Hi folks! Back with a second volume of newspaper clippings about the 1938 flood, succinctly known as:
“Flood, March 1938 : newspaper clippings from Anaheim, Azusa, Brea, Chino, Claremont, Corona, El Monte, Glendora, Hollywood, North Hollywood, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Monrovia, Ontario, Orange, Pasadena, Pomona, Redlands, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Ana, Santa Monica, Torrance, Tujunga, Upland ; with photos. of San Antonio Creek and the Claremont area”
A recurring element in this batch of clippings is the flood’s impact on the film industry, mostly in the form of delayed productions, marooned cast and crew, and swept away film sets.
A few pieces mention Paramount’s imperiled film vaults, but I’ve yet to come across any reports of permanent losses.
I’m now curious as to whether the flood’s influence is at all discernible in movies produced during this time. Were scenes cut or rewritten in response to damaged sets or stars unable to reach the studios? There’s an account of one production needing to shoot around the absence of a dog (Waldo) scheduled for that day. Did Waldo eventually show up on set? If not, did the filmmakers recast the dog?
These are the things that keep me up at night.