 Introducing the Daredevil's of Hollywood! Alright everybody, I want you to realize that this is supposed to be a war. A terrible war, so make it look that way. Are you about ready for my scene, Mr. Gilmore? Yes, we're ready in a couple of shakes, Dick. Now here's what I want you to do. We're going to blow up that building with a cork bomb. A shell is supposed to hit it. I see, but you really pull it down with piano wires, won't you? That's right, but the explosion will look real. Now there'll be rocks, bricks, and everything else falling. I get it, I get it. And where am I supposed to be? You're doubting the leading man, standing in the doorway. Now when the explosion starts, you begin to run. But you fall, and all these bricks and rocks land on top of you. Now you get the idea? Yes, sir. Everything's ready to shoot, Mr. Gilmore. Alright, let's go. Set your action, Charlie. Places! Take your places! Quiet! Now we'll do it just as we rehearse. Hey, special effects, y'all set for those bombs? All set. Alright, let's take... Roll them! Action! From Hollywood, the motion picture capital of the world, we bring you the thrilling, true life experiences of those men behind the scenes. Those daring, unsung heroes whose breathtaking adventures on the screen have thrilled millions. Whose daily jobs bring them face to face with death. Those men who comprise the strangest fraternity on earth. The Suicide Squad. The movie Stuntman. The dead evils of Hollywood. Ladies and gentlemen, in bringing you this copyrighted radio feature, we are again privileged to have as our guests one of the top-notch stuntmen of Hollywood, Frank McGrath. It is through his cooperation that we are able to re-enact some of the highlights of his dangerous profession. The thrilling scenes you are about to hear are his own actual experiences. And Frank McGrath is here in the studio right now. Later on in the program, we will of course bring him to the microphone. But first, let us learn something of the hazardous work which is his everyday occupation. The scene is a huge sound stage on the 20th Century Fox lot. It is early morning. A gigantic set has been built on the stage, a prison set. By means of Hollywood magic, a large tank of water surrounded by scenery and trees looks for the world like a medieval prison circled by a moat. High above, supported by large timbers, are three vats, each containing 25,000 gallons of water. A very difficult and dangerous scene is about to be made for the picture the prisoner of Shark Island. And Warner Baxter, the star, has turned over this assignment to his stuntman, Frank McGrath, who sits talking with the director. Frank, we've got those tanks rigged up so we can dump them slowly. I don't think we'll have any trouble. See, they tip over slowly and spill the water gradually. Personally, I think we ought to dump the whole works at once. To make a swell shot. That's a lot of water, Mr. Ford. Yes, I know it is. 75,000 gallons. What I'd like to do now is get this routine straight. I'm supposed to be shot off that high wall and fall into the moat, huh? Yes. At least the prison guards think you're shot, but you're not. Then I swim out across the moat and through the culvert, which is supposed to open into the ocean. That's right, Frank. That's when we dump the water. It's supposed to look like big waves rolling in. Makes a pretty rough ocean. That's it. It's okay with me, but I still don't like the idea of spilling all that water at once. We'll see, Frank. Anyway, we'll have a man there by the culvert to stand by if anything goes haywire. He's over there now. Hey, Duke! Come over here a minute. Duke knows his water stuff all right. I'll tell you that. Hi, Duke. Hello, Frank. How are you, Mr. Ford? Hey, Duke, what's your idea on pulling Frank out of a mess if he gets the most? My suggestion is to tie a line on him, Mr. Ford. After all, if the water gets too tough for him, it'd be too tough for me, too. I see what you mean, Duke. You can hold on to the line and stand out of the way. Let it give you a footing. That's the idea. That's good. Then we can dump all the water at once. That's a lot of water, Mr. Ford. They're my exact words, Duke. If you're ready, Mr. Ford, we're all set. All right, Johnny. Let's take it, boys. Up on the wall, Frank. Here, I'll sell them in a prank. Let me tie you up. All right, everybody. This is it. On your toes now. And stay out of the way of that water. This is a picture. Quiet, quiet, please. Hey, Grif, tell them to cut the ropes on the tank when I give the signal. You're not going to dump it easy, then. No, let it all go at once. How about it, Frank? Are you all set? All right, Mr. Ford. Okay. Here we go. Turn them over. It goes into the water. Nice fall. Yes, and good shots over. It's coming for the carpet. It's going through. All right, men. Dump the water. Cut. Get the whole fat squashing out. All right. Ladies and gentlemen, it is our pleasure to present the courageous young man who made that scene, whose job it is to make just such scenes for motion pictures. Frank McGrath, interviewed by Hell Style. Well, Frank, that was certainly a showbath, wasn't it? I'll say it was. The weight of that water ran into tons. Were you hurt? No, not seriously. Of course it's knocked me unconscious. I would have drowned if I hadn't had that roper on me. Well, I gathered the flood of water, washed the entire set away. Yeah, that's right. Of course you had to do the scene over again. Yes, we did it again, but they didn't dump the water as the fat this time. Everything went off okay. Hey, Frank, you