Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1944-07-21

ing barges on the very stroke of
bleak square houses fronting II
looked. The ramp dropped and
the men jumped out and waded
up the beach. They bent low
and ran up the sandy slope and
some of them dropped flat and
didn't move again
How were you able to take
part (via newsreeD in this his
toric moment, 80 minutes before
the cameramen arrived?
Fifty landing barges had been
fitted with robot cameras. Each
was loaded with 100 feet of
movie negative. A man in each
barge had been told: When you
reach the beach, push the but
ton"
Forty-seven of the robot cam
eras were smashed or the film
damaged. But three of them re-
corded the actual landing. Three
little rolls of negative reached
the navy message centers on the
beachhead, went into press
sack marked urgent" and went
back to England in fast boat.
The film was processed in lab
oratories waiting for the photo
graphic records from France.
Censors reeled the film through
moviola viewer and punched
the margins of scenes not to be
used. The British Ministry of
Information notified the news
reel dispatchers to come and get
it. A few days later in New
York neWSreel editors had the
brief footage that gave every
theatergoer an idea of what it
was like to make a beachhead
on Fortress Europe.
How the D-Day movies were
obtained is revealed by Col,
Curtis Mitchell, chief of the
pictorial section, army public re-
lations. He is back from Eng
land after helping set up the
system.
THE LIVE LENSERS. The 210
motion cameramen of the Amer
ican, Canadian and British
forces and two members of the
newsreel pool landed on the
beach at H-Hour plus 30-and
found plenty of detail and dan
ger to occupy them.
Their films also went back
through the message centers
maintained by the navy on the
beach. The centers were mark
ed by special flags. That first
day the Germans shot down the
flags as fast as they were put up.
The film got to the press sacks
just the same.
THE INVASION STORY. A
Joint American British picture
running six reels is being pro-
duced to report graphically on
the first 90 days of the invasion.
Co-producers are 1t. Col. Ana
tole Litvak who edited the U. 5.
Army film, Battle of Russia, and
1t. Col. David Macdonald who
produced Desert Victory for the
British.
The film will not 60 into final
editing until after Labor Day.
The producers naturally do not
know yet everything they can
use in it. What they would like
to include is the fall of Paris.
DIFFERENT. Gene Autry,
still in the army, is seeking a
court ruling that he won't have
to return to his old job when he
gets out. Autry's contract as a
Republic cowboy star has run
out by the calendar, but he fears
the studio will call his army
service just a layoff.
YES INDEED. Variety re-
ports a marquee billing: One
Foot in Heaven-What A Wo-
man.
SHOP KINK. Trade story
about bond rally is heaed: Kay
Kyser Gets $40, 100000 Without
A Single Speech.
BONUS. A Beverly Hills cafe
offers a bottle of scotch free to
each purchaser of a $1,000 war
bond on the premises.
TRADE LAST. George Pal
used his puppetoons technique
to make tank training film for
the army. Now he's asking a
favor. He'd like the army's car
toon character, Sad Sack, for his
puppetoons.