Making movies is not always free of danger. Rudolf Klein-Rogge learned that from experience. He tells a story that took place while he was in Constantinople to shoot a scene in which he played a white-slave trader attempting an escape by boat while being pursued by policemen on the Bosporus. No regular extras had been hired to play the policemen. Instead, real Turkish policemen had been rounded up and equipped with an abundant supply of blank cartridges, which they were instructed to fire at the fugitive during his flight.
In the scene, Klein-Rogge sits down in the boat and with his face drenched in sweat starts to row downstream. Soon he notices that to the right and to the left of him objects are striking the water with tremendous impact and that the surrounding water is being stirred up. Klein-Rogge starts rowing with all his might, but the rowing becomes increasingly difficult because the water is rising rapidly and he becomes completely drenched by the hissing spray. Finally the fugitive arrives at his destination. The flight is over. “What the devil were you continually throwing into the water?” asks Rogge of the police extras. With friendly smiles they respond, “What do you mean, throwing into the water? We were sharp-shooting the whole time and never once hit our target. — And that sure made for a lot of spraying.”
Klein-Rogge's Adventure on the Bosporus
Article from the Austrian magazine, Mein Film
