User:Zachary Bates/The Juggernaut

Behind the Scenes
The final scene of The Juggernaut was shot at South River, New Jersey on September 27, 1914. To produce this scene, Director Ralph Ince found an old quarry about a mile away from a railroad that could be transformed into a believable riverbed. After filling the quarry, railroad builders then laid down 100 yards of track that connected from the main line railroad to the quarry. For the train, an old engine from the scrap heap and three old passenger cars were brought up, painted, and converted into what looked like a functioning locomotive. The setup of the scene alone had cost over $25,000 by the time everything was ready for filming.

Before filming of the scene could properly start, crowds of people who came from the surrounding areas to watch the shoot were found standing within the shot. It took two hours for Ralph Ince and his staff to move the thousands of people from their positions to behind their cameras and out of the shot. Once the crowds were out of the way, the twenty-five cameras began rolling and the train was sent on its way to the river. The train was going at a steady pace of fifteen miles an hour once the driver had bailed out, but before it could make it to the river the engine sped up to double that speed, risking it derailing. The danger of a derailment caused some of the crowd to move out of position, but the train made it to the river and promptly crashed while splashing one of the cameras overlooking the event.

The next part of the scene required around twenty-five actors to go into the wrecked passenger cars to act as if escaping the crash. Once the cameras start rolling, the actors would then climb out of the wreck and swim to shore. But before the next shots could be taken, the crowds of spectators were found surrounding the wreckage, forcing the staff to move them once again out of camera view as to not compromise the shot. While the crowds were being moved, the actors were waiting in freezing waters inside of the passenger cars. By the time the actors were told to swim to shore, many were too cold to swim all the way and had to be rescued by. At first, the people on the crowds and staff believed that the actors cries for help were part of the show and did not intervein for some time before realizing that help was needed. Four actors, including Rose Dugan, Mary Green, Earl Williams, and Dick Ardmore were nearly killed due to injuries sustained while swimming across the quarry to shore.

In the end, the scene was completed for the film and cost $50,000 to produce.

“FILM TRAIN WRECK ALMOST A TRAGEDY” New York Times (1857-1922), 28 Sept. 1914, pp. 1–13.

“PROGRAMMES OF PLAYS AND PLAYERS: TOSSING DOLLARS AROUND AS IF THEY WERE PENNIES.” New York Times (1857-1922), 19 Oct. 1914, p. X7.

“What Do You Want to Know?” The Philadelphia Inquirer Public Ledger (1934-1969), 11 Oct. 1960, p. 28.