Chapter Two
SHOOTING ON LOCATION
Janet stared hard at the chubby director. It was hard to believe thatBilly Fenstow would joke with her now. That would be too cruel.
"Don't you believe me, Janet?" he asked.
"It can't be possible," she murmured. "Why, I'm an unknown. You wouldn'tput me into the leading role."
Just then Curt Newsom, the western star arrived.
"How's the new leading lady?" he asked.
"I--I don't know," gasped Janet. "I'm not sure. Everything seems to bein kind of a whirl. I guess I'll sit down."
Janet dropped into a nearby chair, oblivious of the fact that it was thecherished property of the director.
"It's grand, Janet, simply grand," exclaimed Helen. "My, but I'm proudof you."
Billy Fenstow came over to Janet.
"You needn't be so surprised," he said.
"Only don't let this go to your head. It doesn't take a whole lot ofacting ability to be a leading lady in a western. All you've got to haveis a fair amount of beauty, some brains, and the ability to keep on topof a horse."
Janet, recalling her experiences in "Broad Valley," the first picturethey had appeared in, smiled a little ruefully.
"I don't know whether I'll even be able to stay on a horse," sheadmitted.
"Then we'll glue you into the saddle," smiled the director.
Others in the company came up. Most of them had been in the earlierpicture and without exception they congratulated Janet on winning theleading role.
The weather was ideal and Billy Fenstow intended to make the most of itby shooting all of the exteriors possible.
Promptly at seven o'clock a large bus rolled onto the lot and the entirecompany, numbering some thirty-three, including the technicians, boardedthe big vehicle.
Their destination was a ranch well into the foothills and it was afternoon before they arrived. This particular outfit had never before beenused for film purposes for it was well away from the usual run oftraffic and harder to reach than some of the layouts nearer the studio.
The ranchhouse was large and comfortable and arrangements were made forall of the girls in the company to stay there while the men would bequartered in the bunkhouse with the exception of the director, whoplanned to drive back and forth from the nearest town.
A truck loaded with camera and sound equipment had preceded the bus andthe technicians went to work to assemble their materials. The polecorral was crowded with horses and the assistant director, "Skeets"Irwin, took over the task of assigning horses to the various members ofthe company.
Curt Newsom had his own string, which had been brought by truck, but theothers were to ride ranch horses. Janet drew a beautiful sorrel whileHelen was mounted on a black with only one white foot.
There was a gorgeous sunset and Billy Fenstow, always on the alert for agood background shot, had his cameras catch some typical ranch scenes.They might not fit in with the present picture but he knew some day thefootage would come in handy.
After dinner in the ranchhouse that night, Janet and Helen retired tothe room they shared and studied the scripts which had been handed out.
"Water Hole" was a typical Billy Fenstow western with lots of hardriding and plenty of scenery. It was the story of Curt Newsom's defenseof his small ranch with its valuable water hole against a larger cattleoutfit.
Janet played the role of a school teacher while Helen was a waitress inthe one restaurant in the little cow town to which the cowboys migratedevery Saturday night. The girls were to have an important part insolving the plot to get Curt's ranch and all in all they were greatlypleased with their parts.
Janet sat down and wrote a long letter home, telling of their goodfortune and of her own in particular. She paused a moment and closed hereyes. Perhaps her mother would show the letter to Pete Benda, the cityeditor of the _Clarion Times_. And Pete, of course, would make a story.Perhaps he would put it in the front page under a heading, "Clarion GirlGets Leading Role in Western Picture." She smiled a little. That wouldbe rather nice.
Then she awoke from her reverie and finished the letter. After that itwas bedtime for there was an early call.
They were out the next morning shortly after dawn for Billy Fenstowworked his companies long and hard.
Janet was in several shots that day riding to and from the ranch to theschoolhouse and in the afternoon they went to the schoolhouse where adozen youngsters had been gathered. Most of them were actual pupils ofthe little school and the cameras ground away as Janet dismissed themfrom a make-believe class and watched them hurry away from school towardtheir homes, some of them afoot and others on sturdy little cow ponies.
Helen had little to do that day, but followed every action of thecompany with interest.
