Beverly grabbed a few last minute items for the trip as she wandered through the store. Some Halo shampoo and an armload of candy cigarettes were dumped onto the counter as she turned back to see Jeannie inspecting a pair of sunglasses.
"About ready to go?" Beverly asked her sister. "The others have already left for the dock."
"Yeah," Jeannie tossed the sunglasses onto the counter as she took a position near Beverly, "just want to make sure I have everything we'll need. A month is a long time."
"It is," Beverly took one of the purchased packages of candy cigarettes and opened them, "but I'm really looking forward to this. Shooting a picture at sea is going to be really fun!" Bev munched on a candy stick as she gathered up the rest of the supplies and made for the door. Jean paid for the purchase and put on the sunglasses before following. In a few minutes, they were boarding the SS Conqueror and waving to the crowd assembled to send off the ship on it's voyage to Hawaii. Newsreel crews grabbed a few last minute shots of the stars gathered on deck. It was quite a group. The Baxter sisters were joined by Daisy Poise, Minerva Mallen, Sugar Chestnut and her husband Henry, Wendy Marco, Doris Flowers, Yvette Pond, Ed and Misty Carter, and Trixie Hope. Though they weren't part of the movie crew, Roger and Crissy Ralphwit had been invited along by their friends, and took a spot near Steve and Patty Morrow.
There were other studio employees aboard, all for the purpose of using the voyage as the backdrop for an all-star musical feature. Although the Boss had made an arrangement with the travel line which would allow for the use of the location with minimal cost, the fanfare of the event really sold the idea that this was going to be a huge production. Camera crews rolled on the scene, snapping off footage that would be incorporated into the film. Although there would be other passengers on this trip, the studio had taken over several cabins to function as a production unit complete with film lab. Dailies would be viewed in the ship's theater. The Boss was the last to arrive, his beautiful young wife in hand. He'd never left the studio for this long, but trusted his efficient and devoted secretary Sally to run things in his absence. This cruise film was too big a deal for him to not oversee the production personally.
As the shore receded to the horizon, the crew was already at work getting some footage on deck. Minerva and Yvette went through their scene with the coastline still a part of the background, showing them looking on as California vanished from view before turning to the bow to launch the first musical number. This would be shot later, as the open sea would be before the ship for quite some time. Right now, it was important to get the shots finished where the coast still needed to be visible. The operation had been timed perfectly, and the weather reports cooperated by confirming clear skies and calm seas. No such detail was taken for granted. The Boss was getting weather bulletins and navigation information as quickly as the captain was getting them.
In time, the excitement passed and the hours for shooting ended. The stars relaxed and enjoyed the cruise with the other passengers. Roger and Crissy had been watching from the sidelines. Though Crissy still felt no desire to join the studio's stable of "femanimals" she was still captivated by the technical side of the affair. She watched the lights and sound equipment being packed away as she sat next to Roger on the deck. She looked back to her husband.
"That really is WORK they're doing." Crissy observed. Roger smiled.
"Feel guilty we're just along for the ride?"
"Oh, not at all. If anything, I feel like we're doing the Boss a favor. We're just about the only ones here who aren't on his payroll!"
"Looking forward to seeing Hawaii?"
"Oh yes! I just hope Minerva's uncle doesn't mind the studio taking over his pineapple plantation."
"He offered, the Boss took advantage of it. It'll be great publicity, so I guess everybody knows what they're doing."
"It's easy to feel out of place," Crissy looked around, "all that open sea out there."
"It's been a long time since I was at sea," Roger considered, "a long time. But at least this trip I don't have to consider the presence of wolf packs." Crissy turned back to Roger.
"You haven't been to sea since the War?"
"Oh, I went by sea a few times after that, but trans-oceanic flight didn't take long to establish itself after the War. That was all business, though. I haven't had the chance to just relax and enjoy a sea voyage before." Roger reached over and took Crissy's hand. "I'm really glad we get to share this, honey." Crissy smiled.
"Me too."
