The Life and Death of 9413: a Hollywood Extra is a 1928 American silent experimental short film co-written and co-directed by Robert Florey and Slavko Vorkapić. Considered a landmark of American avant-garde cinema, it tells the story of a man (played by Jules Raucourt) who comes to Hollywood with dreams of becoming a star; he fails and becomes dehumanized, with studio executives reducing him to the role of an extra and writing the number "9413" on his forehead.
The film has abrupt cuts, rapid camera movement, extensive superimposition, dim lighting, and twisted shapes and forms at disorienting angles. Filmed on a budget of only $97 ($ in today's (2024+/-) dollars), it includes a combination of close-ups of live actors and long shots of miniature sets constructed from cardboard, paper cubes, tin cans, cigar boxes, and toy trains. With no access to Hollywood studios or equipment, most of the film was made in the filmmakers' homes (their walls painted black to provide a background).
The story was inspired by Florey's own experiences in Hollywood and George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. It was one of the first films shot by Gregg Toland, who was later acclaimed for his work on such films as The Grapes of Wrath (1939) and Citizen Kane (1941). The film is a satire of Hollywood's social conditions, practices and ideologies, and the film industry's alleged mistreatment of actors. Douglas Fairbanks assisted with its development, and Charlie Chaplin and Joseph M. Schenck helped to promote it.
Unlike most experimental films, it received a wide release by FBO Pictures Corporation in more than 700 theaters in North America and Europe. The film has been well received by contemporary and present-day critics; according to film historian Brian Taves, "More than any other American film, it initiated the avant-garde in this country". In 1997, it was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry. Florey co-wrote and directed Hollywood Boulevard (1936), a lighter version of the film.
Plot Mr. Jones (Jules Raucourt), an artist and aspiring movie star, arrives in Hollywood and is immediately star-struck by the film industry's glitz and glamour. He speaks with a film-studio representative, presenting a letter of recommendation and trying to speak on his own behalf. The representative cuts him off, however, and writes the number "9413" on his forehead. From this point on, 9413 speaks only in unintelligible gibberish and moves mechanically, mindlessly following the instructions of film directors and studio representatives. He goes on a series of casting calls, but is unable to find success; he is repeatedly confronted with signs reading "No Casting Today". A series of images are interspersed through these scenes: shots of Hollywood, cameras filming, the word "Dreams" written in the stars, and a repeating loop of a man walking up a stairway toward the word "Success" without ever reaching the top.
Unlike 9413, other extras around him become successful. A woman (Adriane Marsh) with the number 13 on her forehead repeatedly sits down and stands back up at the behest of a film director, and eventually succeeds in landing a part after she is greeted by a "Casting Today" sign. Another extra (Voya George) with the number 15, who (unlike 9413) has an expressionless, unenthusiastic facial expression, holds paper masks symbolizing his performances in front of his face. He is greeted enthusiastically by cheering crowds, all of whom speak in the same gibberish as 9413. His number is replaced with a star, and he becomes tremendously successful. 9413 admires the new movie star and can't contain his excitement when the two meet in person. He presents his own (much more impressive-looking) mask to the star to show he is also an actor. The star is unimpressed and turns his back on 9413, who sadly cradles his mask like a baby and laments his inability to achieve success.
Time passes, and 9413 remains unable to find work in Hollywood. Despite repeated phone calls to studio representatives begging for work, he is always confronted by "No Casting Today" signs. He cannot afford food, and bills he is unable to pay are slipped under his door. A series of images symbolizing his mental anguish include twisted trees blowing in the wind and a man lying on the stairway leading to "Success", still unable to reach the top. Starving, exhausted, and in despair about his failures, he collapses and dies. After the other actors laugh at him, his tombstone is shown. It reads: "Here Lies No. 9413, a Hollywood Extra"; the words "No Casting Today" appear next to it.
After his death, 9413's spirit leaves his body and is pulled up a ramp into the sky. As he gets higher, he grows angelic wings and ascends into heaven: a place with glittering crystal towers and bright, blinking lights. A hand removes the "9413" from his forehead, he smiles happily, and he flies further into heaven.