have a contract with 20th Century Fox, haven't you? That's right. And do you work every day? No, not every day. You see, I double for Warner Baxter. I only work when he works. I see. Well, now, Frank, to just what do you attribute your success as a doubling stuntman? Well, lucky breaks have had a lot to do with it. Then too, I take my work seriously. I like my job, and I do my best every time. And who did you double for when you first started in pictures? At first, I doubled for anybody who would let me. Then I met Buster Collier Jr. and I worked for him about seven years. And how long have you been with Warner Baxter? Seven years. Seven seems to be your number. That's right. Now, look, Frank, do you do all kinds of stunts? No, I don't do many stunts anymore. That is not as many as I used to. It isn't necessary. It's only seldom that stunts come up in Baxter pictures. But you used to do them all the time, didn't you? That's right. I've done a lot of horse stunts for Westerns. You know, falls, jumps off cliffs, and things like that. Say, years ago, I did a horse gag for a picture called a killer with Georgia Bryan. Dave Howard was the director, and it was on location. Oh, just a minute, Frank, if you don't mind. Suppose we hear about that horse stunt. And first, I think it's time for our sponsor. All right, Frank, now, what about that horse stunt? Well, it was on location down at Chattler's. I was to be tied on the back of a horse, and the horse was to run away. Believe me, that horse could run. But Cliff Lyons, another stuntman, was to ride his horse up alongside and overtake me. But it seemed that Cliff's horse couldn't run quite fast enough. And we were all ribbed. That makes five times we tried it, Cliff. Do you think there's any chance of getting home tonight? They're probably stuck here for a few days, Mr. Howard. Maybe in a week, maybe 10 days, and Cliff will make the run. Maybe you could give me a slower horse. Or else give me a faster one. Say, that might be an idea at that. Hey, Mac, bring over a faster horse for Cliff. Now, these cameras are getting pretty cold, Cliff. He's up on us. Yeah, I'm getting kind of worn out. He's trying to nag all day. Hey, let's really try to get him out this time. How's this one, Mr. Howard? Ah, that's what you'll do. Now get on him, Cliff, and let's try it again. All right. Now, all you have to do is catch up with Frank and stop his horse. Oh, there's seen ought to be a cinch. You all set, Mr. Howard? Yeah, let's take it. Okay. Everybody will try it again to take quiet. All right, now, boys, do your stuff. Make it look good. Okay. Camera. Just can't catch, Frank. Oh, that's no good. They're too far out of the scene now, anyway. Huh? Oh, it's got leased. I don't know what to do. Frankly, neither do I, unless we change horses. Hey, that might work. Let's try it. Okay. Come here, fellas. Listen, I've got another idea. I'll buy changing horses. Okay. All right. Let's make the switch inside again. We'll have to get the shot pretty soon. The sun's beginning to take a dive. I bet you're new. Let me get it this time. I'm just sore enough to do it. Well, are you all set? Yep. Yep. Let's go. Here we go. This is it. Go ahead. Turn him over. Now, go ahead, boys. Come over. Looks like he's going to make it this time. He's gaining on Frank. Oh, but he can't quite make it. Just a little faster, Cliff. You're almost got him. Hey, those horses are really running. Holy snakes. Look, Cliff's standing up. The sun is going to jump. Look at that guy. He's leaning over. There he goes. See, the grasshopper's falling. What a... Well, Frank, that certainly must have been quite a fall. Quite a fall is right. I broke five ribs and was laid up two weeks. Now, how did that accident happen? That is, what caused it? Cliff was so anxious to make this scene that last time that he made a dive for my horse. You know, a flying tackle. Of course, he didn't intend to trip him up. I suppose a lot of unusual things happen in the picture business, don't they? Yes. There's always something coming up that you don't expect. Getting back to Warner, back to Frank, in this new contract you have, will you be doing the same work that you've done for seven years? That's right. Stand in, double, doing stunts. Well, I can easily give you the advantage to a star for having a double, but what about the studio? Where do they come in? Oh, it saves a lot of time and expense for the studio. And how is that? Well, for instance, maybe Mr. Baxter will be working on the sound stage doing close shots all day. But after the same time, I'll be working in long shots on the exterior set. And the finished picture shows it all as Baxter. That's it, exactly. I can easily see that it pays the studio to have a chat like you on the contract. In what little time I've spent out there in the lot, I've found that you are very well liked by everyone. Thank you. Now, one more question, Frank. I see that our time is getting short. Just what are your plans for the future? Well, truthfully, I have no plans. I never make them. Everything that has happened to me has just happened. You know what I mean. My theory is, if you don't make plans, you'll never be disappointed. That's very good logic, too. And that certainly is one way to look at it. Well, Frank, I hope you'll never have occasion to be disappointed. Thanks very much for coming here. And on behalf of our listeners, may I express appreciation for your story. I know that everyone joins me in hoping that we may have you again on this program very soon. Thanks, old boy, and good luck.