CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE A DOCUMENTARY FILM: "Split-Second" An abstract submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Mass Communication by Edward London June, 1977 The Abstract of Ed~1ard London is approved: John Shultheiss, Comm1ttee Chairman California State University, Northridge ii ABSTRACT A DOCUMENTARY FILM "Split-Second" by Edward London Master of Arts in Mass Communication This thesis project is a self-written, produced and directed, film on the career of stuntman­ director, Richard Talmadge. It is a half-hour production in 16mm. Eastmancolor with an optical soundtrack. Richard Talmadge was a screen and stunt performer beginning in the 1920's. He appeared in some of his own films and also doubled for many notables including the late Douglas Fairbanks Sr. In the early 1930's with the advent of sound, he subsequently embarked upon another career as a second-unit or stunt director. After The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1935) and iii the highly acclaimed Beau Geste (1939), Talmadge became firmly established. Over the next thirty years he worked on as many films. Later representative highlights of his career were Prince Valiant (1954) with Robert Wagner, !lmv the West liJas r,~~Jon (1962), Circus l.Vorld (1964), ~lhat's New Pussycat {1965) and the James Bond film, Cas~no Royale (1966). He specialized in spectacular scenes of sweeping hordes, massive destruction, fire scenes and chases. His unusual life as one of Hollywood's film pioneers lends itself to a visual interpretation. The film combines an interview with Richard Talmadge, with still photos and motion picture sequences from some of his best works in cinema. The interviewer and narrator is actor Marshall Thompson of television's Daktari series. The ~usic, circa 1913-1917, is a solo piano rendition of a pastime by Artie Matthews and a piano rag by James Scott. iv "SPLIT~SECOND" Shooting script October, 1976 fade in CUE: SILENT FOOTACF.. ( chase and 0:00 jumping from a log pile. ) THE SAWMILL (1923). CUE I·1USIC OPENING SCENES EHPHl\SXZE Tl\L!-1ADGE PERFORMING SOLO STUNTS. fade out/in CUE: l-11\.IN TITLES ~50 fade out/in SILENT FOOTA~F. ( continues ) 1:10 fade out/in CUF.: CREDITS 1:55 fade out/in SILENT FOOTAGE ( continues ) 2:15 CUE: VOICE OVER 2:45 Narrator: 'l'his 1923 t~vo-reeler shmvs Talmadge in top form. In almost every minute of the film he was performing falls or spectacular jumps, ,..,hile. doubling for baby faced actor, Larry Semon. About ten such Semon films were made with Talmadge stunting in all of them, but this one, The Sa~~il~ remains among the best. From a performer in the silent shorts of the 1920ts, we will trace Richard Talmadge's career through a timespan of almost four decades, when he was an 2. Narrator: (continues) accomplished stunt director of the epic film. (V.O. OUT) 3:15 fade out/in EXTERIOR PATIO 3:25 c.s TURNING TO CAMEPA Marshall: Well that's the way they used to make movies. In those days actors and stunt men took risks every day they worked and there were many injuries and so.me fa tali ties. Perhaps the greatest stuntman of all was Richard Talmadge. He came to Hollywood around 1917 from a European circus family and had been one of the stars of the Metzetti team, an acrobatic troupe. Well, Richard is still very much with us and I'd like you to meet the man who performed some of the most daring stunts on the silent screen, Richard Talmadge. zoom out ·& Richard: Well Marshall, I hope I've 4:00 pa·n. 2 c. s earned all that praise. Marshall: Richard, I've been looking at a lot of footage you made in the silent days and I understand that you 3 Marshall: (continues) did everything that the audience saw on the screen? Richard: That's right. We didn't have the sophisticated special effects that exist today. Marshall: Why don't we take a look at some more of those stunts you did in the twenties? 4:25 fade out/in SILENT FOOTAGE (jumps from a 4:30 building into a lake.) CUE MUSIC END SEQUENCE. (MUSIC OUT) 5:30 fade out/in EXTERIOR PATIO 5:35 2 c.s Marshall: You certainly had to be in good physical shape to keep up with that sort of action. Richard: Oh yes. l"7hen you make pictures all year round you keep in good shape. ~1arshall: But you must have had some mishaps or injuries? Richard: Yes, I've broken my neck. Marshall: You broke your neck? Richard: Yes, in two places. About six months later I started all over again. 