Chapter 28: The Movie had taken Over
The movie circus became established in the Bull. It was now the merry month of May. This also helped with the filming. Somehow a joviality had infused the whole proceedings. The press and the hordes outside the Bull seemed to have an insatiable need for any information about the movie production. The producers and their backers were loving this, as this guaranteed a huge profit from the movie and all its spin-offs. Old Slippery's input also made sure of a truly authentic final film. He was very fussy in life. He was regretting he was not born in the present century where there would have been real scope for his talents and no need, hopefully, for his violence. Old Slippery's attention to detail and his latent threat if anyone slacked, was ever-present.
Something else became apparent. Some members of the production crew could hear and communicate with the ghost telepathically. The Chief Detective Inspector and Sid the landlord pointed out that they could well be direct descendants of the Right Hon Jake Horatio Higginbottom as well.
The film director, a number of producers, technical staff, and actors and actresses were asked to research their genealogy. Help was given with this via Professor Hudson.
Yes, they were his descendants. Problems and dead ends in the research were overcome by the good professor. Old Slippery had several 'love children'. The professor, by looking carefully at parish records and other documents was able to deduce that Slippery was their ancestor. Many had gone over to North America and elsewhere. Successful attempts for information around the world produced the evidence that was needed.
Needless to say, a number of people were amazed and quite shocked at first. The Old Highwayman had certainly 'put it about quite a bit', during his lifetime, before syphilis got the better of him.
This helped to explain how everything seemed to drop into place so effortlessly during the production. The spirit of The Right Hon Jake Horatio Higginbottom seemed to be running through the whole production of the movie. Which was about him after all.
The rushes became available very quickly. The director, producers, technicians, and concerned actors took an intense interest in these. So did Old Slippery. He would glide down from his throne and look imperiously at each offering. A courteous tapping on his three-cornered hat or a modest bow would indicate his satisfaction. However, a dismissive gesture, plus slight reddening in his eyes would indicate he was less than happy. He also took a keen interest in the basic editing of each scene.
Again, Professor Hudson had mentioned the Highway Man had liked going to the theatre. Yes, this was to do with his interest in the actresses, but he had a reputation for watching and commenting on any new plays. He was also said to have had a close friendship with Lord Byron, the famous Regency poet. He too certainly had a certain reputation.
Nor did Old Slippery slow up the production time schedule, far from it. The production was storming ahead. The scriptwriters were tearing their hair out trying to keep up, but they somehow managed. As with the 'learned' committee meetings, Old Slippery had seemed to take control.
This somewhat amused Professor Hudson and came as no surprise, as this was very much true to his original character.
By mid-May, everything was tied up and the film crew and everybody else finally pulled out. This was with a lot of regrets. The Chief Detective Inspector detected some regret in Old Slippery. He had loved all the attention, being the centre of it all, and the authority he had in the overall production of the movie.