behind the camera in pictures
Cameramen Charlie Piper, Frank Heaton and Ralph Gifford of the Oregon Pictorial News show off their gear in Portland, Oregon on a sunny day in 1927.
Bulky compared to later versions of newsreel cameras, this 300 pound kit was welcomed by cameramen when it was first introduced. It was the first portable newsreel camera capable of sound, and was unique in that it did not require permanent installation in a large motor truck.
And you think your Anton-Bauer brick is heavy…
“Go to hell if you must — but bring back pictures of it!” was the credo newsreel photographer Norman Alley voiced and lived by.
And descend into hell Alley did often in pursuit of a story. From slinging a lens alongside Pancho Villa during the Mexican-American War to being gassed in Argonne Forest while shooting a story on the front lines during World War One to covering the battles of Korea and Vietnam, Alley was there for the major stories of the early to mid 20th century.
On December 12th, 1937, Alley shot a story that turned into an international incident and was the biggest story of the year next to the Hindenburg – the bombing and sinking of the USS Panay by the Japanese while she was at anchor on Yangtze River outside of Nanjing.
Alley’s words state best why he had the presence of mind to picked up his camera and start rolling while all hell was breaking loose around him, “I must do something about getting photographic records of this for my government, the American people, and the civilized world, if my camera and I lived through it.”
Alley and his camera survived and brought the truth of what happened to the USS Panay to light, and he continued to chase stories until his death on April 1st, 1981 at the age of 85.
Per Lenslinger’s request: my review on Newsfront.
Newsfront is the 1978 Australian film starring Bill Hunter and Gerard Kennedy as two brothers and rival newsreel photographers Len and Frank Maguire who are at odds with each other over ethics, loyalty and their rapidly changing world. And is one of the few movies in circulation that present news photographers as humans instead of the sadly typical Hollywood portrayal as bumbling idiots or worse…
Len Maguire, who life the film primary follows, is an old school photographer who refuses to subvert his ethics to his craft, loyalty and principals in spite of the changes in post-war Australian society – to the point he sacrifices his failing relationship with his wife to keep working as a photog. Frank on the other hand, thinks of himself first and is willing to change his loyalties to suit his needs – first leaving CineTone to work for a rival newsreel company and then leaving for Hollywood to chase glory and more money.
Their rivalries and Len’s ethics come to a head at the end during the Melbourne Olympics where Len captures footage of the Hungarian-Russian brawl. Frank suggest selling it to an American producer, and Len, out of ethics and loyalty to CineTone, refuses to sell the film to the American producer – telling his brother (and the producer) to “go get stuffed.”
Len believes there will always be a place for his style of shooting, his craft and his ethics, even to the end where he comes to bitter terms with the fact that television is setting the sun on his world.
The movie itself offers itself an up close and personal view of news production in the waning newsreel era leading up to television, right down to parking their cars where ever they darn well please and the massive (and in my opinion, gorgeous) Wall 35mm newsreel cameras.
And I’m sad to report for Lenslinger, that there is a single live truck to be found within this film. Though as a consolidation, there is quite a few choice soundbites – “I was composing creatively,” “be a professional, use a tripod” and ”your brother would have shot that wide” among others.
On top of the truck are cameramen Fred Coubray (left) and Ted Coubray. Below are Eric Platt (supervisor) and Allen Rogers (electrician). Shooting a newsreel of Roman Catholic Bishop Henry William Cleary’s funeral in Auckland, New Zealand back in 1929.
James “Jimmy” Pergola was a newsreel cameraman and Director of Photography for Pathé News’ New York offices. Pergola joined Pathé News in 1918 as an assistant cameraman, and by 1924, had worked his way up to cameraman. Prior to working for Pathé, Pergola worked for Fox Movietone News.
During his career with Pathé, Pergola went to wherever news broke, from the Cuban Revolution of 1933 where he was falsely reported to have been killed twice, to the Pittsburg steel strikes in early 1937 (photo to the left) and was highly regarded as an “ace” cameraman by his peers.
While flying across the country to complete filming a documentary for Pathé News entitled “The Safety of Transcontinental Flying,” Pergola and his editor, William Pitt, died in the United Airlines “Mainliner” crash in the Uintah Mountains of Utah on October 17, 1937.
Pergola left behind a son, James, who ended up following in his father’s footsteps and picked up a camera too.
“At Home with Rozell” was an unscripted variety show hosted by Rozell Fair Fabiani that WRBL-TV produced from 1954 until the 1970s.
“The genial gentleman in the forward seat, immediately behind the camera, is none other than Lieut. John Bockhorst, famous cameraman of International Newsreel Corp., who is making the flight with the ’round the world fliers across the United States. This picture of “Bockie” was made at the airmail field at Maywood, Ill., when the famous fliers stopped over in Chicago.”
Newsreel scrum at the Dempsey-Carpentier boxing match at Boyle’s Thirty Acres, Jersey City, New Jersey on July 2, 1921.
Photographers and crews from various news agencies in the White House for a press conference on August 10, 1945.
