lived near there. 354 00:20:10.340 --> 00:20:11.400 I remember that neighborhood. 355 00:20:11.880 --> 00:20:18.400 And I remember that on one, okay, maybe a couple of occasion, 356 00:20:19.020 --> 00:20:22.320 we sort of are close the shop almost, 357 00:20:22.440 --> 00:20:27.020 and all of us were asked to go out on Western Avenue there 358 00:20:27.020 --> 00:20:28.820 or across the street into that. 359 00:20:29.060 --> 00:20:32.020 During that Civil War picture, I remember that real well. 360 00:20:32.480 --> 00:20:35.860 We were all going there to play part of a mob. 361 00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:43.660 And sometime it happened more often in summer, 362 00:20:44.120 --> 00:20:45.000 seldom in winter. 363 00:20:45.520 --> 00:20:47.300 I think Selig didn't go out in winter. 364 00:20:47.540 --> 00:20:48.600 It wasn't very pleasant. 365 00:20:48.880 --> 00:20:49.480 No, it was horrible. 366 00:20:49.840 --> 00:20:51.220 Tell me, Colin Campbell, 367 00:20:51.320 --> 00:20:52.880 do you remember the name Colin Campbell? 368 00:20:53.440 --> 00:20:56.280 He was one of Selig's great directors. 369 00:20:56.500 --> 00:20:57.860 I just was wondering if... 370 00:20:57.860 --> 00:20:59.440 I probably saw him. 371 00:20:59.440 --> 00:21:01.760 He was the one that directed the Civil War. 372 00:21:02.080 --> 00:21:03.340 Oh, that might've been... 373 00:21:03.340 --> 00:21:06.540 And also he directed the spoilers. 374 00:21:06.740 --> 00:21:07.580 Do you remember the name? 375 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:09.160 That's the very one. 376 00:21:09.480 --> 00:21:13.980 That I was more interested in that than any other picture. 377 00:21:14.200 --> 00:21:16.000 That was made though on the West Coast, 378 00:21:16.040 --> 00:21:17.840 but it was developed back here, right? 379 00:21:17.980 --> 00:21:19.900 And scenes were made in here too. 380 00:21:19.900 --> 00:21:21.580 That's what I wanted to know. Tell me about that. 381 00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:27.700 Well, they fight inside in the... 382 00:21:27.700 --> 00:21:28.780 Dustin Farnham. 383 00:21:29.100 --> 00:21:31.420 Dustin Farnham, yes, and Tom Sanchi. 384 00:21:31.480 --> 00:21:34.820 Who had worked there as a handyman for a while 385 00:21:34.820 --> 00:21:36.060 before he became an actor. 386 00:21:36.560 --> 00:21:37.240 Yes, that's right. 387 00:21:38.520 --> 00:21:42.780 They stayed that fight at Selig there. 388 00:21:42.800 --> 00:21:43.440 In Chicago. 389 00:21:43.660 --> 00:21:44.800 In Chicago, yes. 390 00:21:47.240 --> 00:21:51.140 How I happened to be present when they were... 391 00:21:51.140 --> 00:21:52.100 You saw the fight. 392 00:21:52.740 --> 00:21:53.820 Well, part of it. 393 00:21:54.640 --> 00:21:56.800 But there was something else. 394 00:21:56.820 --> 00:22:00.460 During that fight, there was a sack of gold 395 00:22:01.200 --> 00:22:02.360 involved in there. 396 00:22:02.360 --> 00:22:05.160 That was to be hidden from somebody. 397 00:22:05.320 --> 00:22:06.620 I don't know the story. 398 00:22:06.760 --> 00:22:08.740 I saw the film, I remember the story, 399 00:22:08.760 --> 00:22:13.500 but I remember that one man threw that sack of gold 400 00:22:13.500 --> 00:22:18.340 into a potbelly stove, which was not lit, of course. 401 00:22:19.060 --> 00:22:24.000 And the gold sack went down and tripped the ash, 402 00:22:24.500 --> 00:22:26.440 what you call it, went down into the ashes. 403 00:22:26.740 --> 00:22:29.540 And that was something very important 404 00:22:29.540 --> 00:22:32.360 because it had something to do with the story. 405 00:22:32.440 --> 00:22:34.560 What it had to do with the story, I don't know. 406 00:22:34.960 --> 00:22:40.120 But then had the problem of devising something 407 00:22:41.960 --> 00:22:45.580 whereby that ash or that... 408 00:22:45.580 --> 00:22:46.280 The grate. 409 00:22:46.840 --> 00:22:51.000 Would flip and show that thing falling down. 410 00:22:51.300 --> 00:22:54.160 And that took a long time to figure it out. 411 00:22:54.520 --> 00:22:57.920 But that's why Dan called me to some of those scenes. 