EXPERIENCES IN " IVANHOE."

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XL, Issue 13251, 9 December 1913, Page 5

EXPERIENCES IN " IVANHOE."

kino'bagot also suffered. Mr Henry Brenon, the producer of the Imp. picture of "Ivanhoe," which will be shown at the Opera House tomorrow night, is nothing if not "thorough" m his work, as the following short story will show : — "A Fleet-street scribe came up to Chepstow, where the picture was taken, to do a 'special' for his paper, and m order to be m the swim, applied to the producer, for a job. Mr Brenon grasped the novelty of the situation and set him oh to rehearse tho part of the Xorman valet, who is thrown from the turrets by Ivanhoe. After an encounter with two Saxo-Norman-American knightsrivetted to the crown m armour, who were discovered practising the jelly wobble m the rourtynrd. he haslencrl to tlie local drill-hall t<> <l«»n his trappings. His first adventure was to be thrown from the battlements. He was hurled down four times before Mr Brenon was satisfied, while (according to his own words), m his next great "comedy scene, he was cast into the mosit by a jester who did not seem to care how much film he used so long as he got his victim m with the l-ight kind of splash. He was rescued by two colleagues, but he turned up again next day with his armour spick and span to lend a hand m the final attack oh the castle. Two hundred men were drawn up on the lawn below the battlements — recruited mostly from the local irouworkte, armed to the teeth with javelins and battleaxcs. Some of the American players had fl[ood and bpdily "reason to remember their encounter with, the blaclcsmiths'.'of' Chepstb\v. In the midst of the fray JKing Bagot, who played Ivanhoe, was 'accidentally struck on the head with a spear, but he managed to struggle on until he saw the others cease. Then he dropped senseless on the grass, and had to be medically attended. Then cime the storming of the building by the ranks. The mob of carefully Tfy hearsed ironworkers, .including, of course, our friend the pressman, • saddled their harness and charged the, gateway. "'Fight like blazes, boys, and there's sandwiches ;and beer when you get through," howled Brenon down a megaphone. That did it- They entered into the spirit' pf .'the, fight with an ardor that was more than real. In fact, judging by the, rush for the local doctor a few minutes later, 'it is safe to say that those ironworkers were much too enthusiastic. "^_!_^__^^^^^