Toward the bow, Beverly and Jeannie rehearsed their dance number which would be filming the next day. Most of the other girls were going over their scripts. This trip was strictly business. Still, it presented a good selection of photos for Steve to snap off as he and Patty wandered the deck. Doris was the only one who really took advantage of the moment and lounged in the sun. It's not that she lacked the same work ethic, it's just that she had the uncanny ability to remember a script after reading it only once. Truth be told, she was also running through her lines, she was just doing it mentally.
As the sun began to set, the Baxter girls were leaning over the railing to watch the sprays of water as the ship cut through the sea. Beverly was again munching on one of her candy cigarettes. Jeannie smiled.
"Will you have any of those left by the time we make Hawaii?"
"I stashed a few boxes in my luggage," Beverly smiled, "they SHOULD stay safe until we reach port." Beverly then let out a yelp as a seagull swooped down and snatched the candy from her lips. Beverly ducked below the railing as Jeannie watched the bird fly off. So much for eating anything on deck.
The ball room was in operation, but with C.B.I.P. employees positioned all about. Cameras and lights had been set up earlier to record Minerva's first solo musical number, which would be performed on the bandstand. Roger and Crissy, dressed to the nines, danced on the floor. Though she had no interest in joining the cast officially, she did agree to her and Roger being extras in crowd scenes. As the couple swayed back and forth, Roger grinned. Crissy playfully acted concerned.
"What?" Crissy asked.
"You know the Boss is going to make you the focus of the crowd scenes. After the picture comes out and you're so visible, he'll try to talk you into a contract, or at least another picture."
"He can try. I don't think he'll get very far, but it'll be fun to tell our friends that we were in a movie together. Say, maybe that should be the deal I accept. I wouldn't mind being in pictures if you were always my co-star."
"I have even less interest in acting than you do," Roger chuckled, "but if he accepts your terms, you know I'll always support you."
"One thing I can say about the Boss, he's persistent. Oh, he respects my position, but he still tries to talk me into it every now and then. He's so polite, I never really mind, though. It's becoming a bit of a regular thing. He'd probably faint if I said 'yes' once."
"Are you considering it?"
"No. Although I probably should. So many of our friends already work for the studio. It's not like my surroundings would change all that much. But I just don't want to give up what we have by ourselves. I'd much rather be alone with you."
"I'll not try to talk you out of that. After all, my parents didn't raise me to be a dummy!" Crissy laughed. About that time, the band's number was ending. Now Minerva was making for the stage to take the spotlight. Her solo number was within context of an actual performance, and needless to say it was a highlight of the picture. Of all the annies who sang as well as acted, Minerva was universally considered the best at her craft. Annies had a range of voices. A great many of them had "squeaky" voices, higher in pitch and breathy yet still suited to song. Others had "normal" voices. Minerva fell into this grouping, but her pipes were powerful when it came time to belt out a tune. It seemed to run counter to her normally demure vocal delivery. Some annies had perfect voices for peppy pop tunes, but Minerva's voice was more classical. Though she had no interest in it, many agreed that she could probably sing opera with the best of them.
Minnie's number was bouncy and light, but the chorus allowed her to open up full power. Whenever Minerva sang on set, the extras tended to break character and become transfixed on her performance. The big finish of her number was always greeted with legitimate applause and ovation. The Boss liked this, and tended to make sure her numbers were recorded with an audience present for this very reason. No prompting of the crowd was called for, as they always burst into genuine appreciation of what they had just heard. Minerva wasn't the only such star to grip those around her so firmly, but her peers agreed that she had a special quality they couldn't match. As the crowd went wild with applause, Wendy followed the film's script and ran up on stage to drag Minerva away. The director yelled Cut and the scene was finished. Now the regular passengers could enjoy the scheduled performance of the ship's house band.
The weather cooperated for several days. Soon enough, all exteriors prior to arrival in Hawaii had been filmed. To let the cast enjoy the sunny days, interiors were filmed mostly in the evenings. C.B.I.P. was a well-oiled machine when it came to shooting a picture, even under these unusual circumstances. It only took the first week to get everything in the can that didn't require Hawaiian locations. With another week to go before those shots could be collected, the cast and crew were allowed to just relax and soak up the sun. At least, they would once one last particular scene was shot.
The Boss and Captain Talbot mulled over a set of storyboards as a crowd of sailors and studio technicians huddled around them.
