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January, 1926
AMERICAN CINEM ATOGR APHER
Five
Filmitiq "Ben Hur11 ^ qeOTqe Meehan, Chariot Race Scenes A s c
Remarkable Results Registered by A. S. C. Members on "'Circus Maxim us"
Left: George Meehan, A. S. C. Above: A chariot race spill which the cine matographers captured.
A new world's record in the number of cinematographers employed in the ''shooting" of motion picture action was established in the filming of the
Qreal Work 1
The following letter and the copy referred to herein were sent to E. Burton Steene, A. S. C, by John M. Nickolaus, head of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer laboratories. Similar letters were sent to other A. S. C. members whose work proved so superlative on the chariot race scenes.
Mr. E. Burton Steene, Dear Mr. Steene:
Your work on trie Circus Maximus last Friday and Saturday was very excellent and I want to thank you personally and in behalf of rnis Company for your efforts and your fine spirit of co-operation.
Enclosed you will find a copy of a letter which Mr. Mannix sent me which expresses the sentiments of the officials of this Company.
Again thanking you, I remain.
Yours very truly, (Signed) JOHN M. N KKOL ACS.
chariot race scenes in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer version of "Ben Hur." Forty-two cameras, each directed by an expert cinematographer, "covered" every angle of the Circus Maximus act and, according to officials of M.-G.-M. it is going down in film history as one of the most thrilling race pictures ever recorded for the silver sheet.
Results Praised Metrfo-Goldwyn-Mayer officials, including E. J. Mannix, comptroller; Joe Cohn, production manager, and John M. Nickolaus, laboratory chief with that organization, are loud in their praises for the skill of the cinematographers who captured all the desired results without necessitating the lapping over into another day which would have meant an added expense of thousands of dollars for the hundreds of people who were used in the scenes.
The former record of cinematographers used at one
time in the filming of a motion picture stood at 17, it is said, but in order to capture every detail of the great "Ben Hur" chariot races in which
Ttlatinix Letter
Mr. John M. Nickolaus, Dear Nick:
I wish to compliment you and your cameramen upon the great work accomplished during the filming of the chariot scenes in Circus Maximus on Saturday last.
I wish that you would express to each and every one of these men, as a representative of the Studio officials, appreciation of the fine spirit with which they all carried on, and the great results accomplished.
It is indeed a pleasure to have men of this calibre do our photographic work.
Mr. Thalberg, Mr. Niblo, and I ran all of the film taken, and we feel proud of everything that they filmed.
1 wish that you would see that this word of appreciation is carried on to each and every one of thrni.
Smcerelj yours,
(Signed) E. J. Mannix.