The Cine Technician (1938-1939)

Jan.— Feb., 1939 THE CINE T ECU N I C I A N 163 LESSONS FROM " MEN WITH WINGS " Telling the story of man's conquest of the air from the first flight by the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk in 1903 to the making of super-speed bombers to-day, this aviation picture, the first to he shot entirely in Technicolor, offers many lessons to the cine technician. The most important, I think, is that such a heavy piece of apparatus as the Technicolor camera could be used to obtain such mobile results. The flying by members of the Black Cat Club, the stunt flyers who worked on '"Men With Wings," has been brilliantly photographed. Our illustrations show the elaborate camera set-up used. In One we see the camera fitted on top of the machine's wing, and the method of bracing it. This camera was used to colour-film the stunts and was operated by remote control by the pilot. In Two the camera is mounted on a gun ring and is operated by the cameraman. This was used to film the formation flights shown in the film. This camera fit-up should be of great help to any British firm contemplating aero pictures. A special rostrum was constructed at each side of the machines to allow the operators and assistants to load and fix the cameras easily without being cramped or damaging the planes' fabric. The film contains some very fine photography and the colour scene of Ranson's crashing on his first flight and being burned to death, was in my opinion one of the most effectively horrible scenes the screen has shown us — but then I had seen this happen in real lite, and the memory always haunts me. By the way. Ray Milland, one of the stars in this film, is British — just another one who has made good. From King's College, London, trained horses, rode in Grand National, seaman. Household Cavalry, film off-set marksman. Spent Christmas home and was dined by his old troop at Albany Street Barracks. Before the War 1 filmed man\ of the early flights in machines constructed ti ma bamboo curtain poles and driven by home made propellors and motor cycle engines. Those early flights nearly always ended in a crash and then came hungry days for the pilots while cash was procured to patch up the machine! This leads me to a very important lesson to be learned from this film — in "Men With Winu's" the early flights and the record breaking attempts are illustrated by means of static titles Figure i Figure 2 which are supposed to give the necessary montage impression of the progress of aviation. These titles are just a shock to the viewer's cinematic mind. Topical films ot all these events are available, but have presumably not been used because they are black and white. If these scenes had been used and tone-tinted they would have fitted inconspicuously into the Technicolor shots, and would have greatlj added to the drama of the film. Or they could have been stencilled in Pathe-colour. 1 am sure the reasonable use of these two processes woidd be of great help in Technicolor films that have to use old pictures for flash-backs. Anyway, technicians should see this very thrilling Him with its first colour flying sequences. At the premiere at the Carlton Theatre were many distinguished people, including Lord Mountbatten who did so much to introduce films to the Royal Navy ; Mr. Joseph Kennedy, the American Ambassador, who was at one time Pathe chief in America; Leslie Burgin, Minister of Transport, very much interested in film affairs; Lt . Col. Moore-Brabazon, the first licenced pilot in England and a director of Kodak's; Claude Graham White and Sir Alan Cobham, who both have piloted many cameramen. K.G. * * * AMONG THE AMATEURS Interest iii colour is making steady progress among amateur groups. The Plymouth Institution Photographic Section had a lecture on December 12th on the Dufay Process by Mr. George H. Sow ell of Dufay-Chromex, and another lecture and demonstration is arranged for February 12th on the Kodachrome Process. The Manchester and Salfoi'd Film Society has already shown four programmes this season, featuring "Extase," "La Belle Equipe," "Underworld," and "The Last rsight." Features for the spring season will be chosen from "The World is Ours" (Czech), "Janitzio" (Mexico), "Carnet du Hal." "Orage," 'Gribouille" and "Amphytrion" (France). "Der Schimmelreiter" (Germany), "Son of Mongolia" and "The Thirteen" (U.S.S.E.).