"What do you think of it?" she asked Janet that night as they lounged onthe broad verandah of the ranchhouse.
"I like it a lot," said Janet whole-heartedly. "Of course I realize I'mno actress, but the picture's good and clean and it's a consolation tobe in something like that."
Helen was silent for a time.
"What do you think about our future in the movies?" she asked.
Janet pondered the question before answering, for she, too, had beenwondering that very thing.
"If you want to know the truth, I think we're just about where webelong. I know I'm not a real actress. I can get by in a picture likethis or in some minor role, but I'd never make a really top-notchactress and it would be rather heart-breaking to stay here and do thisyear in and year out."
"Then that means you'll go back to Clarion when summer's over?" Helenasked the question with a touch of desperate anxiety in her voice.
"I suppose so," replied Janet slowly, "for I know that I won't beespecially happy here. It's been glorious fun and it still is, but itcan't last forever and I'm not fooling myself about that for a minute."
They were silent for a time, wondering if the coming fall would bring anend to their close companionship. If Janet went back to Clarion, itwould be only logical that Helen would stay on in Hollywood with herfather and mother. The thought of parting was not a pleasant prospect toeither girl.
They went to bed later without discussing the matter further, but as theshooting of "Water Hole" progressed and August drew to a close, it wasconstantly in their minds.
Helen's father and mother came out to visit them on location severaltimes, but neither one of them mentioned any plans for Helen.
"Two more days of work and we'll have the picture in the can," BillyFenstow told the company one morning. "We're right on schedule and Iwant to finish that way, but we've got some hard riding scenes to getout of the way."
The director turned to Janet.
"We've got to shoot that scene of your ride from town to the ranch towarn Curt that his enemies are riding to wipe out his ranch," he said."Are you ready?"
Janet nodded and swung into the saddle of the rangy sorrel.
Billy Fenstow climbed onto the light truck which carried the cameras andJanet's horse trotted along behind as the vehicle rolled away across thevalley in which the ranch was located. They went for perhaps two milesthrough the hills to a hamlet along a branch line railroad which hadserved as the cow town for the picture's locale. It was here that Janetbegan her ride, but before she started she looked to the cinches.
She remounted and sat easily in the saddle, waiting for the signal tostart.
Billy Fenstow waved his hand and the truck started swiftly away, Janetriding hard after it. She rode with a natural lithesomeness of her body.The light felt hat which had been crushed over her brown hair came off.She clutched at it instinctively, but missed, and kept on riding, hergolden hair streaming away from her shoulders. Janet smiled to herself.At least that would give a realistic effect.
She watched the director covertly and when he motioned again she sentthe sorrel racing away from the camera truck at an angle so the camerascould get a side shot. Then the truck moved ahead of her.
It
was hot and dry, and anything but an easy task to ride a horsepounding along as hard as the big sorrel. Finally they topped the lasthill and swept down into the valley and Janet braced herself for thelast bit of action.
Curt, near the water hole, looked up when he heard the pounding hoofsand Janet hurled herself from the saddle and ran to him.
"Quick, Curt, they're riding hard behind me. You've got to get out ofhere. I'll stay and watch the ranch."
But Curt refused and the action was cut there.
Janet was dusty and sweaty and she walked to the pump and drank deeplyof the cool, sweet water.
"I can imagine there might have been a fight over this ranch in theearly days," she said.
"There was," grinned Curt, "but it wasn't nearly as big a one as we'reputting into the picture."
Janet's hardest scene for the day was over and Helen was in only one ortwo minor shots so they passed part of the afternoon packing up theirthings in preparation for the departure the next afternoon.
It was nearly dinner time when a dust covered car rolled into the valleyand approached the ranchhouse.
Janet and Helen, sitting on the front steps, watched it with interestwhich deepened as they saw an Iowa license plate on the front of thecar.
"That almost looks like home," said Helen. "Why, the number's from ourhome county. Maybe it's someone we know."
But the sun was flashing off the windshield, effectively shielding thepassengers in the car.
The machine swung to a stop a few feet away and Janet and Helen, whenthey saw the passengers, recognized them with mixed emotions.
Janet Hardy in Radio City Page 2