American Gallery - A Review of Coming Attractions

Summary

Podcast Summary

Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode: American Gallery - A Review of Coming Attractions
Date: March 23, 2026

---

Overview

This episode of Harold's Old Time Radio presents a dramatized account, originally from “An American Gallery,” of Hollywood’s birth and the pioneering efforts of Cecil B. DeMille and associates as they embark on producing one of America’s first feature-length motion pictures: The Squaw Man. The episode walks listeners through the adversities, innovations, and triumphs that defined the nascent days of filmmaking in Hollywood, culminating in the emergence of feature-length movies as a cultural phenomenon.

---

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Cecil B. DeMille’s Early Career and the Birth of Hollywood

• Introduction by Charlton Heston: DeMille is celebrated as the "father of Hollywood."
  “For over 50 years, one man's films have played in tents in the Arctic wastelands... The films of no other man have been seen by as many people as those of Cecil B. DeMille.” (00:38)
• DeMille’s Partnership: The collaboration between DeMille, Jesse L. Lasky, Sam Goldfish (later Goldwyn), and Oscar Apfel lays the foundation for the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company.

2. Challenges of Early Filmmaking

• The Motion Picture Trust (the “Trust”):

  • Controlled most equipment and theater access, favoring short films for rapid audience turnover.
  • Threatened those making longer, feature-length productions; even used “strong-arm men” to sabotage competitors.
    “I've even heard stories about the Trust sending in strong armed men to sabotage long production.” — DeMille (07:00)
  • Initial industry skepticism about both features and independent productions.

• Choosing Location:

  • The group originally considers Flagstaff, Arizona, to shoot The Squaw Man (as Wyoming was the story setting).
  • Upon arrival, DeMille insists on moving to Los Angeles for better practicality, marking the accidental birth of Hollywood filmmaking.
    “I say thumbs down to Flagstaff.” — DeMille (09:05)

3. Establishing Hollywood as a Film Hub

• First Impressions of Hollywood:

  • Hollywood is depicted as rustic: orange and lemon groves, and a town unaware of “movie people.”
    “We're still in the county, but this little area we're in now is called Hollywood. Hollywood incorporated just ten years ago.” (10:51)
  • Their “studio” is a rented barn, reflecting the humble beginnings of the industry.

• Business Realities:

  • Early banks distrust filmmakers, requiring creative financial solutions and community networking.
    “Banks won’t do business with Flickr makers.” — Jake Stern (13:48)

• Technical Learning Curve:

  • Encounter problems with film processing, such as rain leaking into the lab, and use of mismatched sprocket punches (British standard, not American).
    “You sprocketed your negative at 65 holes for every foot of film. All American equipment runs at 64 holes.” (24:01)

4. Life and Work in Early Hollywood

• Family and Personal Sacrifice:
  • DeMille writes affectionate letters to his wife Constance, describing the daily struggles—housing, finances, and company.
• Dangers and Threats:
  • The ever-present threat of the Trust includes both sabotage and direct warnings. “Get out of the motion picture field. Close your studio. Heed this. If you value your life...” — Constance reading a threat (19:39)

5. Innovation and Breakthrough

• Solving Technical Failures:
  • Initial private screening of The Squaw Man appears ruined due to mismatched sprocket holes, but local expertise provides a workaround—re-punching the negatives.
• Triumph and Impact:
  • The film is ultimately a resounding success, changing financial fortunes and establishing Hollywood’s future.
  • Sam Goldfish (Goldwyn) manages to sell the film across the country, reflecting the dawn of a new industry.
    “He has sold the Squaw Man to 44 out of the 48 states and expects to have the last four sold within two weeks.” — Cecil B. DeMille (24:57)

6. Legacy and Reflection

• A New Artistic Frontier:

  • DeMille’s vision of Hollywood as the global center for film, embracing the diverse terrains and climates as backdrops. “We’re charting a whole new course in motion pictures. Do you realize that?” — DeMille (26:15)

• Epilogue:

