The Cherokee kid arrived early at the Goldwyn Studios. Almost two weeks early and that sent a shock through the studio. Studio head Goldfish (name change still in the future) had given Victor Schertzingern the plumb assignment to direct the Zeigfield Follies star. But he was finishing up another film and would not be available for a week or more. The studio had guaranteed the star he would get to work immediately upon arrival.

As Clarence G. Badger remembers, "Although I had never met Will Rogers personally, I had seen him many times at the Ziegfeld Follies and had become so intrigued by his cleverness with a rope, rare wit and personality, that now hearing this news of his film ambitions, I would gladly have given my eye teeth to be his director.

And although he was committed to the Madge Kennedy series of films, their production was temporarily on hiatus. So the decision was quick and he was handed the script of Roger's first film: Almost a Husband. The catch being Badger would only make one film with Will and then the other director would take over.

"Personally, I warmed up to Will immediately; this warmth increasing many fold after I had launched our picture into production. I found the association to be the most inspiring; and, because of his inimitable humanness of his acting, a pleasure to direct."
Badger had certainly paid his dues in the new silent film industry. He had been working as a photoengraver in San Francisco when the great earthquake of 1906 destroyed the business. He got a job in Los Angeles in near proximity to Mack Sennett's Keystone Cops studio. He began with writing up ideas and quickly became a director. But slapstick was never his forte and soon he was directing Gloria Swanson in two reelers, developing a more "romantic" style. There he would have know Fatty Arbuckle who was making and appearing in films with Mabel Normand.

Rogers, on the other hand, had been born in a log cabin in the Indian territory of what is now Oklahoma of Cherokee ancestry. His mother had died when he was ten and eventually he set out traveling the world. He joined a Wild West Show but left it in South Africa returning to the united states to pursue his career as Cowboy philosopher, roper and humorist. Soon his popularity grew because of his performance in the Zeigfeld shows.

While starring there, he was offered an opportunity to try out the motion picture format. Filming by day in New jersey and performing at night, Will never missed a day of work, or as legend reports, was even late. Based on their success of Laughing Bill Hyde, Goldwyn offered Will a contract to make films with the stipulation he would have to work in California. He never made a decision without c consulting wife Betty. Will would be leaving the security of stardom with Ziegfeld to chase the challenges of silent film. But they had three sons and a daughter and the promise of wide open spaces and healthy climate of California was persuasive and on September 30, 1918 Will signed the contract that said he had to report to the Culver Studios no later than June 16, 1919. He would be paid a salary of $2250 a week for a year with the option to extend beyond that for $3000. Will went out ahead of the rest of the family to find a house.

Three years would pass and fifteen films under Badger's direction would be made before he returned to Ziegfeld in NYC.

After Badger's film with Will Rogers had wrapped, Badger left town without telling anyone, taking his next script with Madge Kennedy with him. He wrote many years later, "I motored out into the solitude of the Mojave desert…Camping at last in a picturesque old ghost town, I read the script. My heart sank. Never had I been handed such trash!"

Upon returning to the studio, Mr. Goldwyn, after fuming about his "disappearance," told Badger that he had been relieved of the Kennedy film. He ordered him to go talk to Rogers to find out what he would be doing next.

When Badger asked Will Rogers about his next film Jubilo, Will told him there was one in his dressing room for Badger.

When he asked about Goldwyn's change of heart, Badger quotes Rogers as saying, "Well,-was jus' comin' to that. It was when I opened up on him casual and gentle-like tother mornin', saying to him how I reckoned that this here physiognomy of mine'd make a powerfully better dhowein' in my future Goldwyn pictures if you did the steerin'."

Cut to Lone Pine, California Once upon a time in the West there was a ranch retreat, famous for hunting and fishing and the magnificent landscape of the Sierra Nevada, where the greatest stars of silent film gathered to rest and play. And now we know to film as well. Director Clarence Badger was probably either on a scouting trip or on a retreat into the rural west he loved when he came upon the land nestled in the Alabamas, straddling Lone Pine Creek that was to be his ranch for the next thirty years.

When he retired to Australia he sold his land to Irene and Leslie Cuffe. Leslie died of a heart attack while shopping at Josephs but Irene lived at the isolated ranch until her health forced her into a nursing home.

It was only with Irene's death earlier this year that a more complete history of the home she called the Cuffe Guest Ranch of Movie Fame became public. With help of realtor Marlene Ciernak and film historian Dave Holland, many of the film history "treasures" that Mrs. Cuffe owned were rescued, some on the way to the dump.

Among other things, there was a letter from Clarence Badger August 30, 1960 in response to her query about what films he had made at the ranch. "Personally, I made scenes for only one of my films actually on your ranch….However, I did make quite a few scenes for some of my films in the vicinity of your ranch. For instance, Cupid the Cowpuncher, Water, Water, Everwhere."
Then he continues, "And now, Mrs. Cuffe, while I entertained many visiting guests of many different pursuits at your ranch during the earlier years…I thought that perhaps you might like to know and be interested in the names of a few of them and who were particularly known in the film world at the time." The list includes: Will Rogers, "(a very dear friend)" Blanche Sweet and her husband, the famous director, Marshall Neilan. Madame Elinor Glyn. Clara Bow. Leatrice Joy. Ben Lion (sic) Bebe Daniels. Mervyn Leroy. Phyllis Haver. Bessie Love. Pat O'brien. Claire Trevor. Joan Blondell. John Boles.

