Death at Studio 7

For twelve years Frankie has held every shooting schedule at Bellcrest Pictures together: extras, coffee, and nerves. Tonight Frankie runs the shoot on Studio 7 and now this gathering in the commissary as well.

Vivian is the new star of Bellcrest: three pictures, three hits. In “Fog over Macau” she plays the singer Lily Shaw. Tomorrow her engagement to the producer Harold J. Sterling is due to appear in the papers.

Danny has Grant Maddox’s height, his walk and the back of his head – just not his face. For two years Danny has stood in the light for Grant while the lamps are set, and taken the jumps when things get dangerous.

Rosa has sewn, mended and pressed in the wardrobe department at Bellcrest since the talkies came in. She knows every dress Vivian Ashby wears down to the last snap, and she hears more than anyone thinks.

Leopold Kastner made celebrated films in Berlin and has worked in Hollywood since 1933; “Fog over Macau” is his second picture for Bellcrest. He speaks softly, sees everything, and shoots every scene until it is right.

Eddie cranked silent pictures when Hollywood was still orange groves. No cameraman at the studio lights a face as beautifully as he does; the stars ask for him by name.

Lorraine writes the column “Behind the Curtain” for a big Los Angeles newspaper. Whoever she praises gets cast; whoever she pans soon sells insurance. Tonight she is writing about Vivian Ashby.

Sam wrote “Fog over Macau” – every line, every shot, every last sentence in the rain. For weeks Sam has been working nights at the studio, because every scene Sterling doesn’t like has to be rewritten overnight.