  • Sam Goldfish’s transformation into Sam Goldwyn.
  • DeMille’s humility about pioneering feature-length films, even as he recognizably shaped the industry.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Early Studio System
  • Jesse L. Lasky: “The good Lord made the earth in seven days, but he never produced a play. Frankly, producing our first motion picture can't be any worse.” (02:01)
• On Industry Monopoly
  • Jesse L. Lasky: “My young writer of stage plays controls just about everything involved in the making of motion pictures... They like their moving pictures short so they can keep the audience turning over.” (02:34)
• On Artistic Ambition and Fear
  • Cecil B. DeMille: “Every other art form is a thousand years old... But moving pictures are entirely new art... We’re mavericks, Oscar. We’re rebels leading a handful of other rebels.” (07:24)
• On Overcoming Technical Disaster
  • Narrator/Harry: “They just paste a thin strip of film over your old sprocket holes and punch new ones in.” (24:16)
  • Oscar Apfel: “There has to be an answer.” (24:03)
• On Vision & Legacy
  • Cecil B. DeMille: “We're charting a whole new course in motion pictures. Do you realize that?” (26:15)
  • Constance DeMille: “Before long there’ll be more pictures coming out of Hollywood than New York, than anywhere on earth.” (26:03)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:38–01:23 — Introduction to Cecil B. DeMille and early Hollywood
• 01:49–05:03 — DeMille, Lasky, and associates plan The Squaw Man and decide to head West
• 05:37–09:13 — Flagstaff arrival, decision to relocate to Los Angeles (Hollywood)
• 10:31–13:44 — Arrival in Hollywood; securing the barn studio and lab
• 16:24–17:20 — Technical mishap discovered in the film lab
• 19:10–20:07 — Family scene and threat from the Trust
• 22:08–24:41 — Private screening, discovery of sprocket hole mismatch, and solution
• 25:11–27:05 — News of distribution success and expansion plans
• 27:25–28:27 — Epilogue on DeMille’s impact and historical context

---

Tone and Language Notes

The episode captures the optimistic, pioneering spirit of early Hollywood and its characters—full of risk, resourcefulness, light banter, and reverence for artistic ambition. The dialogue is lively, with some tongue-in-cheek exchanges reflecting industry uncertainty and camaraderie among the founders.

---

Conclusion

“American Gallery – A Review of Coming Attractions” illuminates how a handful of determined innovators, amid uncertainty and adversity, transformed a small orchard town into the film capital of the world. Through dramatization, the episode brings to life the struggle and vision that birthed Hollywood and established feature-length motion pictures as a global entertainment form. The episode is both a nostalgic tribute and an inspiring tale of artistic perseverance.

Transcript

[Liberty Mutual Spokesperson (Female)]

And Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual. Even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show.

[Liberty Mutual Spokesperson (Male)]

Hey, everyone. Check out this guy and his bird. What is this, your first date?

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Oh, no.

[Liberty Mutual Spokesperson (Female)]

We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual Together. We're married.

[Tyler Redick (Chumba Casino Ad)]

Me to a human, him to a bird.

[Liberty Mutual Spokesperson (Male)]

Yeah, the bird looks out of your league anyways.

[Liberty Mutual Spokesperson (Female)]

Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty.

[Liberty Mutual Spokesperson (Male)]

Liberty. Liberty. Liberty.

[Charlton Heston (Narrator)]

To introduce this episode of An American Gallery, here is the distinguished motion picture actor Charlton Heston.

[Narrator / Historical Commentator]

For over 50 years, one man's films have played in tents in the Arctic wastelands, in palatial theaters throughout the world's capitals, under a panoply of stars, in remote corners of the Sahara, in private screening rooms of multi millionaires and on sheets tacked up on military parade grounds. The films of no other man have been seen by as many people as those of Cecil B. DeMille. While modesty made him shun the appellation, who else would deny that he is the father of Hollywood? Hollywood as we know it today was born in 1913. This is DeMille's own story of that birth.

[Charlton Heston (Narrator)]

Cecil B. DeMille, motion picture producer, director, saluted. This week on An American Gallery. Sebastian Cabot stars as Mr. DeMille in a preview of coming attractions.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

There you are.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

Sizzle. Hope you haven't been waiting long.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

No, just long enough to work up an appetite. Jesse, how did the rehearsal go?

[Jesse L. Lasky]

Like every other Jesse Lasky production. Two days before opening.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

That bad?

[Jesse L. Lasky]

You know, the good Lord made the earth in seven days, but he never produced a play. Frankly, producing our first motion picture can't be any worse. Can you reach a menu here? Thanks.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

How did Sam do?