Water, Water Everywhere was copyrighted on December 31, 1919 and released February 8, 1920. The silent film was 5 reels and only exits in clips as far as we know today. The music cues exit given us some of the titles.

The plot concerns a saloon in a western town under r attack of the ladies of a local temperance league. It is eventually turned into a soda-water parlor. The men get revenge by imported the prettiest girls to work there. Billy Fortune (Will Rogers) is in love with Hope Beecher when he thinks she favors another, the town doctor who happened to be a drunk. When the doctor proves he no longer needs alcohol during a mine disaster, and has become engaged to Hope, wholesome and self-sacrificing Billy steps aside and leaves town.

Burns Mantle in Photoplay Magazine, March 19209 wrote "It must be a joy for his director to work with him (Will Rogers), and if he had sound a story sense as he has common sense, he would be an unbeatable combination… I suspect him of writing half his own titles-the better half, and of developing many of his own scenes."

Variety gives us a better sense of what things Badger might have filmed in Lone Pine. Rogers does some corking stunts, several close shots disclosing him doing real wild west dare-devil antics, standing erect on a spirited bronc."
Irene Rich in an interview gives us a sense of what it was like to work with Will Rogers in Water, her first picture with him. "That was August 1919. You know I was in 14 films with Will Rogers" Speaking of a picture with a child actor from the film, "I'm holding little Jimmy (Rogers) in my arms. Well, when the scene was being taken, with me facing the camera and Jimmy in my arms, at right angle to it, his little hand behind my back was inside my dress, going up and down my spine. Now don't think I didn't have a hard time doing that scene Still remember little Jimmy. He was such a sweet cuddly little kid."

Talking about Will's pension for ad-libbing to "improve the script,she explained, "You just ad-libbed and followed along and did the best you could. I never had any trouble with him…But in the sound films, the thing that was so hard, was that you didn't want to laugh, of course."

Irene Rich reminisced fondly of the process by which films were created in those days. "They would get a story, then they would talk over what they would do, 'We'll get old Irene, and then we'll go up in the mountains, and do the film.' They would gather the whole cast, everybody; maybe it would take a couple of carloads on the train, but we would all go. We would live in a hotel, but it was just like one big happy family-everybody was happy, everybody like each other. It's not like that today."

Cupid, the Cowpuncher was copyrighted July 17, 1920 and released July 25th. The story involves Alec Lloyd played by Will. He is always trying to get all his cowboy friends married off, thus his nickname of "Cupid." Whenever one of his attacks of matchmaking is coming on he sings the old favorite son "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree." But Alec falls in love with his boss's daughter named Macie played by Helene Chadwick. He arranges for her to be elected winner of a beauty contest, while he is selected as "homeliest." Even though he has a rival, an eastern doctor, Alec gets the girl in the end.

Also in the picture is "BigBoy" Guinn Williams as Hairoil Johnson. It was Will who gave Guiknn the nickname of "Big Boy, which then was his for the rest of his long career in movies.

Motion Picture News August 7, 1920 in tones, "This picture belongs to Will Rogers. Lock, stock and barrel. He appears in 99 44/200 per cent of the scenes, does his famous rope stunts, rides a bucking bronco and has quite evidently contributed most of the title as along with his share of the entertainment."

Clarence Badger had many wonderful memories of Will Rogers, his two and one half years of work with will creating "an unbreakable bond of depth, warmth and understanding." He remembered one time when a stand-in stunt man was being "unmercifully being bashed about, Will yelling out from the sidelines, "'Hey! Please, Mr. Badger! Ain't there -such a thing-as getting' a double to double for a double?"

In 1932 Will arranged for a "round-up" or social gathering for everyone he had worked with at Goldwyn, from stars to cooks. The event was held at "Big Boy" Guinns San Fernando Valley ranch. Will invited "all you pioneer picture folk" to listen to "Clarence an' me for a spell."

The two had made 15 films together and remained friends over the years since. Will explained, "My point bein'. Folks is that there are mighty few directors an' stars-an' there ain't none I know of-teamed up cheek by jowl like Clarence an' I was, ever made so many pictures without coming out of it showin' signs of wear an' tear; such as bein' antagonistic-like, feuding an' wranglin', having lawsuits in the offin', being at loggerheads, displaying frigidy,or actin' up like a couple of fightin' cocks when meetin', face on; but, instead, comin' out of it like you're witnessin', an' the way we've been stringin' along thorough the years since Goldwyn's-each getting' from tother the kind of comradeship an' harmony hones to God friends enjoy an' treasure an' cling to for dear life in this here uncertain old world…."

Clarence Badger ran into Will one last time while driving by his place in Santa Monica. Will was out on the Polo Field;d. They had not seen each other in three years, and Will said once he was back from this trip he was taking with Pilot Wiley Post in two weeks to Alaska and Asia, he wanted to get together.

They closed the visit with Badger saying, "'Sounds great. Gosh darn it, Will, how I envy you-the trip.' We shook hands. 'Anyway, I'll be waiting for you to get in touch with me. All the best-and good flying.'"

Will Rogers died in a plane crash on August 15, 1935 with his friend and pilot Wiley Post, near Point Barrow, Alaska

IN THE NEXT ISSUE OF THE NEWSLETTER, WE WILL FINISH THE STORY OF CLARENCE G. BADGER AND LONE PINE FILM HISTORY.