Child actors and the BLACK BOX,

Historian John Kassan noted the poor living conditions on the set of Baby Burlesks. He wrote: “To threaten and punish uncooperative child actors, the director, Charles Lamont, kept a soundproof BLACK BOX, six feet on each side, containing a block of ice. An offending child was locked within this dark, cramped interior and either stood uncomfortably in the cold, humid air or had to sit on the ice. Those who told their parents about this torture were threatened with further punishment.”