[Jesse L. Lasky]

Sam Goldfish was an excellent glove salesman.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

He didn't get Griffith to direct.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

DW Griffith likes to work for companies with a little something in the bank

[Cecil B. DeMille]

to guarantee his salary.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

And as anxious as he is to make features instead of one reelers, he's afraid of the trust.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Trust? What's that?

[Jesse L. Lasky]

I don't know why I'm looking at this menu. I'm not hungry. Anyway, you were saying?

[Cecil B. DeMille]

The trust. The trust.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

My young writer of stage plays controls just about everything involved in the making of motion pictures. They have the patents and they book the pictures into the theater. They like their moving pictures short so they can keep the audience turning over.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

But the public likes films with a story. Adolph Zuka was very successful with that 4Real French picture he brought over. Here last year.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

Queen Elizabeth. Yes, but he also had Sarah Bernhardt to star and had to hire legitimate theaters to show it. Motion picture houses were afraid to touch it. They knew that if they did, the trust could keep them from getting any new films. By the way, did you happen to see Queen Elizabeth?

[Cecil B. DeMille]

No.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

Have you ever seen a movie, as the public are starting to call them?

[Cecil B. DeMille]

At least three of them.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

Did you get up to the Edison Studios to watch some shooting yesterday? What do you think?

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Well, if that's pictures we can make. The best pictures ever made.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

Well, since we couldn't get Griffith to direct the Squaw Man.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

How about you? You want me to direct the Squaw Man?

[Jesse L. Lasky]

Well, maybe in a dozen years I'll have a better choice. But this is 1913, and you can just about count the number of movie

[Charlton Heston (Narrator)]

directors on a halibut's fingers.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

Give me that menu back here. I say let's do it.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Let's.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

I'll write out an agreement on the back of this menu before we leave here. But you can now consider yourself director general of the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company. You write and direct them. Sam will sell them. Arthur Friend will be our legal counsel. And I'll do the worrying here in New York while you're out West.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Out west? They're not making the Squaw man in New York.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

Well, the story's about the West. Why not shoot it there? Besides, that way we won't have to pay for a studio.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

But how far west?

[Jesse L. Lasky]

Arizona. That's pretty far west. Town there called Flagstaff.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

The Squirrel man is supposed to take place in Wyoming.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

Cecil, the west, after all, is the West.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Has anybody ever made a film out West?

[Jesse L. Lasky]

Yeah, a few one reelers. Now, for my surprise, you're gonna be directing Dustin Farnum.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Dusky agreed to do a movie for $250 a week.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

First, I offered him a quarter inch in the company, but he didn't bite. And now we come to you. I know you have no capital to invest, so will you be the writer and director in return for a quarter interest in the company?

[Oscar Apfel]

Jesse, you can't do that.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

It's like paying me $5,000. I mean, that. That's what the rest of your investing.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

We're gambling with money. You're gambling with time. We could fail, Cecil. You'd only be out the train fare for you and the wife. A little cecilia.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

That's just a matter of hawking the family silver again.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

Then we're doing it.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Flag post, here we come.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

That's Flagstaff. Now, I'm gonna hire a fellow named Oscar Apfo, who's done some directing. He'll hold your hand, but you're the boss. Then I've got Al Gandolf as your cameraman. And Dusty will be bringing his dresser. You know Fred Clay, of course. You'll have about five days on the train. Time enough to write the script. And in a couple of months, we'll show Mr. Edison why he invented motion pictures. CECECIL DeMille, this is Oscar Apple.

[Oscar Apfel]

How are you?

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Fine, thank you, Jesse. Where are Dusty and friend?

[Jesse L. Lasky]

They just boarded the train.

[Oscar Apfel]

Al's in the baggage car checking his camera on the film.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

I thought Sam was coming down.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

He's out selling the picture.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Selling? But we haven't even made it yet.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

Oh, and the egg I'm eating next Sunday hasn't been laid yet either. But my grocer's already agreed to buy it.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Oh, for a producer, you come up with lousy analogies.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

All you got a camera, film, a cameraman, an actor, pencils and paper. Now go make me a movie.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

But I just thought of something. Where do we develop the film?

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Develop the film? Develop the film. How do I know? Ask a friendly Indian.

