Old Aerial Cinematography

Ryan Patrick O'Hara

Ryan Patrick O'Hara

Veteran
Reading one of my earliest American Cinematographer magazines... this time from July 1929:

I'm reading about aerial photography. If you've seen 'The Aviator' you'll like this issue!

One of the main stories of the issue covers Harry Perry, the chief cinematographer of "Wings" and "Hell's Angels". This is a quote from the magazine;
More than two years' work have been put in on this production which the youthful producer, Howard Hughes, hopes will be the greatest air picture ever made. Reputed cost is more than $3,000,000. Sound, dialogues and color effects have been incorporated in the picture. Harry Perry, ASC has had complete charge of the photography of this picture. Under his cinematographic direction scores of cameramen have worked for months, much of the time in the air, and Mr. Perry is highly enthusiastic over the air photography.

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It gives me a really cool and strange feeling to be reading this from an original issue from 1929. Harry Perry also has an ad for his services... if you are interested in his services on your next film please telephone OXford 1908. I'm not sure what that means... maybe that is the phone number? 1908? Those were simpler days, huh? The address was 240 South Swall Drive in Beverly Hills.


Another story from the article:

"No matter what happens keep on the tail of that plane all the time. If it crashes I want the crash. Stay with it all the way!" The speaker was a motion picture producer talking to his cameraman who was about to take the air. He meant business. The cameraman didn't even smile. Just nodded his head and climbed aboard the camera plane.

A half hour later the plane he had been told to follow had crashed to the ground. Only a burning mass of wreckage was left from which was fished the dead remains of a man who had been keeping smoke pouring from the plane. The pilot had jumped. But the smoke-maker had stayed to the end-- either because he did not hear the warning of the pilot, or for some reason that will never be known.

And-- as the plane dropped like a plummet from the sky it was followed by a cameraman, a member of the A.S.C., who "got" every foot of it from the start to the unforeseen and tragic end. That cameraman was E. Burton Steene, who died less than a week later.

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Crazy life of an aerial cameraman. Right? When you are told to keep the camera's rolling as crew members are dying. Ugh.

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Ryan Patrick O'Hara said:
It gives me a really cool and strange feeling to be reading this from an original issue from 1929. Harry Perry also has an ad for his services... if you are interested in his services on your next film please telephone OXford 1908. I'm not sure what that means... maybe that is the phone number? 1908? Those were simpler days, huh? The address was 240 South Swall Drive in Beverly Hills.
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Surely you can't be that young... oh... ok... they changed the prefixing system in the 60's...

My earliest recollection of a phone number was my grand parents.... CYpress 5 5969. Think rotary phone... think 3 letters associated with each of the 10 numbers... so CY would be 2-9 then 5 then 5969...

Other prefixes in my ancient recollection were 'BElmont' and "HIckory"... "HOme"... "ATwater"... etc...

The OXford number given only is the 2 digit prefix, and the 4 digit selector... by the time I started learning phone numbers everyone had the two letter prefix, and an additional exchange number, then the 4 digit line id. then in the mid-60's the switch came to numerical forms, along with a greater need to have a long list of area codes... in those ancient days... who ever called long distance... that was expensive... send a letter... or perhaps a telegram...

Here's a wiki for those moments when such useless knowledge is... well... useful...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_exchange_names

Here's a Los Angeles specific list:

http://www.laalmanac.com/communications/cm01e.htm

Only useful if your are going to be writing a Film Noir 30's period piece...
 
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j1clark@ucsd.edu said:
Well... I guess that's the benefit of being the Director of Photography... you at least have a chance to live to old age... rather than getting into those flying death traps...
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He's just lucky! He did lots of flying. At some points they had 23 mounted camera aircraft. The article said he would fly every morning to check out the conditions, and he logged over 150 hours of shooting/flying just on Hell's Angels! He's freaky lucky.
 
I am curious Ryan, in those old ACs, is there a listing, either in the front or back that lists the circulation of the mag? I think that is called the Masthead. Also is there a "Clubhouse" section? I bet that would be real interesting, seeing all of those historic names.

BTW, I am not a real big fan of movies from the late twenties and early thirties, that is the early talkies. They are just too static. "Hells Angels" in most definitely an exception to that and I think stands up pretty good today. The images in there are very good.
 
David G. Smith said:
I am curious Ryan, in those old ACs, is there a listing, either in the front or back that lists the circulation of the mag? I think that is called the Masthead. Also is there a "Clubhouse" section? I bet that would be real interesting, seeing all of those historic names.

BTW, I am not a real big fan of movies from the late twenties and early thirties, that is the early talkies. They are just too static. "Hells Angels" in most definitely an exception to that and I think stands up pretty good today. The images in there are very good.
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I'm not sure what you mean by the circulation of the mag... they do have a list of ASC officers and members. As for Clubhouse news, yup! That is how AC started... and they've done it almost for the entire run of the magazine. Clubhouse news, Camerafornia, etc. Cool stuff. The really old news is funny.

Before it was called 'Clubhouse News', the section was called 'Camerafornia" :)
 
Not sure... My 1922 issue was $.25/copy, $3.00/year. Canadians payed $3.50, and Foreign peeps payed $4.00/year. The ASC met every monday evening at suite 325 Markham Building. On the first and third monday of each month, there is an open meeting, and the second and fourth is for the board of governors. The ASC's phone number was Holly 4404, in 1922.

The "In Camerafornia" section is funny in 1922, because it is the first year American Cinematographer was a magazine, as it was only a newsletter in 1920 and 1921. So the clubhouse section is very informal and very funny. Talks about members family and some inside jokes.

The absolute best 'clubhouse news' tidbit from July, 1 1922 is the following:
"We are not mentioning any names, but the other day a producer dropped in the office of this Society, looked through the annual issue of the publication in which the biographies and photographs are carried of the various members, picked out a gentleman that looked good to her, got in touch with him, and engaged him to photograph a production. Yes, he is one of the best looking members we have."
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Other clubhouse news is very informal and personal, such as:

George Meehan, ASC, has a Debrie camera for sale. By the way, George has a kid brother at West Point Military Academy. He is Cadet Charles G. Meehan."
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and the simple and to the point,
Phil Whitman, popular secretary of the ASC, is too busy to write "Pans and Tilts" any more and that's why there are no more "Pans and Tilts"
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and the funny,

Tony Gaudio is contributing a "walking tripod" to the member who obtains the greatest number of subscriptions within the next thirty days, while H. Lyman Broening will give us as second prize the "silk hat" worn by him at the meeting of the 26th.
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I'm guessing a walking tripod is a camera assistant or camera operator. Funny the ASC members were the ones peddling subscriptions like school kids pushing candybars for fundraisers. :)
 
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perhaps these are available due to copyright laws? I'm no lawyer, but isn't music, movies and etc over 75+ years old open game?

Thanks for that PDF! I've downloaded it! :) Very happy to have it!
 
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