In His Excellent History Of The Silent Film, "The ...

In his excellent history of the silent film, "The Parades’ Gone By," Kevin Brownlow tells the amazing tale of a lanky, good looking young man from Montana would do just about anything to get into the movies. In 1926, Paramount was filming one of the last of the big budget silent westerns, "The Winning Of Barbara Worth," and this young man was hired as an extra for the picture.

In one scene, a character was to stagger out of a blizzard, rap on the door of a cabin. When the door opened he was to collapse from exhaustion. Ronald Colman, the star of the picture, was to catch hit before he hit the floor.

The actor, originally cast the part, refused to cooperate because director Henry King wanted him to fall forward, but not throw out his hands to break his fall in case Colman didn’t catch him. Now King was desperate. Suddenly he spotted the young man lurking in the shadows of the set. "Hey, cowboy," the director shouted. "Do you think you can do this scene?"

"Yup," the fellow replied tersely.

"Okay," King said. "Just remember, don’t throw out your arms. Trust Colman to catch you."

The camera was rolling. A knock sounded and Colman opened the door. The apparition in the doorway looked as if he had trudged three days in the blinding snow. Suddenly his eyes rolled back and he pitched forward. The slightly-built Colman just managed to stop his fall -- the young man’s nose was inches from the hard floor. But his arms were loose. He had placed every bit of his trust in Colman to catch his fall and prevent a serious injury.

Director King was so impressed with the performance that he gave the brave young fellow a larger part in the picture. Gary Cooper had finally won his screen career. And the rest is history.

As Christians, do we trust God enough to catch us if we should fall?

Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. (Psalm 115:11)