412 00:22:57.920 --> 00:22:59.800 Also, another one. 413 00:23:00.040 --> 00:23:01.620 During that Civil War picture, 414 00:23:01.660 --> 00:23:05.380 they had a little lake there in the yard 415 00:23:05.380 --> 00:23:08.800 and there were two model boats built there. 416 00:23:09.880 --> 00:23:10.760 They were models, though. 417 00:23:10.760 --> 00:23:11.580 They were not pigmen. 418 00:23:13.340 --> 00:23:16.320 And they were shooting at each other. 419 00:23:17.500 --> 00:23:20.840 And Dan had a problem of devising, 420 00:23:23.220 --> 00:23:25.800 releasing an I can tell compounder, 421 00:23:25.800 --> 00:23:28.000 which was shot out of the thing. 422 00:23:28.020 --> 00:23:29.140 How did he do that? 423 00:23:29.560 --> 00:23:30.580 I don't know. 424 00:23:31.760 --> 00:23:34.280 But a few years back when we were in California, 425 00:23:34.460 --> 00:23:36.060 we went to Universal Studio 426 00:23:36.060 --> 00:23:40.440 and they have that kind of a scene that they put on for... 427 00:23:40.440 --> 00:23:43.500 Now, they shot those in Hollywood later on in slow motion. 428 00:23:43.840 --> 00:23:46.220 Did you use slow motion in your model scenes at all 429 00:23:46.220 --> 00:23:47.960 to give it more of a lifelike quality? 430 00:23:48.020 --> 00:23:50.800 Or did you shoot it straight at 16 frames per second? 431 00:23:52.300 --> 00:23:55.780 No, we used slow motion and fast motion, too. 432 00:23:55.800 --> 00:23:57.600 In scenes. 433 00:23:57.920 --> 00:23:59.220 So in other words, for the model scenes, 434 00:23:59.600 --> 00:24:01.500 you think you used slow motion, perhaps? 435 00:24:02.980 --> 00:24:05.500 For the model scenes that I photographed, 436 00:24:05.500 --> 00:24:06.760 we used all one-to-one. 437 00:24:08.420 --> 00:24:12.320 But the fast motion and slow motion we used 438 00:24:12.320 --> 00:24:14.860 when we were making comedies. 439 00:24:15.380 --> 00:24:17.200 That was very important. 440 00:24:18.080 --> 00:24:20.280 What about your lighting in the studio? 441 00:24:20.620 --> 00:24:22.600 Do you remember the kinds of lights... 442 00:24:22.600 --> 00:24:23.420 Did they use Cooper Hewitts? 443 00:24:23.420 --> 00:24:24.640 Cooper Hewitts, yes. 444 00:24:24.640 --> 00:24:26.880 And then what others? 445 00:24:27.200 --> 00:24:28.400 The regular arc lights? 446 00:24:28.800 --> 00:24:30.380 Arc lights were used, too. 447 00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:31.840 We used arc lights even... 448 00:24:33.220 --> 00:24:34.440 They hurt the actors' eyes 449 00:24:34.440 --> 00:24:36.400 because initially they weren't covered. 450 00:24:36.860 --> 00:24:39.200 And so the dust, the carbon dust got in their eyes. 451 00:24:41.600 --> 00:24:41.840 Yes. 452 00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:45.340 And Cooper Hewitt lights were not very practical 453 00:24:45.340 --> 00:24:49.700 because of the sensitivity of a monochrome film. 454 00:24:49.700 --> 00:24:50.100 Yes. 455 00:24:50.740 --> 00:24:57.180 We used yellow powder for shirts and faces and gloves 456 00:24:57.180 --> 00:24:59.380 and everything to subdue the glare. 457 00:25:00.220 --> 00:25:03.060 How did red show up on monochrome film? 458 00:25:03.220 --> 00:25:03.860 As black? 459 00:25:04.980 --> 00:25:06.020 Yeah, it would show up. 460 00:25:06.020 --> 00:25:07.640 It showed up as black, didn't it? 461 00:25:07.820 --> 00:25:10.220 Really red so that they had to avoid red. 462 00:25:10.940 --> 00:25:13.360 Did you ever hear of a film called The Landing? 463 00:25:13.880 --> 00:25:18.420 The Coming of Columbus that was done by Selig in about 1911? 464 00:25:20.060 --> 00:25:23.740 Did you know any directors other than Colin Campbell? 465 00:25:23.980 --> 00:25:25.480 Did you know, remember any of them? 466 00:25:25.680 --> 00:25:26.260 Otis Turner? 467 00:25:26.320 --> 00:25:27.780 Did you ever hear of Otis Turner? 