swapping a dummy for a kid to get the job done
Toronto. A December, 1921 article in Popular Mechanics shows how movie processes were performed while delicate eyes were protected from the bright lights so necessary back then when both lenses and media were pathetically slow.
Before each scene, a cameraman carefully focussed his camera under the very bright interior lighting of the day. To save the delicate eye-sight of young movie stars, a dummy stand-in was used. The example shown is little Jackie Coogan and his substitute.
A a youngster going to movies (certainly not back to the 1920s) I was unaware of the various workarounds so necessary back then to balance great results with minimum risk to the movie ‘stars’.
My thanks once again must go to my good friend, George Dunbar, for finding and sharing this article with us.
