Evening star., 1942-02-02

Henry NsGsnsrs. fact that the
snow was untoasted cornhakes, were
10 real that patrons seated a far
from ths screen as the tenth row
were frost-bitten.
Remember that scene In ~Ser.
geant York" where the sergeant,
accompanied by his faithful dogs.
climbs on q peak in the Big Smoky
Mountains and meditates? Well,
that scene was shot on an indoors
stage. There Is hardly a college
halfback worth his subsidization
who couldn't have run over any Of
the mountains and knocked them
down.
Did you see Ladies In Retire
ment?" You know, the horror
thriller laid along the marshes Of
the Thames River7 Well, those
marshes were a. phoney a. . 81
bill and were created from such
odds and ends as roosters' combs,
old lace. tap water. rubber heels,
no-parking signs, and plain Califr-
mia. 1t was all . matter Of magic
the sort Of magic that Hollywood's
art directors have been working on
the public since John Bunny was
the Clark Gable Of his day.
Now that trickery has come to
the aid of the Government. The
art directors and the lesser ma
gicians who work under them In
creating flim-fam for the movies
are welded into q motion picture
camoufage unit.
1t was only a few hours after the
japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
IAN attack, by the way. that proved
the vulnerability Of uncamouflaged
targets, that the Hollywood masters
Of confusion volunteered their serv-
ices. Their services were eagerly
accepted by the United States Army
Engineers. Today more than 400
men, representing six major studios,
are devoting much Of their time IN
concealing key defense works.
The projects are outlined by the
art directors, and the work carried
out by sketch artists, model makers
and craftsmen. These babies are
the same ones who design and
create the sets for the Hollywood
pictures. You have seen enough
movies to know how skillful they are.
In talking to Lionel Banks Of the
Columbia Studios. who Is in charge
Of the camouf1age unit, I discovered
just what q bit of this, bit OF
that, and q knowledge Of shadows
and colors and perspective can do.
AL Of the Washington scenes Of
'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
were done right in Hollywood. The
entire shot showing the Lincoln
Memorial and the vast sweep Of
the Reflection Pool was done on q
stage. In only Angels Have Wings"
the ocean and an airport were shot
on q medium -sized indoor stage.
You can imagine what these fellows
are able to do in the way Of dis
guising defense projects. Mr.. Banks
naturally did not say what projects
his unit had undertaken, but, say
it was an airplane factory. By the
time his boys get through with it,
the Japanese bombers. when and
II they come to this coast. won't be
able to tell it from q bobsled run,
Q skating rink, q sanctuary for
widowed bison, or George Rats
swimming pool.
They'll come over to knock out q
factory. say. and wind up wasting
precious bombs on nothing moro
substantial than a bunch Of netting,
paint. leaves and optical illusions.
The Germans have given camou-
flage q full try. The r. A. r. re-
leased pictures showing what the
Nazis did in an effort to protect the
railroad station at Hamburg, which
was easily spotted from the air by
its proximity to q lake. The Ger
mans covered the lake with planks
and painted them to look Like build
ings.
The Hollywood artists would never
stop with just making . lake look
like suburban settlement. They
would cut loose and have the
boarded-over lake looking like an
African jungle, the main street ir
Nome, Alaska, or Canal street In
New Orleans. This would % con-
fuse an enemy pilot that he would
be likely to set down his plane and
wire home for a fresh set Of road
maps.
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