[Oscar Apfel]

Cecil, when Dusty has his first confrontation with the Indian Indian girl in this scene, why don't we have him?

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Cecil.

[Oscar Apfel]

Cecil.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

I hear you, Oscar. I hear you.

[Oscar Apfel]

Worried about something.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Oscar, we're gonna have at least five reels. Maybe as many as eight.

[Oscar Apfel]

Possible.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Do you realize what the Trust has done every time they exhibited pictures more than one reel?

[Oscar Apfel]

Laugh, they show one reel at a time. People come back the next day to see the second reel, and so on.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

The score man was a hit play. Would it have succeeded if people had to return to the theater seven or eight times to see it all?

[Oscar Apfel]

Well, I figure that's Sam Goldfish's problem.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

I've even heard stories about the Trust sending in strong armed men to sabotage long production.

[Oscar Apfel]

That's why I like this job. I don't think they'll be looking for us in Flagstaff. Cecil. I'm no veteran in this business. I don't think there is such an animal. But it's been proven the public will not only sit through pictures five or six reels long, but they'll pay dollars instead of nickels to see them. Besides, Mr. Lasky is supposed to do the worrying, not you.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

I can't help it, Oscar. Every other art form is a thousand years old or more altered, refined through the centuries. But moving pictures are entirely new art. I'm not talking about the Galloping Tintypes, as my brother calls them, but films that deal with characters and tell stories. We're mavericks, Oscar. We're not conforming. We're rebels leading a handful of other rebels.

[Oscar Apfel]

And you're feeling the responsibility.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

It gets heavier as we get closer to Flagstaff, I can tell you that.

[Oscar Apfel]

Well, we'll be there in a few hours. And we got that last scene to finish.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Oscar. Is our script any good?

[Oscar Apfel]

Is a play any good before an audience sees it?

[Cecil B. DeMille]

All right, you've made your point. Back to the script. Dusty's last scene with the Indian girl. This is Flagstaff. Flagstrap.

[Oscar Apfel]

A little hot for December.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Yeah, so it is.

[Oscar Apfel]

Well, there's Dusty. I guess Al's getting the camera in the film.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Oscar. Yeah. This is the West.

[Oscar Apfel]

This is the West.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Been in Wyoming?

[Constance DeMille]

Yes.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Squirrel man takes place in Wyoming. Yes. Does this look like Wyoming?

[Constance DeMille]

No.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

This train goes on to Los Angeles, doesn't it?

[Oscar Apfel]

More fare, more budget. Jesse will have a fit couple of

[Cecil B. DeMille]

people have shot some one wheelers in Los Angeles.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

All aboard.

[Oscar Apfel]

You're the director general.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

I say thumbs down to Flagstaff.

[Oscar Apfel]

Second the motion.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Ow. Ow. Get the camera back on the train. Go give him a hand, Oscar.

[Oscar Apfel]

Right.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Dusty, hurry. Get back on.

[Fred Clay]

We're not staying in Flagstaff.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Here. You. You elude little boy. Quick, give me a hand with this luggage.

[Fred Clay]

Fred, on the train. We're going on. Hurry. Hurry.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Yes, sir, gentlemen.

[Liberty Mutual Spokesperson (Female)]

And Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual. Even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show.

[Liberty Mutual Spokesperson (Male)]

Hey, everyone. Check out this guy and his bird. What is this, your first date?

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Oh, no.

[Liberty Mutual Spokesperson (Female)]

We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual. Together. We're married.

[Tyler Redick (Chumba Casino Ad)]

Me to a human, him to a bird.

[Liberty Mutual Spokesperson (Male)]

Yeah, the bird looks out of your league. Anyways.

[Liberty Mutual Spokesperson (Female)]

Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty.

[Liberty Mutual Spokesperson (Male)]

Liberty. Liberty. Liberty.

[Tyler Redick (Chumba Casino Ad)]

Tyler Redick here from 2311 Racing, Victory Lane. Yeah, it's even better with Chumba by my side. Race. Tochumbacasino.com let's Chumba. No purchase necessary. BTW. Group void where prohibited by law. CTNCs21+ sponsored by Chumba Casino.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

There was a lot of excitement when the word spread the two Easterners at the Alexandria Hotel were here to make some flickers.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

You don't say.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Everybody figured on getting their hands on some of that eastern money.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

You don't say.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Never had no stars like Dustin Farnham in Los Angeles before. That's for sure.

