The American Sun & Wind Moving Picture Company

1921

1921 M y father entered the room, not from the door I would use when we filmed the scene a second time—a scene in which Mister Gardner and Laura would kiss for the first time—but from the open side of the platform. His face bright with curiosity, he approached a large sheet of glass that was fixed in an upright position beside the divan and, eyes closed, he ran his palm across the glass’s upper edge, tracing its silhouette. I know, he said, opening his eyes. It’s a woman, isn’t it? Yes, I said. But where did she come from? You made her. But how? I explained that he had used a pantograph to transfer the woman’s outline from a strip of film onto a large sheet of paper . Then he had cut out the shape and taped the paper to glass, after which, using a glazier’s knife, he had carved the woman’s figure. Amazing, he said. He touched the glass gently with his fingertips. Well, he remarked, it’s certainly easy to see through this woman, isn’t it? 1921 / 63 Same old Simon, Karl said. He may have lost his mind, but he’s still got his sense of humor. My father turned to me. And who are you? he asked. I’m your son. Amazing, he said. But I’ll tell you this, young man. You look more like a famous moving picture actor to me than a son. In fact, you resemble Bobby Harron quite a bit. I knew Bobby Harron. I saw him fight in the war. I saw him fall in love with Miss Gish, and I saw him try to save the life of his courageous colored comrade. Bobby Harron’s dead, my mother said. He died last year. Dead? my father said, tears appearing in his eyes at once. Poor Bobby. I remember when he was just a messenger boy working for Mister Griffith. But he rescued Miss Gish when she was floating on the ice, you know. No, I said. That was Mister Barthelmess. My father looked puzzled. You’re probably right, he said. My memory isn’t what it used to be, alas. I’ve been working under a handicap ever since, so they tell me, I fell down an elevator shaft. I considered telling my father the truth: that Bobby Harron had killed himself in a New York City hotel room on the night Way Down East opened. Many people believed he had journeyed east from California in order to commit the act because Mister Griffith had excluded him from a film with Miss Gish, just as Miss Gish, with whom Bobby was madly in love, had excluded him from her life. But I said nothing. All I cared about was having Gloria by my side, telling me it was time to leave. I imagined that Gloria’s children, Angelina and Marco, were with us, eager to set out on our journey west. My father touched my cheek with the back of his hand. Your skin is wonderfully smooth, he said. Like Bobby Harron ’s. Can you remember how beautiful Miss Gish looked while she drifted toward the waterfall? Can you remember when the horse tumbled into the water beside her and The The American Sun & Wind Moving Picture Company / 64 Gentle Stranger brought her to shore and asked her to marry him? So now you see for yourself, my mother said to Karl, why with Simon, what I say is this: that the elevator just doesn’t go to the top of the shaft anymore. Stop, Ben said. For God’s sake, Hannah. Please— My mother laughed. Why? He’s still my husband, she said. And believe me when I tell you I’d love to be happy the way he is. It would be a dream come true to be able to forget so much. It’s true, my father said. I’m a very happy man. My mother rested her head on his shoulder. Do you love me, Simon? she asked. Oh yes, my father said. I love you. But tell me again, please—who are you? I’m your wife. Ah yes, Simon said. And I certainly love my wife. And let me tell you what else I love. I love bridges and tunnels, especially when they’re filled with trains. And I adore...