 Introducing the dead evils of Hollywood keep those cameras turning. Keep those sirens going Gonna jump. Are you fellas with the net? Come in a little closer. Yo, make that spotlight a little harder That's a piece of a farm. They could this ought to make a swell scene. Yeah, well, it's costing enough money Oh, they kept look the whole roof is about to fall in good him That was a sweet jump bill. You got out just in time. You all right for sure That's all for tonight fall right a clock in the morning everybody stage nine from 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 honor the suicide squad the movies stunt men the daredevil's of Hollywood Ladies and gentlemen in bringing you this copyrighted feature We are privileged to have as our guest one of the top-notch stuntmen of Hollywood Cliff Lyons 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 Cliff Lyons is here in the studio right now and later in the program We will bring him to the microphone, but first let us learn something of his job It is a beautiful afternoon in 1924 the Ben Wilson Company is on location near Inglewood, California They have been shooting scenes all day, but the big moment is about to arrive The story calls for a very dangerous scene and the man who is to do that scene Cliff Lyons is just coming on the location set Francis Ford the director greets him Hello, Mr. Ford. Just about on time. We're almost ready for your scene. Okay. What's the gag? Well, you see that train standing down there about a half a mile Yeah, and there's another one waiting down there half a mile in the opposite direction Now we're going to start this train coming toward us You're supposed to drive a car along the highway there parallel with the tracks I see now the train will beat your car to the crossing by about 50 feet So you turn down the tracks and run alongside the train. I get it You mean drive between the double tracks with the train. That's right Now the idea is to transfer from the car to the train You just crawl through a window in the coach and let the car go. Yeah, I see but what about the other car? Now that'll be coming from the opposite direction on the other track Your job is to get through that window just before the two trains meet Okay, that's good enough for me, but that car It's gonna be a mess. Yes, it'll fold up like an accordion between the trains But let's hope you're out of it by that time. We're ready for the test with the trains, Mr. Ford All right, I'm right with you. Well Cliff you all set? Yeah, but there's a little timing I want to do first. Okay, but be sure your watch doesn't stop Three times the scene is rehearsed speeds of the moving train are carefully checked and rechecked time to the split second The engineers obviously nervous are instructed by mr. Lyons and mr. Ford in each minute detail Everyone is stationed at his post Cameras are set Tension dominates the scene the slightest mistake will cost a human life Far apart facing each other the two trains stand motionless puffing like two spirited horses Tense with apprehension while far down the highway Cliff Lyons calm lay almost Nontulently crawls into the car and sits relaxed awaiting the signal to start the director is giving last-minute instructions Okay, we're ready to shoot everybody on his toes. This is a take We're all set mr. Ford all right give him the signal here they come That train balling the jack Keep those cameras going this got that bus wide open looks like it's about to fall apart Look at him If that boys alive, it's a miracle come on. Let's run down there. He's all right. Come on Was that all right mr. Ford? Did you get a good shot? I'll say we got a shot We lost two cameras in the crash, but we got a beauty with the other one. I thought you were a goner for a minute That was too close. Yeah, it was plenty close all right. I guess those engineers got excited. They were a little heavy on the throttle Ladies and gentlemen It is our pleasure to present the courageous young man who daily laughs in the face of death and who made that scene Cliff Lyons Interviewed by Kirk Foreman. That certainly was a thrilling stunt Cliff and I'd say you were pretty lucky Yeah, I guess I was at that Tell me what was your reaction when you saw the trains approaching each other so fast all I was interested in was getting through that window Were you scared? Oh, not exactly. I was too busy to be scared, but I felt a little funny when it was all over Say Cliff have you ever been really scared? Well now you want the truth the whole truth Well, yes, I have been scared and when was that right now you mean this microphone? Yeah, it's it's almost got me Well, I wouldn't let that get you down now. You do all kinds of stunts. Don't you that's right But my favorite is horse stunts, you know high jumps falls and dives into water on horseback things like that Did you ever have any close calls while doing these stunts? Yes, I have I remember once on a stagecoach gag Yeah, just just a minute. Did you say gag? Yeah, we call them gags Well, this stagecoach was supposed to run down a steep mountain road And on a sharp curve the horses to brake loose and make a turn while a stagecoach goes over the embankment drops about 200 feet I'm supposed to drive but have we got time to hear about it? We certainly have Cliff and we're going to hear about it in just a moment, but first a word from our sponsor Okay, Cliff now let's hear about that stagecoach a gag. Well, it was down on location at Calabasas, California That's about 20 miles from Hollywood Johnny Mac Brown was making a Western picture Henry McRae the director was explaining to me how the gag would I see Cliff He's got an airplane cable tied to the double tree and when the coach gets the turn We'll pull the cable and release the horses and that's when I jump, huh? Right, but don't hesitate. That hack is going to sail off in a space like a bird. Okay. I'm ready Okay, boys, we're ready to go Row on Look Matt something's gone wrong the coaches making the turn Yes, but the horse is a loose look the stage is running wild down the hill gosh, I'd hate to be in that guy's shoes Watching he's going to jump. He's all tangled up in the lines. There he goes Look the horses are dragging him. Stop those horses man. Stop them There goes the coach over the bank You must have been pretty badly hurt in that scene, weren't you Cliff? No, just scratched up a little the wagon run over my arm and bruised a little bit But I was okay and how far did the horses drag you all about 200 feet, but it seemed like a mile Tell me something went wrong there. Whose fault was that? Oh, I guess somebody got excited and didn't pull the cable soon enough things like that often happen People on the ground make mistakes. Maybe they cut a rope too soon or something like that What usually happens to you stuntman when your helpers make a mistake? Well, it just puts it in a tough spot That's all and what happens when you make a mistake? Well in that case We just have to do stunts for st. Peter Cliff, how long have you been doing stunts for the movie a little over 17 years? Say that's quite a long time to be taking chances for a living. Oh, I guess you get used to it I understand there have been quite a number of stuntmen killed. What about that? Well, I'd say about 300 have been killed and motion pictures started and what about the fellas who are working now? How many are there active? Well, there are about 30 recognized stuntmen Of course sometimes the stand-ins and a few extras will do easy things such as falling down stairs or rolling down a cliff We call those bumps men Tell me Cliff. What's the difference between a stuntman and a bumps man? Well when a bumps man makes a mistake he breaks an arm or a leg But when a stuntman misses it's curtains say I imagine you stuntmen carry considerable insurance Well, no, that's where you're wrong the cost is terrific why I recall an incident where a producer Bought at a certain price. I'd given him for a stunt I told him I'd reduce the figure 90% if he'd take out some life insurance for me He called lords of London and found that the premium covering the one stunt that I was to do was greatly in excess of the price That I'd given him originally since that time we very seldom have any trouble in getting the prices we request Well, Cliff you certainly entertainers and on behalf of our listeners. I want to sincerely thank you for coming here I know that everyone joins me in hoping that we may have you on this program again very soon. Good luck, old boy