FURNITURE AND THE AVERYS
One day I came home to find our living room without the usual coffee table and two end tables. "Isn’t something different in here?" I asked. "What do you mean?" my wife replied. "I mean what happened to the coffee and end tables?" "Oh," she commented, "I sold them today at our garage sale."
I quickly picked up on the subtle hint my wife just gave me, and knew that in the my near future I would be at the furniture store helping her to find a new coffee and end tables for the living room. That near future came the very next day. Now, to be quite honest, I wasn’t at all interested in coffee tables, or any other tables for that matter, even though the salesman took a passion in explaining all the modern benefits of the furniture that us "modern citizens" are so fortunate to have found within the showroom walls. What did fascinate me were the used books that were used as "props" to fill the bookcases and end tables for sale. Some very nice titles that the store had purchased at rummage sales or thrift stores, books that used to be called "modern literature."
Suddenly one particular book caught my eye. It was called, The Home Movie
Scenario Book, and was published in 1927. Just before the title page is this
quote: "The great films of the future, like the good films of today, will be
mainly done by amateurs" -- Photoplay Magazine. "Wow," I thought – a book
written in the
silent days for amateur movie makers – a book that tells all
about producing, directing, make-up, sets, lighting, titling, editing, and best
of all, contains twenty scripts for short films. The book’s introduction
mentions that last year (1926 I assume) 35,000 amateur picture cameras were
sold, and the demand for the present year (1927) was estimated at 100,000 camera
and projector outfits.
Wouldn’t it be great to see some of those old home movies made by those 1927 cameras? Whether anyone actually used these home movie scenarios to make their amateur films I don’t know, but some of these scripts could be filmed today, using black and white film and titles in the silent era style, which might make an entertaining short film from an original 1927 script.
Here is one example called "AND THEN THEY PLAYED BRIDGE"
TITLE: THE AVERYS HAD ALWAYS PRIDED THEMSELVES ON THEIR
BROADMINDEDNESS
Scene 1 Outside of the Avery house. Mr. and Mrs. Avery, a young married couple, come out.
Exterior Mrs. Avery pauses a moment, and takes a cigarette from her purse. Mr. Avery, with
a smile, offers her a light, and they go walking down the street, conversing gaily.
2 Exterior Another shot of street. The Averys come along, and are met by a very pretty girl. She
runs up to Avery, and throws her arms around him. He kisses her fondly.
3 Close up Show the embrace. Avery then turns to his wife, and introduces the stranger.
TITLE: "THIS IS FLO JENKINS. I WAS IN LOVE WITH HER BEFORE I MET YOU, DEAR."
4 Exterior Continue Scene 2. Mrs. Avery shakes hands cordially with the girl, without a trace of
jealousy or anger. As they are talking, a handsome man comes along, spies Mrs. Avery,
and greets her warmly.
5 Close up He puts his arms around her. Mrs. Avery says:
TITLE "WHY, I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU SINCE THAT WONDERFUL MOONLIGHT RIDE WE
HAD TOGETHER."
6 Exterior Continue Scene 4. They are absorbed in excited reminiscences, Mr. Avery standing
politely waiting to be noticed. Finally, Mrs. Avery remembers, and turns to introduce
them:
TITLE: "TOM, I WANT YOU TO MEET MY HUSBAND. HE'S A GOOD EGG."
7 Exterior Continue Scene 6. The "good egg" shakes hands with Tom, who still keeps the other
arm around Mrs. Avery. Mrs. Avery then has a bright idea. She says:
TITLE: "WHY NOT GO BACK TO THE HOUSE FOR A LITTLE BRIDGE? YOU USED
TO BE PRETTY GOOD, TOM."
8 Exterior Continue Scene 7. They all nod enthusiastic agreement, and turn around to go off,
Mrs. Avery walking with Tom, who holds her arm solicitously, and the other two
following. Fade out.
9 Exterior Fade in. Scene in garden of the Avery home, lawn, or porch. The weather is mild,
and the game is going to be played outdoors. Mrs. Avery comes through door of
house, carrying folded-up bridge table, which Tom tries to take from her. They have
a good-natured scuffle, Avery watching indulgently, until Tom gets the table, carries
it to the right spot and sets it up. Mrs. Avery pulls out one of the legs, and pinches
her fingers in the hinge. Tom kisses it to make it better. Avery and Flo sit down on
a settee together, and enter into a spirited tete-a-tete. Avery calls to them -- the table
is set, everything is ready. They gather around the table, and, before sitting down,
cut for partners. The four sit down. The game is started.
TITLE: AND THEN THEY PLAYED BRIDGE
10 Close up Of the four around the table. Avery plays an ace, and Mrs. Avery trumps it. Avery
almost leaps out of his seat. He says:
TITLE: "FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE! THAT WAS MY ACE YOU TRUMPED!"
11 Exterior Continue the action. Mrs. Avery starts to argue, he shakes his finger in her face,
and finally she starts to cry. She sobs:
TITLE: "I DON'T KNOW HOW I EVER MARRIED SUCH A NARROW-MINDED BRUTE!"
12 Exterior Continue Scene 11. She cries on Tom's shoulders, while Avery continues to glare
at her. He says:
TITLE: "AND I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN HOW I FELL FOR A LITTLE BRAINLESS
DOLL!"
13 Exterior Continue Scene 12. He flings his cards on the table, and stalks out. Fade out.
I
would change one thing to the above ending, by having both Avery and his wife
stalk out in different directions. Then Flo could turn to Tom and say, "That
marriage is never going to last if they can’t even play cards together without a
fight."
Once we had chosen the new coffee and end tables, and a couple of small bookcases, I informed the salesman that he would have to throw in two of their "rummage sale" books to make the deal. I didn’t quite hear his mumbled answer, and assumed that was fine with him, but my wife later informed me that he said, "Oh, I don’t think we can do that." So when we left the store my wife was shocked to see I was carrying the two books. I told her that if the salesman comes running out to catch us, and insists on having the books back, then he can have the furniture back too. But no salesman came running, and the day ended well. I have my 1927 The Home Movie Scenario Book, which I intend to use to make at least one movie, and if the other book proves to be equally as useful, it will be well worth the $1300 spent on new furniture. That book was written in 1955 and is called, How to Make Your Living in Four Hours a Day.
--- Chris Cottrill
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