Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1947)

STARRING 17 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer THE CAMERA M-C-M film has idea for amateurs WILLIAM HOWE, ACL SINCE a Hollywood producer generally regards an experimental motion picture in the same light as the plague and an established star gauges a role by the footage his profile is given on the screen, it is a wonder that Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's new thriller, Lady in the Lake, ever saw the light of a projector bulb. But Robert Montgomery, who has always had a good healthy disdain for formula movies, sold the producer, George Haight, the idea of using a new star, the camera; and he graciously stepped aside, to let his protege have a crack at the role of the much pummeled detective, Philip Marlowe. In his new capacity as director, Mr. Montgomery stood behind the camera, to use the lens completely subjectively, recording the entire Raymond Chandler story as it would be seen through the eyes of the principal character. With the help of the cameraman, Paul C. Vogel, ASC, Mr. Montgomery has made a unique and remarkably exciting film, worthy of the attention of all movie makers — a cinematic adventure that proves what a flexible instrument the camera really is. The subjective camera, however, is by no means a new conception; it has been used sporadically for a good many years. Actually, any full face closeup where two players are involved in a scene, any angle shot or distortion that simulates the viewpoint of one of the characters, is ''subjective." Harold Lloyd was actually shooting subjectively in Safety Last, when he pointed his camera straight down at the street, to show the audience how the world appeared to an oaf stranded on a skyscraper ledge. The commonest use of this device is probably the out of focus image, to indicate the bleary vision of the character who has had "one too many." The long standing popularity of psychological and crime movies has increased the opportunity for the subjective treatment. Back in 1919, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari made a big splash in the cinema world by portraying the fancies of a madman; and more recently, with the advent of Hitchcock and Siodmak, you can find an infinite number of scenes which have been filmed with the camera stepping into the first person. The dramatic impact of the murderer's suicide in Spellbound was heightened by having the gun pointed directly into the lens, and Dick Powells foggy outlook, after a draught of knockout drops in Murder, My Sweet, was cleverly indicated by cobwebs in front of the lens. The Lodger came closest to the techniques of Lady in the Lake, when the cinematographer rocked his camera unsteadily up to the horror frozen face of one of Jack the Ripper's victims, suggesting the maniacal stagger of the killer. Lady in the Lake might be said, then, to raise the camera from the ranks of a "bit" player to the place of a full fledged star. For this film is notable for the brilliant way in which the director, Mr. Montgomery, has sustained the subjective treatment throughout the entire picture. With the aid of a specially constructed brace, the camera moves right along in the star's footsteps— pausing to read signs, tilting to a doorknob, as he opens the door and walks into a room, sitting, lying down, even falling to the floor in the fight sequences. [Continued on page 30] * Mirror reflections are the only sequences in which the human star of Lady in the Lake becomes visible. • This special camera rigging allows the theatre goer to participate as a character in the picture. • In this difficult shot, the leading lady had to mount a ladder to be viewed in proper perspective.