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Margaret Reid, Picture-Play, New York, December 1927.

No, this isn‘t a beauty contest – it‘s just Norma Talmadge and

Marion Daviies playing hookey from the studio

and devoting the entire day to having a good time.

(...) Motion Picture, July 1925

& Harry Crocker

(...) Motion Picture, Dec. 1928, detail

& The William R. Hearst party which sails Saturday to spend

the Summer abroad together consists of Marion Davies,

the George Hearsts, the Bill Hearsts, Buster Collier, Dorothy

Mackaill, Eileen Percy, Harry Crocker.

(...) Hollywood Reporter, May 23, 1934


„The nicest thing in Hollywood“

Editorial content. „He‘s Charlie Chaplin‘s Side-kick

      Harry Crocker, Chaplin‘s young assistant director, is also

his close friend and adviser, and is not afraid to say

,No!‘ to the great comedian when he disapproves of any

of his ideas

      By Margaret Reid

      Outside of being Chaplin himself, just about the nicest

thing in Hollywood for an ambitious young man to be

is Chaplin‘s assistant director. That he is the person who

takes and interprets orders from Mr. Chaplin on the

set is only incidental. He is also Charlie‘s social companion,

his mental stimulant, his protecting dragon, his safety

valve in moments of distress. The position demands versatility,

to say nothing of diplomacy and a sense of humor.

And only the brightest gentlemen need apply.

      To be Charlie‘s assistant is a great stepping-stone

to success. It may be that the close association

with Chaplin does something remarkable to men. But I think

it is that the requirements of Charlie‘s assistant are

so stringent that any one who could get the job in the first

place is too talented to fail when the lights out on

his own.

      Monta Bell was once Chaplin‘s assistant. So was

Edward Sutherland. Bell is now well to the head

of the moderns among directors. Sutherland also. Harry

d‘Arrast is another who once assisted Chaplin.

He is now one of Paramount‘s most valued directors.

      The latest young man to fill the enviable office

of assistant director to Chaplin is Harry Crocker. Harry,

as has often been mentioned before, is a scion

of the famous and aristocratic Crocker banking family

of San Francisco. What is more relevant is that

he is clever, and probably one of the most popular young men

in Hollywood. This popularity is a manifestation of

genuine affection for him, and has nothing to do with his being

a millionaire, since Harry is his own man, driving

a not-very-new roadster. and having only a little of his salary

put by in the bank for a foggy day. He is tall, he is dark,

he is handsome. He has a grand sense of humor, and a fine

mind, with a gift for unerring logic.

      Chaplin first met Harry Crocker at Montmartre, in the usual

casual fashion that one does meet people there. A short

time later, they met again at a party. The game of charades

brought the two together. Harry‘s wit and keen sense

of comedy caused Chaplin to notice him. Almost immediately

thereafter, however, Charlie left for New York, and

Harry continued to be Hollywood‘s favorite extra man.

      As an extra, Harry was unique. It was as such that I first

knew him – we worked in the same pictures at various

times. I particularly remember a long stretch of night work,

in a Metro-Golwyn film. The nights were cold, our

costumes designed for California sunshine only, and the work

hard. The concentrated mood of the whole company –

except for Harry – would have sunk a battleship to the bottom

of the ocean. But Harry‘s wit and good humor revived

the tired, disgruntled extras as they warmed themselves

at the stoves that lined the outskirts of the set.

      He has a gift for utterly foolish comedy, that springs, I think,

from a very genuine enjoyment of life. His imitations

of celebrities – or nonentities, either – are telling, though never

too unkind.

      Harry and I were both acting as merry masquers

in La Bohème when Chaplin returned from New York. Harry

came onto the set one morning simply brimming with

excitement. He had run into Charlie at luncheon the day before,

and out of a clear sky, the comedian had asked:

,Do you want a job as my assistant?‘ Harry had tried to reply

,Yes!‘ without appearing too dumfounded and Charlie

had told him to come over to his studio the following week.

      On the next Monday, Harry got an hour off and

raced over to the Chaplin studio. Charlie, in his vague fashion,

had not told any one he was expecting him. The studio

manager was therefore a bit startled by this strange young man

who calmly announced that he was Mr. Chaplin‘s new

assistant. Charlie, sought out in the depths of the studio, said,

,Oh, yes, yes – surely ––‘ Whereupon Harry automatically

became his assistant.

      His duties, he was told, would be – well, general. And

general they proved, beyond a doubt! He played the juvenile

in The Circus, helping Merna Kennedy to supply the

love interest of the picture. It was he who erected the sets,

he who hired the extras and bit players. It‘s he who

keeps nuisances out of the studio, and sees to it that visiting

celebrities are properly received. He is also one of

Chaplin‘s best friends. He accompanies Charlie on his jaunts,

poking through funny little streets in Chinatown,

patronizing the concessions at the beach, walking restlessly

with him along the Boulevard at night. At the studio

he handles the mechanics of a scene when Charlie himself

is before the camera. If a clown or a hunchback or any

other unusual character is needed unexpectedly, Harry does

a Lon Chaney and fills the void. And, if the occasion

arises, he makes no bones about saying ,No‘ to Mr. Chaplin.

      Being a yes man is quite simple, and probably

very comfortable for persons of a timid turn of mind, yet being

a no man does not necessarily imply an habitual state

of argument with one‘s employer.

      ,There are times,‘ Harry says, ,when the yes man

is essential to the working out of an idea – that is, the ideas

of a genius like Charlie. An idea comes vaguely and

inarticulately at first. No matter how much you might, in your

heart, disapprove of it, it would be fatal to say so to its

originator during that formative period. It would stem the flow

of thought. One must just sit by and be encouraging

and say, ,Yes, yes – that‘s great!‘ until the idea is completely

formed. Then you can voice your criticisms.‘

      The business of being a no man requires great diplomacy.

But frank, intelligent criticism of his ideas is just as

welcome to Chaplin as the encouragement he needs when

he is working an idea out.

      Harry, from his position of vantage behind the camera,

can now and then make suggestions that are of practical value.

They have to be good or Chaplin will not consider them.

But when they are good, they are considered, and often used.

It takes a genius to admit his own fallibility. And Chaplin

is such.

      One of his methods of courting inspiration is particularly

interesting. With Harry, and Henry Bergman – who has

been in his pictures for ten years, and is unofficially a very

important person in the studio – Charlie repairs to a

quiet corner. There they try to solve a problem that has arisen.

      ,Now,‘ Charlie says, ,let‘s think aloud for a bit.‘

      Quite at random, they all give voice to whatever may

enter their heads.

      ,The most amazing things come to you,‘ Harry told

me. ,Half the time, quite irrelevant things, but always startling.

Charlie‘s mind is in a state of intense nervous activity

every moment. Remarkable fancies and ideas pop out of it.

And eventually, out of the chaos, will evolve a solution

of whatever problem we are working on.‘

      There probably isn‘t another such school for embryo

directors as the Chaplin studio. Nor another such tutor as Chaplin.

He is generous with wealth of knowledge. And Harry

Crocker is an apt pupil. He hasn‘t quite made up his mind

yet whether to devote himself to acting or directing.

But whatever he chooses, he is sure to be a credit to Charlie.“

      Two photos.


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