Friday, May 18, 2012

From Harry Kingston

Scan12723 by bucklesw1
Scan12723, a photo by bucklesw1 on Flickr.

Hi Buckles,
It's Harry Kingston in Texas and this morning watching TCM they had on The Mircle Woman 1931 starring Barbara Stanwyck where she played a faith healer.
In one scene she was in a cage of lions which was rear screen.
But I would swear that it was a quick scene with Louis Roth where he turns to another person and says something.
He had on one of those old band leader from way back outfits with a square hat on etc.
From the side it looked like him.
Was Roth still alive in 1931???????
I figured Columbia pics got the lions from Gobbles or also they used lots from Al G. Barnes as they were close also.
I looked on the computer for info on Roth like birth and death and could not find it.
Also yesterday watching the wagons roll at night with Bogart I spotted when Eddie Albert went over to open the cat entrance door there was an open hole above the old wood cat shoot and the open part on the cage a cat could jump through real easy.
Now Albert back up and the cats started coming in the cage NOW there was a heavy wire frane now put over the hole.
And at the end of the movie when they were in Chicago they had a black 1 by 12 about 10 feet long over the same hole.
As always I start my morning with your great blog.and we get up here like 4;30 am.
Thanks a always.
Harry Kingston in now HOT Texas

Posted by Buckles at 5/18/2012 05:46:00 PM

2 comments:

John Herriott said...

Louie Roth was the first husband 0f Mabel Stark, so it can be assumed he was her mentor in cat training. He is reputed to have been a great trainer of all species and head trainer on Al G. Barnes circus johnny

19 May, 2012 08:45
Roger Smith said...

When in the right mood, Mabel said of her training ability, "I slept with the right animal trainer." In truth, she married him.
Louie Roth was her 3rd husband, from 1917 to 1920. It was her smartest marriage, as Roth's unexcelled skills created challenge groups of big cats, and included training the trainers. Once his wife, Mabel jealously protected her ex on his schooling.

I saw this movie, too, and believe the man briefly seen was Roth. The cage is typical of the Red Forbes pig-iron arenas--the spreaders are channel-iron, bent at the frames and bolted on--crude in appearance, but strong. Mabel's cage in Thousand Oaks, from 1938 to 1968, was a Forbes arena off the Barnes show.

Roth refused to work for John Ringling's Corporation shows, and finished out his career at the Lion Farm. He died of cancer in 1945.

The founder of the Lion Farm was Louis Goebel, not Gobble. His name was close enough in spelling to Hitler's Josef Goebbels, that it caused some consternation during WW II.

20 May, 2012 00:56

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