[Oscar Apfel]

You don't say Mr. Revere.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Oh, you can call me Harry. Yeah, you do. Mr. DeMille, we're kind of informal out here.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

You don't say Harry.

[Oscar Apfel]

Then is this still Los Angeles?

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Well, I'm glad you asked me that. We're still in the county, but this little area we're in now is called Hollywood. Hollywood Incorporated just 10 years ago. 1903.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

The town having a festival or something?

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Not that I know of.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Then why are all the trees decorated?

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Them's oranges. Hollywood's full of orange and lemon trees. Reach out and pick one.

[Oscar Apfel]

Go to Harry Potter. Harry, this laboratory you have.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Best in the West. You run your film through the camera and I'll show you pictures the next day. Providing it don't rain.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

I suppose I shouldn't ask, but what's the rain got to do with it?

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Oh, well, I got a leak. A great big one. Drips into the chemicals, makes the dilution wrong.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Ever think of fixing it?

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Why, it never rains in Southern California.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

You don't say.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Now, we call this Hollywood Boulevard. You got some shops and a hotel right up there ahead. We're gonna turn here on Vine Street. My lab's right over there, gentlemen.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

See?

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

You can see my sign from here.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Is that someone's barn right next door to you?

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Sure is. Jake Stearn's barn.

[Oscar Apfel]

Cecil, are we both thinking the same thing?

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Well, I didn't see any office buildings. Couldn't afford one if we did. Once lived over a stable in Pompton, New Jersey.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Hey, there's Jake now.

[Fred Clay]

Whoa.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Whoa there, Nelly. Whoa. Jake, Got some fine gentlemen from the East I want you to meet. Jake, this is Mr. Cedric DeMille.

[Oscar Apfel]

I call him Mr. DeMille.

[Jake Stern]

Howdy.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

And Mr. Oscar.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Apple. That's apple.

[Fred Clay]

Oh, sure.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

We don't allow no apples in orange country.

[Jake Stern]

Howdy.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

These gentlemen are flicker makers.

[Jake Stern]

Jake, you don't say.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

You've got competition, Mr. Stern. Mind if we look around your barn?

[Jake Stern]

Help yourself.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

You gentlemen are more interested in my lab, I'm sure.

[Oscar Apfel]

Harry, your lab gets our work.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Well, I consider that a contract, sir. Yes, indeed.

[Oscar Apfel]

You did say there were no other labs.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

That's right.

[Oscar Apfel]

Then you can also consider the contract

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

signed, you Eastern businessman.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Mr. Stern, would you consider renting us a portion of your bond to use for offices while we're shooting our pictures?

[Jake Stern]

Might.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

I got a little stage adjoining the laboratory, gentlemen. I even got diffusers.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Sounds wonderful. Excuse us a moment. Oscar, come here. What's a diffuser?

[Oscar Apfel]

Well, you know how the stages are open at the top so you can

[Cecil B. DeMille]

use the sunlight Mean like the Edison studio?

[Oscar Apfel]

Well, sometimes, Cecil, especially in California, the sun gets too bright. Diffusers are strips of cloth stretched across

[Cecil B. DeMille]

the roof to diffuse the sunlight.

[Oscar Apfel]

Hey, this looks ideal.

[Constance DeMille]

The lab?

[Oscar Apfel]

The stage offices? Of a sort.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

We can set up partitions. And all we'll need is a desk chair and some place to edit the film.

[Oscar Apfel]

I say we close the deal.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Good. Mr. Stern, we'd like to use the bond.

[Jake Stern]

Five dollars a week.

[Constance DeMille]

Five?

[Jake Stern]

I don't bargain.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Accept it.

[Jake Stern]

Horses and carriages stay. But they was here first.

[Oscar Apfel]

He's got a point.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Agreed.

[Jake Stern]

$5, please.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Have to give you a check. We'll be opening a bank account.

[Jake Stern]

No good.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Why not?

[Jake Stern]

Banks won't do business with Flickr makers.

[Oscar Apfel]

But we're going to put money in.

[Jake Stern]

Won't take it.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

What?

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

He's right, gentlemen. Banks have peculiar ideas about flicker makers. But I got a friend runs the grocery hereabouts, and he's got a safe where you can keep your cash.