Production
Conception Robert Florey and Slavko Vorkapić, who met after Florey attended one of Vorkapić's American Society of Cinematographers lectures, are credited as co-writers and co-directors of The Life and Death of 9413: a Hollywood Extra. Although accounts differ about the two men's level of involvement in the film's creation, most identify Florey as primarily responsible. According to film historian Brian Taves, Vorkapić was not involved in the writing or direction of the film; his contributions were limited to set design and miniature lighting, but Florey insisted on equal credit for Vorkapić's role in bringing the film to fruition. Early reports about the film support this view, including a 1928 article about Florey in Hollywood Magazine. Taves also says that Vorkapić did nothing to promote the film when it was first released, later exaggerating his role in its production when it became respected. Paul Ivano, who did camerawork on the film, agreed: "Vorkapić tries to get credit, but he didn't do much." Vorkapić has said that the initial idea was Florey's, and they discussed it and drafted a rough one-page synopsis together. However, "all the effects were devised, designed, photographed, and added by me", and "at least 90 percent of the editing and montage" was Vorkapić's work. He said that he directed most of the opening and ending sequences, crediting Florey with filming the casting scene and the shots of laughing extras, and the rise of Voya George's character to stardom was filmed jointly.
Within a few years of his arrival in Hollywood, Florey conceived a film about an ordinary actor's dreams of becoming a star and his failure to realize his hopes. Florey's work as a publicist and journalist covering the film industry gave him a familiarity with the struggles of aspiring actors, and their disappointment at failing to achieve their dreams, which influenced the writing of A Hollywood Extra. The final inspiration for the film, however, came after Florey attended a performance of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. Florey had been working in Hollywood for only a few months when he heard Gershwin's music, and it inspired him to incorporate its rhythms into a film. He later described the film as a "continuity in musical rhythm of the adventures of my extra in Hollywood, the movements and attitudes of which appeared to synchronize themselves with Gershwin's notes". Although most avant-garde films of the time emphasized mood over emotion, he wanted his script to be equal parts abstraction and narrative. Florey wrote it in precise detail, describing each shot relative to the length of film required (a budget necessity, due to the expense of film stock).
Development Florey did not own a camera at the time, and his efforts to obtain one were unsuccessful until he met Vorkapić. Florey recalled, "I say to Slav, 'Slav, I have an idea but not much money. You have a camera and are a clever painter. Let's make the picture in collaboration and we split the benefit. According to Vorkapić, he said: "Florey, you get me $100 and I'll make you a picture in my own kitchen." Vorkapić allowed Florey to borrow a small box camera which he had bought with the proceeds from the sale of one of his oil paintings. It was a DeVry camera with one lens, a type which Florey said was sold as a "toy". Florey had trouble obtaining film, since he found it too expensive to purchase negative and positive film from film laboratories. Florey knew that film ends (scraps of leftover, unexposed film stock) were often discarded after shooting on big-budget Hollywood films, however, and he tried to persuade filmmakers to give them to him. Camerawork had just been completed on The Gaucho (1927), a film starring Douglas Fairbanks, and Florey obtained more than 1,000 feet of film from the production in 10- and 20-foot strips. He then spliced the film ends together by hand (a process he found time-consuming and frustrating), which resulted in the equivalent of a full reel of negative film. Fairbanks (who had employed Florey to handle his European public relations) provided financial assistance, gave Florey access to his editing rooms, and helped provide him with film ends.
The film was shot by Gregg Toland (credited simply as "Gregg"), who was also working as an assistant to cinematographer George Barnes at the Samuel Goldwyn Studio. It was one of Toland's first films, and the cinematographer was later acclaimed for his work on The Grapes of Wrath (1939) and Citizen Kane (1941). The Life and Death of 9413: a Hollywood Extra cost $97 ($ today) to make, paid entirely by Florey. The budget consisted of $55 ($ today) for development and printing, $25 ($ today) for negatives, $14 ($ today) for transportation, and $3 ($ today) for store props (most of which cost five or ten cents apiece). Of the development costs, the salaries for everyone involved in the film totaled $3. Toland had the use of a Mitchell camera, which permitted some shots which would have been impossible with the DeVry camera (including about 300 feet of closeups). Additional camerawork was by Paul Ivano; according to Taves, Ivano was primarily responsible for much of the film's camerawork and Toland primarily handled the closeups. A Hollywood Extra was shot on 35mm film, over a three-week period in late 1927, mainly on weekends. No subtitles are used in the film. Only two captions are used, each with one word ("Dreams" and "Success"); they were produced by reflecting a moving light through cardboard cutouts, creating words among the shadows.
Casting
The extra 9413 was played by Belgian actor Jules Raucourt, who was credited in the film simply as "Raucourt". Although Raucourt began his career as a leading man in silent action films, he became a film extra himself after cinema transitioned to the sound era. Raucourt later wrote a novel, using the title of the film. Extra 13 was played by Adriane Marsh, a film extra in real life who never again had a credited film role. Extra 15 (who becomes a movie star) was played by Voya George, a friend of Vorkapić who went on to a career in European films. Florey appears in the film as a casting director, although only his disembodied mouth and hand are visible as he shakes his finger at the protagonist. Vorkapić also had a brief role in the film, as the man endlessly climbing the staircase to "Success".
Filming