Smudger Snippets
Created | Updated Feb 17, 2005
I suppose it's because I have so much time on my hands these days, that all these memories come flooding back to me.
Movie Extras
It just came like a bolt out of the blue. Someone asked me if I had seen the notice on the board about ten naval ratings required for extras in a movie being shot over in the Isle of Wight and they were paying them as well. It was 1974 and I was in Victory barracks awaiting my discharge from the navy, so they had me working in the manpower centre until my discharge came through. Of course I went across to read the notice as it sounded too good to be true. Sure enough, it was true. All we had to do was write our names down on the list and wait to be contacted.
Upon reading the whole notice it said that the film was called That'll Be the Day and was set in the late fifties and early sixties. The reason they wanted us naval blokes was that all the extras had to be tall with short hair, to suit the period. The scene was to be shot in a bar and we were to make up the backround crowd in the pub.
Bearing this in mind it came as no surprise that well over ten blokes signed their name onto the notice. So we were all asked to turn up at the Isle of Whight ferry port, early in the morning, where they would select the ten extras for the job.
Of course being that early on a weekend day it came as no surprise that only fifteen of us turned up so, in the end, the producer just took us all. We were all having a laugh on the ferry going over, which made the job of this poor bloke from the film company in charge of us all that much harder. By the time we arrived on the set after our bus trip from the ferry, we were all, well lets just say, in good spirits!
The scene was being shot in a real pub which was surprising. What was even more surprising was the fact that they gave us 'real' beer. The pub was full of cables and the floor was covered in cables and power leads for the bulky lights. It all seemed a bit false to us and we were amazed at the amount of people required just to film one scene. So we were led away to wardrobe where they gave us period clothes to wear and soon we were what they call 'On Set'.
They had rehearsed all that we had to do, which was really just to sit and chat at a table and on the bar behind the main scene. It could not have been easier, well so you would have thought? Take one was stopped due to one of the main characters being out of position, which seemed to annoy the director. It was not long before they were at take nine! By this time we had all been sitting in the background sipping away at our drinks. Then, just as one last attempt was being made to shoot the scene, one of the lights exploded!
The director and floor manager were really agitated by this time and tempers were starting to fray. Meanwhile we just carried on drinking, and were merry to say the least. A loud hush was ordered as the director shouted 'action'. This must have been take twelve or thirteen by now.
All was going well; everyone was in position and saying the right lines. Then, as the camera moved in for the close up, one of our lads knocked over a pint of beer which landed on the floor with a loud smashing noise. We all really did try not to laugh, but I am afraid to say we couldn't. This, of course, upset the director as well as many other floor workers.
After a really severe ticking off had been given to all of us, yet another take was attempted. This one, of course, went wrong as well due to the sound man allowing the microphone to fall into shot. Another break was ordered to fix the boom, so we just carried on drinking. After all, the beer was free!
So what was going to be a couple of hours shooting turned out to be a long day for everyone. The climax for us came much later in the afternoon when we were taking up our places; one of our lads fell off his bar stool and landed on the floor with a loud thump. He had drunk just one too many of the free beers and the effects of this exciting movie making were just too much for him. In the end the scene was shot and we all were paid our ten pounds for the day. But, I am afraid to say , that the very scene in which we were all going to make our movie debut was, in the end, cut out during the editing.
Still, I believe there is no business like show business!