[Jake Stern]

When I get my five bucks, you can move in.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Got work to do, Sus.

[Oscar Apfel]

Look at it this way. If we go any farther west, our hats will float.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

They might float right here. What's all that? Water?

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Oh, Jake's just holding down the barn.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Oscar, remind me to get some boots. My dearest Constance. Miraculously, things are progressing well. They schedule shooting to begin on the 29th, so we'll probably be seeing the New Year. In looking at the footage of our first day shooting. We're paying some actors as much as $5 a day. But when you consider that Jane Darwell, who's already appeared in some films, demands $10 a day, you can see we're being cautious with our limited funds. I found a small place to rent here in Hollywood and share it with the prairie wolf we use in the film. Since I could find no other accommodations for him and find the nights dreadfully lonely without you and Cecilia. With that in mind, our leading lady, Winifred Kingston, has spent her spare time looking for a house large enough to accommodate the three of us. I want the two of you to come out on the first train, and I promise you the Wolf will be evicted by the time you arrive. The new house is in the Couenga Pass, a lovely bit of country between Hollywood and in the San Fernando Valley. There are only dirt trails, so I'll be purchasing a horse. Your husband will look more like a cowboy than Dusty does. What with the horse, the boots I wrote you about, and the gun I carry. For I live in constant dread that the Trust will discover us and sabotage our efforts. By the way, Oscar thinks I'm foolish because I plan to shoot every scene twice. But I'll feel much more secure knowing that I have an extra negative of each day's work in the house with me. Please telegraph me as soon as you know what train you'll be taking. I must rush over to the lab now to see some tests we shot today. Hug and kiss, Cecilia, for me. And never, never forget how desperately I miss you. Oh, my love. Cecil.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

It's dark inside, gentlemen, so just let me lead the way. Keep the whole building dark. Could be a light streak someplace, you know, and that won't do for a film laboratory.

[Oscar Apfel]

Then you've already developed a negative and made a print?

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

No, we're fast, but not that fast. I figure you can look at some of the frames through a viewer I got, then tomorrow we can project the print I'll be making.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

My feet, they're all tangled up in something.

[Oscar Apfel]

Is that what I've been hearing?

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Well, I can't imagine. Well, let me see here, gentlemen. Let's take this outside a minute and have a look. See? It's film.

[Oscar Apfel]

A whole mess of it.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

I can't imagine what it.

[Oscar Apfel]

It's negative.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Well, the only stuff I processed was ours.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Let me see that.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Now, hold it up to the light. You'll recognize if it's your film.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Oscar, it's ours.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

I can't understand it.

[Oscar Apfel]

It's all but mutilated. Nobody could make a print from that.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

I. I don't know what to say.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Mr. Burns and me, we're the only ones with keys.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Harry, did you ever process a feature here before?

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

You must be about the first ones making a feature out here, the Trust.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Oscar, they.

[Constance DeMille]

Here are your boots, darling. I'll dry. Oh, Cecil, you haven't eaten a bite of breakfast.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Oh, I'll take it with me, dear.

[Constance DeMille]

Two eggs, sunny side up.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

All right. I'll pick some oranges on the way.

[Constance DeMille]

Are you worried about something?

[Cecil B. DeMille]

I was just wondering, darling, how come Jake Stern has the cleanest barn in the west, yet I have the dirtiest arches?

[Constance DeMille]

I told you, when he's hosing, put your feet on the waste paper basket.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

I had to let Stella use it.

[Constance DeMille]

Stella, you told me you fired it because she wanted more money.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

I did, but I didn't know the typewriter belonged to her.

[Constance DeMille]

Darling, is this all really happening?

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Sometimes I get the feeling that here you Cecilia me, that this is the movie and what we're getting on film is the reality. Constance, Oscar thinks we're in at the beginning of something very Important. We both think Hollywood might be the best place in the whole country to make movies. We've got ideal weather. Mountains, deserts, ocean. About the only thing we can't duplicate near here is the North Pole. I can see movies using this terrain. Teachers, where the characters share equal billing with the terrain. Do you realize that the Holy Land not only has a similar climate, but that.

[Constance DeMille]

You're going to be late? Oh.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Oh, yes. Did you pack my eggs?