4 Marshall: Didn't that scare you? Richard: No, nothing scares you w~en you do a stunt. The only thing that scared me was the big check, five bucks. It was five dollars for every stunt we did. Marshall: So if you did a stunt such as fall off a building then, it was five dollars. How much would it be no'tv? c.s Richard: About b-;o thousand dollars. 6:30 Now I made a lot of pictures mostly all with a comedy background. I went up seven stories one time, supposedly chased by some policemen. As they came towards me I backed off the roof and I fell through seven awnings to the street. I slid from the last awning above the sidewalk into the automobile of the Chief of Police. 2 c.s Marshall: Richard, you were a good 7:20 friend of Douglas Fairbanks Sr. weren't you? Richard: Yes, I was a very good friend of his. He was a wonderful __ •!.. 5 Richard: (continues) athlete. Don't let anybody tell you about his doing tricks with springboards. He ! ! didn't need them. Every day we worked out together and learned ne\'1 tricks but I admit he had ~ way of copying them a little better than we did. - fade out/in STILLS. ( 3 sequential shots of Richard doing a high jump.) (insert) DIALOGUE OVER. 8:00 Marshall: In 1927 sound came in. Since you were a star exclusively of the silent era, what effect did this have on you? I know it affected many people. fade out/in Richard: Yes it affected directors 2 c.s and actors. All went out on their ear. They imported stage players from New York and soon found out it didn't work. They had no idea about motion pictures which was a different media entirely. Most of those left by the wayside never made a recovery. I was hurt because I was a European and had a dialect. So then I went 6 Richard: (continues) into stunt directing and began to work on the big action pictures. c.s ON RICHARD Marshall: You know Richard, one of 9:05 my favorite pictures was Beau Geste with Gary Cooper, Ray Milland and Brian Donlevy. You did the second unit direction on that didn't you?. Richard: Yes I did and that was a hard picture to photograph, on account of the brightness of the sun and the sand. If you shot it at noon it looked like snow. So I naturally wanted to shoot early in the morning while there were pockets of shadows but Wild Bill Wellman had different ideas. He said, " Who the devil are you to tell me when to direct and not direct? " I said, " You can do what you please but that's the only time you'll get a good picture. " He came back a little later and said I was right. fade out/in BEAU GESTE FILM SEQUENCE #1 ( Beau 10:10 and the Sergeant hold off Arabian horsemen charg.ing the fort. ) 7 mix down CUE: VOICE OVER 10:15 track Narrator: Beau Geste was one of the 1930's memorable successes. The film's strong visuals today perpet- uate it among the classics. A most moving and often remembererl scene is the relentless sergeant piling corpses against the battlements while Beau looks on. This is intermingled with Talmadge's swift battle charge of Arabian horsemen outside the walls. fade out/in EXTERIOR PATIO 12:00 c.s Richard: I said, " Wellman, how about the oasis? I have a bunch of dead palms and nothing moving. " He said, " ~«lhy don't you get sorn.e wind machines? " The studio said nothing doing but he argued with them and the next day a barrage of wind machines came. There were eight or ten of them and every palm was wired to a truck. So when the Hind machines were started and the trucks started to pull, I had the best storm that -~----~---- --------•--·-----------------····- -- --- -~~--- ------ --· -- --- - --- ----------- -----·· --- . - . -.- - ---------- .. - ·-- •:.- 8 Richard: (continues) you've ever looked at. fade out/in BEAU GESTE FIU'l SEQUENCE #2 ( Digby, 12:40 the second Geste brother, is shot down in the sand as the three survivors make a her.oic attack on an Arab encampment. ) OPENS ON DIALOGUE SCENE. mix dot>m CUE: VOICE OVER 13:20 track Narrator: A second notable scene was the dust scene Talmadge argued so long for; to be done right with wind machines. It provided a visual aura around the heroic death of the second Geste brother. The trumpet dropped into the wind ravaged sand is the film's final ironic symbolism. (V .0. OUT) END SEQUENCE 14:30 fade out/in EXTERIOR PATIO 14:40 c.s Richard: Now I did a picture with Robert Wagner and the outstanding thing was the fire.