Last Of The Mohicans Cast

Star power lures dreamers to call

SCHENECTADY -- They formed a cast of thousands, as long lines snaked along sun-drenched sidewalks. Women and men, young and old, actors and non-actors, the out-of-work and the employed, waited for their chance to become a star.

They assumed their role Saturday in a scene hard to believe for the sheer numbers outside Ellis Hospital 's Belanger Campus School of Nursing on Erie Boulevard. Starting about 7:30 a.m., an estimated 2,000 dreamers waited in lines -- one to get inside, one to get their picture taken, and one, if they were lucky, to read a few lines for the casting director of the movie "The Place Beyond the Pines."

Starring Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper , the movie about a stunt motorcyclist who turns to bank robbery to support his son, will conduct filming in and around Schenectady from mid-July to after Labor Day, said Don Rittner , head of the Schenectady Film Commission .

The masses who flocked to the auditions, which conclude Sunday, are competing for about 20 speaking roles and a still-to-be-determined number of extras, Rittner said. The schedule called for adult men to audition in the morning, and adult women in the afternoon. But so many showed up, Rittner said, that auditions were extended into the evening. Sunday, the call is for males 13 to 20 from 10 a.m. to noon, and females 13 to 20 from 1 to 3 p.m.

Odds are long, but hopes were high.

Kenneth McBain, 41, of Watervliet, recently landed his first paying job as an actor with a leading role in the Last of the Mohicans Outdoor Drama's upcoming production in Lake George. He arrived at 7:30 a.m. -- 2 1/2 hours before auditions began -- to stand second in line and secure an invitation to read for the casting director and two assistants.

The readings were private, with paper over the windows and a sign reading: "Audition in progress. Please do not enter."

"I'm trying to parlay my lead role into a full-time acting career," McBain said when he emerged. "They told me I did very well, and they thanked me for my time."

Organizers didn't tell him when he might be contacted, he said. But Rittner, of the film commission, said the calls would happen soon because filming starts in six weeks.

McBain said he read for the part of Jack, a circus owner. Sidney Legg , 65, a retired police officer who lives in Troy, read for the part of a judge. It was just a few lines, he said, granting a restraining order.

This was his first audition and first foray into acting of any type, Legg said. His long-time friend George Jahn , 72, also retired and auditioning, persuaded him to try out because "well, it's just fun," Jahn said.

Last of the Mohicans | WordlyCinema

Directors: Clarence Brown, Maurice Tourneur | Cast: Wallace Beery, Barbara Bedford, Alan Roscoe, Lillian Hall, Henry Woodward, James Gordon, George Hackathorne, Nelson McDowell, Harry Lorraine, Theodore Lorchach, Jack McDonald, Sydney Deane, Joseph Singleton, Boris Karloff, Chief Tahachee | Writers: James Fenimore Cooper (novel), Robert Dillon (scenario) | Cinematographers: Philip R. Du Bois, Charles Van Enger | Music: Arthur Kay, R.J. Miller |Genre: Adventure, Drama | Runtime: 73 Min | Format: DvdRip, Silent, Black & White | Language: Silent, with English intertitles | Country: USA | Filesize 721 MB | Aspect Ratio: 1.33 : 1

IMDB

Synopsis : This impressive silent adaptation of the James Fenimore Cooper tale captures the essence of his work by keeping the film''s storyline close to the written work. Set during the French and Indian Wars, our adventure centers on two sisters trying to find their lost father, a British officer, while trying to avoid the French and their allies, the Huron. Helping our heroines are Chingachgook and his son Uncas, the last of the Mohican tribe, and their friend and ally, the frontiersman known as Hawkeye.

The last of the Mohicans;, a narrative of 1757

The Last of teh Mohicans

The Last of the Mohicans, by James Fenimore Cooper

Cooper's The last of the Mohicans, a narrative of 1757

The Last of the Mohicans