[Constance DeMille]

You're going to pick oranges. But your lunch is packed and Cecilia's waiting by your horse.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Look out there, Constance. Not a cloud in the sky.

[Constance DeMille]

Here's your lunch. Oh, this letter came for you yesterday.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

No. First of this address. I didn't know anybody.

[Constance DeMille]

What is it?

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Well, if I didn't know better, I'd say it was a joke. See for yourself.

[Constance DeMille]

It's words pasted from newspapers. Get out of the motion picture field. Close your studio. Heed this. If you value your life, this all. What does it mean?

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Trust. It has to be.

[Constance DeMille]

What on earth is a trust?

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Give me that. I want you to forget it, just as I intend to. Now I am late. I'll see you at dinner, darling.

[Constance DeMille]

Bye,

[Fred Clay]

Papa. Papa, you promised to take me for a ride this morning.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Oh, would you trade that ride for one big kiss? I know you're late this evening for sure. There. Now you go help your mother clear up the kitchen.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

I will.

[Fred Clay]

Bye, Papa.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Love you. I love you, too. Guess he scares easily. Oh, don't you worry, old girl. He won't shoot again now that he knows I'm armed. You know something? Either he's from the trust, or we've just had a brush with our first movie critic.

[Fred Clay]

Yeah.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

Clark, can you help me, please?

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Yes, sir. Welcome to the Hollywood Hotel.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

My name is Lasky, president of the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company, New York. I wonder if you could direct me to my company Studio.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Studio?

[Charlton Heston (Narrator)]

Motion picture studio.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Never heard of it.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

We're having a private showing of our first feature, the Squaw Man.

[Charlton Heston (Narrator)]

Ever heard of that?

[Cecil B. DeMille]

No, sir.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

Well, our director general is Cecil B. DeMille. Maybe you never heard of him either. Don't you ever get out from behind that desk?

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Oh, say, you know, I just remembered. There's a bunch of people making the

[Jesse L. Lasky]

movie in a barn down on Vine Street.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Now, if you go east on Hollywood

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Boulevard and turn right at Vine Street.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Ladies, gentlemen, my fellow workers and very good friends, there's little I can say by way of introduction to the scoreman, which we're all about to see for the first time each of you has been as close to it as I have. In a way we pioneered together. Our story is about frontier America. And our efforts, hopefully will introduce to our country and the world a new frontier. A creative wilderness that may someday be settled by a new breed of artists from all over the world. But why don't we let the picture speak for itself? Harry, I'll get the lights if you're ready.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Ready when you are, Mr. DeMille.

[Constance DeMille]

Darling, what's happening?

[Cecil B. DeMille]

I don't know, Papa.

[Fred Clay]

The words are jumping.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

The picture's skittering off the top of the screen.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Harry, is the projector loaded correctly?

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Sure is. I don't understand it.

[Oscar Apfel]

You're sure it's working right, Harry?

[Cecil B. DeMille]

I'm positive, Austin.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

Cecil.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

That's happening in every scene.

[Oscar Apfel]

Cecilia. Cecil. It must be in the film.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Harry, stop the projector. We're ruined.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

You know what this means, Sam?

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Goldfish, our attorney, me.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

We could all face jail sentences because we've sold the exhibition rights to this picture. We've had cash advances that we put

[Cecil B. DeMille]

into the cost of production. He's right. We've sold something we don't even have.

[Oscar Apfel]

Could this be the work of the trust?

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

No, I don't think so, Oscar. Mr. DeMille, look here. I'm holding a piece of your print against a piece of your negative.

[Oscar Apfel]

Let me see that.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Look close, you'll find something different.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Sprocket holes don't line up.

[Oscar Apfel]

That's right, they don't.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

What did you use to sprocket your film with, Mr. DeMille?

[Jesse L. Lasky]

What's he talking about?

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Wait a minute, Jesse. I think we're a victim of my Dutch thrift.

[Oscar Apfel]

That second hand British made sprocket puncher you bought.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Well, that explains it.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

I don't want explanations.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

Are we ruined or not? I don't know, Jesse, you sprocketed your negative at 65 holes for every foot of film. All American equipment runs at 64 holes.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

Well, what does that mean? We'll have a hit. And England.

[Oscar Apfel]

There has to be an answer.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

I was gonna send Sam such a triumphant telegram.