"We intended to shoot the lifeboat scene at night," the Boss explained as he pointed to the storyboard sheet he was holding up for the crew to see, "but it makes more sense to make it a day scene so it matches the following scene set in the cabin. Doing this, it means a bit more risk, admittedly, since we can't string safety nets along the dock where we intended to shoot. It'll make it a better scene with the ocean moving along under the boat, but I'm going to have some very dear friends in that boat and I want to make sure it'll be perfectly safe."
"The way you have this scene broken down," Captain Talbot studied the drawings, "it should be perfectly safe. They never actually touch the water, they just extend the lifeboat and lower down over it. From what you've showed me, you can use camera tricks to make them look closer to the water than they actually are. What about these scenes where the camera is looking toward the ship, though?"
"We'll get those when we're docked in Hawaii. The way we'll have the camera pointed, the ocean won't be visible. It'll need to be visible in the reverse angles, though, so those shots we need to get while we're still at sea. I have it broken down here. Only shots 57, 59, and 64 will be done in Hawaii. The rest of the shots require the ocean in view and the ship in motion."
"There shouldn't be any problems," Talbot said, "I'll have crewmen standing by to give any assistance you may need." As scripted, the scene would involve several of the girls partaking in a lifeboat drill, lowering the boat down over the ocean before hoisting it back up. Normally, the Boss would prefer doing it with the ship stationary, but the script required daylight and the ship had to be in motion or else the scene just wouldn't work. The advance planning involved meant the scene in question had to be shot the next day. In the meantime, everyone could relax.
On deck, Daisy and Yvette looked on as Wendy and Doris played shuffleboard. Steve wandered around the deck getting some candid shots. Aside from Sugar signing autographs, it was a pretty quiet scene. So much so that most of the other stars on deck were snoozing in their deck chairs. They'd worked pretty hard so far, so the moment was much appreciated.
Captain Talbot returned to the bridge after the evening's festivities. Everything was in order, but the first mate seemed a little concerned as he entered from the radio room. Talbot glanced down at the bulletin as it was handed over.
"Cargo ship SS Bradford reports unusual swells and increase in ocean temperature," the mate reported, "about 100 miles to the west of our current position."
"Warm water and swells," Talbot stroked his cheek, "sounds like an undersea volcano may be acting up."
"Trouble?"
"Can be if it lasts long enough. A volcano can changes currents, even cause tidal waves if it's rough enough."
"At our current speed, the disturbance is estimated to catch up with us tomorrow afternoon. Do we change course?"
"We may not have to if we're far enough in front of it." Talbot weighed the information, considering all the data, what it could mean and what was only theory. Shifting currents was the biggest threat the Conqueror faced, a minimal misadventure for a ship of such size. "Increase speed. At this distance we should be able to move ahead of it. But keep me up to date on all developments. If we have to change course instead, I want to be well ahead of the curve."
"Yes, Sir. What about the studio head? Do we include this in his briefings?"
"His concern is the weather, clear conditions for shooting. As long as it's bright and sunny tomorrow, that's all he needs to know." Talbot paused. "Then again, he should know what we're doing. Tell him, but let him know that we're going to help in any way we need to."
Elsewhere, the SS Bradford monitored the developing volcano. Gasses were starting to break the surface, though the swells were evening out. From a safe distance, the crew of the Bradford watched intently. Captain Kingman was watching through binoculars when a huge shapeless mass broke the surface and melted back into the sea. A shift in the current was already pushing the Bradford to starboard.
"Relay this," Kingman ordered his radio crew, "disturbance seems to be isolated, but current shift is becoming pronounced and portions of sea floor have been spotted breaking the surface near the disturbance."
"This IS local," the first mate asked, "isn't it, Skipper?"
"Looks that way," Kingman took another look through his glasses, "but it's too soon to know. The surface activity may stay calm aside from a few waves and some current shifts, but we have no way of knowing how powerful that volcano was when it first blew. There could be parts of the sea bed tossed up with enough force to drive an ocean liner. Most of it should fall back to the floor before it reaches the surface, but it could travel for hundreds miles before it drops. We just have to keep an eye on it and report everything we can so the authorities can issue warnings if they have to."
TO BE CONTINUED....
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