In Search Of The Sons Of Barnum

I have just picked up an email today from a Wilkerson Azulay who has offered to help me with my research for the book. Mr. Azuela is a Liberian in Baltimore and has a collection of movie press packs and advertising books going back to the 20’s.

He claims the most interesting is one penned by Harry Reichenbach for D. W. Griffith’s 1924 film America starring Lionel Barrymore.

There are some outlandish claims for the extras that act in the grand-scale re-creations of the war for independence. The picture is one of a local policeman hired to control the crowd that gathered to see the filming. Allegedly Azulay came up with the tag line “Love of tender girlhood! Passionate deeds of heroes! A rushing, leaping drama of charm and excitement!” Having spent two days in the Academy library crunching the Reichenbach file in suspect fact and fiction merge into one.