American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1941)

for what he has achieved in this picture. It would be ungallant to remind the lady how long it has been since the days when she was the epitome of feminine glamour on the screen — but it has been ;a long time, as pictures go. But with !the exception of a couple of shots in which direction and dramatic requirements placed both the star and the man at the camera at unreasonable disadvantage, Milner has photographed her in such a way that you cannot help re, marking how little toll the years have taken. And there are some close-ups of her — especially the close shots late in the picture as she plays the piano — when you mentally chide the hero for being so chivalrously slow on the uptake. The special-effects photography of John Fulton, A.S.C., is no less notable. The early sequences of the film establish Brian Aherne's dual-role characterizations with some of the finest split-screen shots seen in a very long time. There ire all too few of these shots, for they are done so smoothly and convincingly that it is a pleasure to watch them. In [one, by the way, Fulton appears to have caught something of the tongue-in-cheek insouciance which characterizes the rest of this breezy film: he painstakingly establishes a shadow across the table at which the scene is played — and just as you are beginning to feel that this conceals an illy-matched matte-line he fools you by having one character lean well across what you thought must be the dividing line between takes! His other special-process contributions were excellent, though it must be admitted one wishes he could have had one Hmore angle to use as background for the ;chase sequence in the concluding minutes (of the picture. The settings of Art Director Jack Otterson are, as usual, worthy of commendation, as is the filmediting of Milton Carruth and the musical scoring of Charles Previn. THAT NIGHT IN RIO Twentieth Century-Fox Production (Technicolor). Directors of Photography: Leon Sham roy, A.S.C., and Ray Rennahan, A.S.C. Twentieth Century-Fox seems to be developing an individual technique of turning out standout Technicolor musicals. "That Night in Rio," the latest of ^these, is from the strictly photographic viewpoint the finest of the lot. Directors ,of Photography Leon Shamroy, A.S.C, and Ray Rennahan, A.S.C, have in bringing this film to the screen topped their Academy Award-nominated achievement Jon the previous "Down Argentine Way." Photographically, "That Night in Rio" is a delight. For sheer Technicolored pictorial beauty it has seldom been surpassed. Rennahan and Shamroy have taken the uncommonly fine sets provided by Art Directors Richard Day and Joseph C. Wright and the costumes of Travis Banton, and by means of skillful color-lighting and composition have made them into a thrillingly beautiful picture. There is scarcely a single scene in the production which is not an out standing example of pictorial composition. The various night-club sequences — especially the opening and closing ones — i gave Rennahan an opportunity to exercise his penchant for projected colorlightings, which he has done with extremely interesting effect. Many of the other sequences make use of color-lighting to excellent effect, too, although on a more restrained scale. Among these may be mentioned the surpassingly lovely scenes in Alice Faye's bedroom, in which the warmer tones of un filtered inkies outlining the bed, in the soft gray set, provide fascinating compositional effects. On the other side of the ledger, some defects must be admitted. In her earlier scenes, Miss Faye, for example, shows all too plainly that even the combined skill of Shamroy and Rennahan cannot fully offset the effects of the ill-health which had forced her withdrawal from her previous assignment to "Down Argentine Way." From the opening of the party sequence, however, the directors of photography seem to have gotten the situation more clearly in hand, as her appearance thereafter was quite satisfactory. The problem seems to have been complicated, too, by a none too attractive coiffure. The other players suffered to some extent from inconsistent make-up, with a correspondingly uneven facial rendition. This was particularly noticeable in some of Don Ameche's scenes, though some of these might conceivably have been caused by an unsuccessful attempt to bring a blush to his manly visage by means of inadequate projected color. In one long series of otherwise excellent close-ups of Alice Faye, as she sings in the cafe bar, the composition is definitely harmed by the presence in the extreme background of an extra woman in a too strongly blue gown which, even though extremely out of focus, is still a sufficiently strong tonal intrusion to distract the eye from the star's face; a softer-toned gown — < gray or pastel blue — would have been far preferable. It also seemed to this reviewer that this scene would have been more effective if made with a lens of shorter focal length which would have given a more natural depth of field. The dual role played by Don Ameche involved three split-screen shots, none of which are any too-well executed. The first one, it must be said, is one of the worst seen in a long time; it is extremely crude, and the matte-line is so obvious a child could notice it. The second is slightly better, while the third — the concluding scene of the film — is adequate, but by no means on a par with the quality camerawork of the rest of the production. Even allowing for the added complication of special-effects work in a three-film color process, these three shots are so inferior as to harm the production. It would seem, too, as though more camera-wise planning of the script could have taken advantage of the possibilities of projected-background process work for some of these dual-role scenes, permitting one character to "cross" the other and thus avoiding the rather stilted effect of the ordinary split-screen action involved. The treatment of the handshaking between the two Ameche characters — played in individual medium-shots— ■ is also rather too obvious. On the other hand, the single projected background the film contains — the brief sequence in the airport office — is quite good. All told, "That Night in Rio" is a picture no one interested in the pictorial possibilities of Technicolor should miss. I WANTED WINGS. Paramount Production. Director of Photography: Leo Tover, A.S.C. Aerial Photography by: Elmer G. Dyer, A.S.C Transparency Process Photography by: Farciot Edouart, A.S.C. Special Photographic Effects by: Gordon Jennings, A.S.C. At the start of "I Wanted Wings," a separate title-card is used to give the four-starred photographic credits of the production. And nowhere has such recognition of the Cinematographer's achievements been more richly deserved. "I Wanted Wings" is tops among air films not because of an excellent cast, excellent direction and a more than ordinary good story for such a production, but because of the achievements of the men at the cameras, their uncredited associates and crews. Without the superlative technical and artistic skill these men have put into their work, the production could never have been brought to the screen. Director of Photography Leo Tover, A.S.C, had a difficult and thankless assignment in this one. In a production of this nature, with settings largely restricted to severe Army barracks, hangars and the like, and the action and characterizations largely of the rugged, masculine type, pictorial photographic opportunities are extremely limited — and the aerial shots are likely to steal the show, anyway. But Tover's work stands up under critical examination. His set-lightings are realistic and, wherever possible, pictorially effective as well. His treatment of the players is excellent, especially in regard to the male players, to whom he gives virile photographic treatment without going to the extreme of giving them exaggerated "character" lightings. He does very well indeed by both of the film's two feminine players, though it must be admitted that Veronica Lake's make-up is a handicap to his efforts. His crew also deserves commendation for their execution of the rather unusual number of dolly-shots, interior and exterior, in the film. "I Wanted Wings" displays some of the smoothest operative and assistant camerawork we've seen from Paramount in some time. The aerial camerawork of Aerial Specialist Elmer G. Dyer, A.S.C, is in many ways his finest achievement. From start (Continued on Page 186) American Cinematographer April, 1941 L69