468 00:25:28.200 --> 00:25:29.460 I can't tell you that. 469 00:25:29.620 --> 00:25:33.520 If I was introduced to him, I remember very few people. 470 00:25:34.780 --> 00:25:37.040 Only those that then introduced me. 471 00:25:37.040 --> 00:25:39.300 And he did introduce you to Kathleen Williams? 472 00:25:39.480 --> 00:25:40.220 He did. 473 00:25:41.580 --> 00:25:43.760 She was one of the leading ladies. 474 00:25:44.080 --> 00:25:45.340 She was from Butte, Montana. 475 00:25:45.980 --> 00:25:57.120 Well, then introduced me to some people that he was kind of 476 00:25:57.120 --> 00:25:58.220 interested in. 477 00:25:59.840 --> 00:26:01.360 He thought I had to... 478 00:26:01.360 --> 00:26:02.320 Remember Tom Mix. 479 00:26:02.320 --> 00:26:03.640 Did Tom Mix come to the studio? 480 00:26:03.740 --> 00:26:07.540 No, you see, that's something that I don't understand at all. 481 00:26:07.580 --> 00:26:09.600 I don't know anything about Tom Mix. 482 00:26:10.220 --> 00:26:17.440 But I read somewhere in the publication that he was at Selig. 483 00:26:17.560 --> 00:26:18.780 I didn't know that he was. 484 00:26:19.100 --> 00:26:20.760 Yes, but he shot out in Arizona. 485 00:26:20.980 --> 00:26:24.440 So there would be no reason unless Selig wanted him back in Chicago for something. 486 00:26:24.660 --> 00:26:29.380 You know, they shot out in, first of all, in Colorado and then in Arizona. 487 00:26:29.880 --> 00:26:33.600 But Selig had a ranch there and that's where they shot. 488 00:26:33.720 --> 00:26:35.900 So there would be no reason for it. 489 00:26:36.580 --> 00:26:39.580 Did you ever hear of Bosworth? 490 00:26:40.180 --> 00:26:40.740 Yes. 491 00:26:41.060 --> 00:26:42.100 Can you tell me anything about him? 492 00:26:42.100 --> 00:26:43.240 Because he hated Chicago. 493 00:26:43.380 --> 00:26:46.940 He said they would always send damaged stock to them. 494 00:26:47.960 --> 00:26:50.760 And sometimes even non-perforated stock. 495 00:26:53.500 --> 00:26:54.940 I don't understand. 496 00:26:55.100 --> 00:26:56.740 That was before your time there, though. 497 00:26:56.860 --> 00:26:57.260 That was... 498 00:26:57.260 --> 00:26:57.640 That could be. 499 00:26:57.640 --> 00:26:59.200 It was, yeah, years before your time. 500 00:27:01.380 --> 00:27:06.840 When Dan and I were coming to Chicago, we stopped in New York. 501 00:27:07.160 --> 00:27:14.340 Selig asked Dan, stop in New York to go to such and such a studio on Coney Island. 502 00:27:15.200 --> 00:27:22.540 I don't know who was on Coney Island, but we took a subway from Manhattan to Coney Island 503 00:27:22.540 --> 00:27:26.200 and then took me into this place and asked me to sit in the office there 504 00:27:26.200 --> 00:27:29.020 and wait for him while he met somebody there. 505 00:27:30.160 --> 00:27:38.080 I think the man's name was Chenier, a Frenchman, a chemist, that later came to Selig. 506 00:27:39.380 --> 00:27:44.800 And Dan and Chenier worked together on solving many problems. 507 00:27:45.320 --> 00:27:47.200 Chenier was in charge of lab. 508 00:27:47.860 --> 00:27:49.760 Had he come from Parfait, United States? 509 00:27:49.760 --> 00:27:51.140 I don't know what he came from. 510 00:27:51.200 --> 00:27:54.320 I don't even know the name of a firm that was on Coney Island. 511 00:27:54.780 --> 00:27:56.720 But Dan never told me that. 512 00:27:57.280 --> 00:28:01.240 Dan seemed to know him and they became very good friends. 513 00:28:02.060 --> 00:28:05.860 When Chenier wanted a device to measure the squareness of film. 514 00:28:06.680 --> 00:28:13.160 There are many ways of measuring the right perforation and division and so on. 515 00:28:13.920 --> 00:28:17.160 When Chenier wanted all of those things, he turned to Dan. 516 00:28:18.420 --> 00:28:22.100 Dan, such and such a perforator is out of square. 517 00:28:22.100 --> 00:28:27.140 Such and such a perforator is short, in a thousand or something like that. 518 00:28:27.220 --> 00:28:31.960 Dan had to go into the perforating room and make the adjustments and so on. 519 00:28:32.100 --> 00:28:33.420 They were kind of screwed.