American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1952)

Cinematography | REiIEWS EVERYTHING I HAVE IS YOURS — Photo¬ graphed in Technicolor by JUilliam V. Shall, A.S.C., for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Here’s a picture you'll be hearing about long after it has run its customary course in the theatres, because it’s defi¬ nitely a nominee for an Academy Award next year in several categories — par¬ ticularly the photography. Shall, whose assignments lately have been on second units of large produc¬ tions such as “Quo Vadis,” is all by him¬ self on this one and his artistic lighting and skillful camera handling is im¬ mediately evident, especially in the song and dance numbers featuring Marge and Gower Champion, stars of the story. He’d want us to credit his camera crew and grips for the assist given him on the intricate dolly and boom shots, so here’s a plug for them, too. “Everything I Have Is Yours” con¬ cerns the Champions, song-and-dance team married two years, and starred on Broadway in a musical of their own for the first time. Marge finds she’s pregnant on opening night, has to vacate the star role to Monica Lewis, who later makes a play for Gower Champion. But every¬ thing comes out all right in the end — all of which is interspersed by some of the most brilliant song and dance rou¬ tines written into an MGM picture in a long time. Skall’s lighting of sets representing the Champion’s lavish home is elegant and while he’s not called upon in this picture to come through with any arty lighting or camera treatments, his is a top grade job throughout the production and an excellent study for those in¬ terested in color photography. George Wells produced the picture; Robert Z. Leonard was the director. TOP SECRET — Photographed in blackand-white by Ted McCord, A.S.C., for Warner Brothers. “Top Secret” is a dramatic interna¬ tional mystery story with its beginning in the gallant fight of the French under¬ ground, during World War II. As the story unfolds, it uncovers one of the most clever of international spies. Ted McCord’s photography aided by skillful lighting establishes and main¬ tains the sinister mood of the story. Later, he’s called upon to match the lighting, contrast, and camera angles of captured German footage which is inter¬ cut with his. Rare motion picture made by the Ger¬ man Signal Corps during the war depict¬ ing the first Messerschmidt jet plane in action and of the initial V-l pilotless bombs that fell on London late in the conflict were obtained by the studio for a sequence of “Top Secret.” It fitted correctly into the plot of the picture and shows the launching of the V-l bombs from the French coast and flights of the first military jet plane. In shooting the French channel se¬ quences at Malibu beach in Southern California, McCord had to add riflemen to his camera crew in order to keep out of camera range a herd of seals who in¬ sisted on swimming past each time the camera was started for a scene of the beach. An interesting photographic accom¬ plishment is the close range photography of a small radio being shot up by rifle fire. A tommy gun shooting real bullets was used to get the realistic closeup shots. Cornel Wilde, Steve Cochran. Phyllis Thaxter and Karl Malden are the prin¬ cipal players. Henry Blanke produced and Lewis Seiler directed. THE WORLD IN HIS ARMS — Photograph¬ ed in Technicolor by Russell Metty, A.S.C., for Universal-International Pic¬ tures. Special photography by Stanley Horsley, A.S.C. In our review of U.I.’s “Yankee Buc¬ caneer,” last month, we made the point that Russell Metty had come a long way with his color photography since first he began shooting Technicolor. “The World In His Arms,” further substan¬ tiates this. As with the former produc¬ tion, Metty has applied deft camera and lighting treatment to every scene in this picture, bringing them to the screen in superlative pictorial canvases. But it is the special photography of the schooner race by Stanley Horsley that steals the show in the latter part of the picture. Foregoing the customary background projection process, U.I sent their cameras out to sea to photograph the huge sailing craft in action. The follow shots are superb; the camera shooting from deck of another boat traveling alongside the two schooners keeps the framing steady in every shot. A new type camera mount, details of which are closely guarded by the studio, made the unique shots possible. Ann Blyth and Gregory Peck star in th is Rex Beach favorite which has to do with two rival schooner captains who 380 ° American Cinematographer • September, 1952 poach seal skins from the Pribalof Is¬ lands for a living and bid for the favor of Russian Countess (Blyth). Aaron Rosenberg produced for Uni¬ versal-International; Raoul Walsh di¬ rected. And a fine job he did, too. PLYMOUTH ADVENTURE — Photographed in Technicolor by William Daniels, A.S.C., f or Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Mini¬ ature photography by Max Fabian, A.S.C., and Harold Lipstein, A.S.C. Except for a brief opening sequence, all of the action of “Plymouth Adven¬ ture” takes place aboard the Mayflower, the famed vessel that brought the Pil¬ grim Fathers and their families to Amer¬ ica in 1620. This is the film story of that voyage and of the drama interwoven with the privation and suffering endured by the pilgrims and the Mayflower’s nondescript crew. Fully one-fourth of the footage is miniatures, or played against back¬ grounds shot in miniature, and it is this phase of the production that outweighs all the rest, technically. The degree of realism achieved by MGM’s miniature and process department is of Academy Award caliber. Especially are the storm scenes in which the Mayflower is tossed about by giant waves the best ever pro¬ duced anywhere. (More about this phase of the production appears elsewhere in this issue. Editor. ) The rest of the production is expertly photographed by William Daniels, who returned to the MGM lot after a long absence to photograph the picture. Spencer Tracy, Gene Tierney, Van Johnson and Leo Genn head the ex¬ cellent cast. Dore Schary produced and Clarence Brown directed this MGM pro¬ duction which is among that studio’s best for 1952. THE QUIET MAN — Photographed in Technicolor by W inton C. Hoch, A.S.C., for Argosy Productions. Here is a production that proves that, with a skilled cameraman, adverse light¬ ing is no serious problem in Technicolor photography. “The Quiet Man” was filmed in Ireland, where clear, sunny days are a rarity and overcast skies the rule. Under these conditions, Winton Hoch has captured scenes of the Irish countryside that beggar description. Moreover, the refreshing vistas inspired Hoch to achieve magnificent pictorial compositions and these together with the excellent story and fine cast make this one of the “must” pictures of the year. John Wayne, a retired American prizefighter returns to Ireland, land of his birth to buy the old ancestral home (Continued on Page 414)