Lillian Gish Finds It No Picnic to Lie In Guillotine (San Luis Obispo Daily Telegram – 1922)

 

Lillian Gish Finds It No Picnic to Lie In Guillotine (San Luis Obispo Daily Telegram – 1922)

San Luis Obispo Daily Telegram, Number 87, 21 June 1922

LILLIAN GISH FINDS IT NO PICNIC TO LIE IN GUILLOTINE

“You often mall advice to aspirants. don’t you?” remarked Lillian Gish to a well known motion picture editor, who was visiting Mamaroneck during the taking of the guillotine scene for D. W. Griffith’s “Orphans of the Storm,” a United Artists Corporation release which is coming next week to the Elmo Theater. “Please tell them,” Miss Gish continued, “that it is no fun dying on the movie guillotine from 10 a. m. to 7 p. m. as I have done this day!” The property man who stood near by agreed with Miss Gish, and commented In the language that only a property man knows how to use. – “The strongest of us wouldn’t want to lay in that neck piece chocker a nine-hour day—takes, retakes, closeups, far shots, short bits of rest in between. In fact a thousand deaths in one,” was the way he put It.

Orphans of the Storm – La Guillotine …

And it was true. The fair Lillian had been dragged up the steps by two burly ruffians hurriedly strapped to the board that goes under the guillotine, then, the sharpened knife was raised high In the air and everything was In readiness to separate the gentle Lillian’s beautiful blond head from the lovely Lillian torso. Then just as the knife was about to fall, Danton the hero arrive on the scene after the mad gallop from the court house five miles away and again Lillian was saved. If this happened once It had happened a score of times during that day. No wonder Lillian Gish was tired.

Orphans of the Storm – Lillian Gish and Monte Blue

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