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

All right, now, look. If you'll all just calm down.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

What is it, Harry?

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

There's a man in Philadelphia, they call him Pop Rubin. Knows more about film than any man alive.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Do you think he could do something?

[Narrator / Cecil B. DeMille]

I think they've handled this problem before. They just paste a thin strip of film over your old sprocket holes and punch new ones in.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

What's he talking about, Jesse? I think he just said the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company. Was back in business.

[Fred Clay]

Darling, you're so late.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

We've been celebrating. Let's go inside by the light. I want to read this to you.

[Constance DeMille]

Not too loud.

[Jesse L. Lasky]

The.

[Constance DeMille]

The.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

It's a telegram from Sam Goldfish. They loved the picture at the trade showing in New York. And he has sold. Sold the squaw man to 44 out of the 48 states and expects to have the last four sold within two weeks.

[Constance DeMille]

Oh, darling, how wonderful.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Jesse figures our investment has at least doubled. He's decided we're going to make a picture a month. Now, look at this magazine, the Moving Picture World. Here, full page. Read it.

[Constance DeMille]

The Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company announces the production of Brewster's Millions to be produced by Jesse Lasky, America's most artistic director, employing the skills of Oscar Apful, acknowledged peer of directors and genius of innovators. And Mr. Cecil B. DeMille, master playwright, director and author of humorous dramatic successes.

[Fred Clay]

Oh, darling, humorous successes.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Well, Jesse never could count. Well, unless he was using cash.

[Constance DeMille]

Oh, I'm so happy for you. A picture a month. And before long there'll be more pictures coming out of Hollywood than New York,

[Cecil B. DeMille]

than anywhere on earth.

[Constance DeMille]

Oh, if you say so, darling. Now, would the director general, that master playwright and author of numerous dramatic successes care to dine?

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Just wash up. And to think how I worried about the Trust ruining us. Those men have no vision, Constance. If they can't grow and develop the way the public's taste in movies is growing and developing, they have to perish. And their nickelodeons with them. People are paying as much as 50 cents and a dollar to see the Squaw Man. You realize what's happening? We're charting a whole new course in motion pictures. Do you realize that?

[Constance DeMille]

Yes, darling. And I also realized the dinner is getting very cold.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

I'm sorry. My arm. Madam, it's just that it's been such a wonderful day. I finished the shooting script for Brewster's Millions. And would you look at that. You've got our silver out of hock.

[Constance DeMille]

And I have a feeling it's never going back.

[Narrator / Historical Commentator]

Needless to say, Mrs. DeMille kept her silver. The man responsible for selling the Squaw man to the exhibitors, Sam Goldfish, went on to achieve great stature in the film industry. We all know him as Sam Goldwyn. Mr. DeMille never claimed for himself a monopoly on the concept of feature length films. Ironically, considering the numerous biblical films DeMille made. The first feature was made in 1908 and was called the Life of Moses. But because of the trust, it was released only one wheel at a time. There was a handful of other features predating Squaw man, but none had the impact of DeMille's. In fact, no other filmmaker in the world has made as memorable and lasting a mark in the movie. Going public as the son of a poor schoolmaster turned playwright, Cecil B. DeMille,

[Charlton Heston (Narrator)]

This has been another portrait in an American gallery. Today, a preview of coming attractions starred Sebastian Cabot as Cecil B. DeMille. Featured in the cast were Olin Soule, Sidney Miller, Jack Carroll, Herb Vigren, Jim Nusser, Catherine McLeod and Mona Lewis. Sound by Gene Twombly. The story was written by Robert M. Young. Produced and directed by William Lally. Art Ballinger speaking. This is the United States Armed Forces Radio Service.

[Fred Clay]

Sam. Sa.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Foreign.

[Tyler Redick (Chumba Casino Ad)]

From 2311 Racing Victory Lane. Yeah, it's even better with Chumba by my side. Race to chumbacasino.com let's Chumba. No purchase necessary. BTW Group void where prohibited by law. CTNCS 21/plus sponsored by Chumba Casino.

[Verbal's Travel Ad Announcer]

With Verbal's last minute deals, you can save over $50 on your spring getaway. So whether it's a Mountain Escape City break or a week at the beach, there's still time to get great discounts. Book your next day now. Average savings $72.00 select homes only.