Page 22 - CR31R.pdf

employed in Sherlock Jnr) is the use of in-camera masking. on the murky building wall under these circumstances! A real
The camera could record part of the scene with the remainder miracle worker! Apart from the question of how he manages
of the image covered by a black mask held in a matte box in to reverse this reflected image the right way around on the dis-
front of the lens. The film was then rewound in the camera, the tant building and provide this huge additional audience with
mask now moved to cover the section of image already adequate sound from a small speaker inside the biobox!
exposed, and the camera again run to expose the unexposed Miracles indeed!
part. In terms of our example, the audience could be filmed Technical considerations apart, some film makers might
(correctly exposed) in the lower half of the frame and a sepa- well object to including the cinema as a setting in their films
because it is, in a sense, a denial of the magic of the cinema.
A bit like a conjuror showing his audience how he performs
his tricks. For it is, in the darkness of a cinema, that what we
know are ‘only pictures’ take on a reality that, for a couple of
hours, seems much more real and important than the cold,
drab everyday world waiting outside to engulf us when the
magic of the movies is over. ★

Reference:
Movies From The Mansion, George Perry, Elm Tree Books, London 1976.

A short list of films starring cinemas:
The Grey Fox Canada 1982 End Play Australia 1975
Passport to Pimlico UK 1949 Citizen Kane US 1941
Cinema Paradiso Italy 1989 Spleandour Italy 1989
The “Jewel” cinema for the film The Purple Rose of Cairo.
The Purple Rose of Cairo US 1985 Sabotage UK 1936
Singin’ in the Rain US 1952 The Oscar US 1966
rate ‘screen’ image could subsequently be added to the upper
Merton at the Movies US 1947 Clash by Night US 1952
half of the picture. The only giveaway with such multiple cam-
The Picture Show Man Aust 1977 Hellzapoppin’ US 1941
era runs could be a tendency for the two halves of the image
From This Day Forward US 1946 The Blob US 1958
to float slightly in relation to each other. This was particularly
The FBI Story US 1959 This Angry Age US 1958
likely if the camera mechanism was worn and lacked a regis-
A Night at the Movies US 1938 State Secret UK 1950
tration pin to hold the film in a precisely-registered position in
Things to Come UK 1936 The Traitors UK 1963
the gate of the camera. This floating effect is comparable to
The Happy Time US 1952 Sherlock Jnr US 1924
the way each screen panel of three-strip Cinerama could jiggle
Lady on a Train US 1945 Targets US 1968
at the point where the sections overlapped.
Sullivan’s Travels US 1941 The Tingler US 1959
I guess it really doesn’t matter how the effect is achieved
Brief Encounter UK 1945 Saboteur US 1942
so long as it convinces — that is, convinces the average audi-
Midnight Cowboy US 1969 Up in Arms US 1944
ence. Where the film maker must be on his toes is with the
Bonnie and Clyde US 1967 The Caretakers US 1963
specialist! It’s like the ‘period’ film, supposedly set in Ancient
A Run For Your Money UK 1949 The Blue Lamp UK 1950
Rome, where the leading man is seen wearing a wrist watch,
The Cinema Director US 1916 White Heat US 1949
or a scene set in, say, 1935, where motor vehicles appear that
Bullets or Ballots US 1936 It’s in the Bag US 1945
weren’t on the road until 1939. Some glitches are obvious,
One Foot in Heaven US 1941 Eye Witness UK 1950
some detected only by the expert! Take the Italian drama
The Smallest Show on Earth UK 1957
Cinema Paradiso (1989). In one scene the projectionist is
The Last Picture Show US 1971
screening to a full house and, to satisfy the over-flow crowd
The Rise & Fall of Legs Diamond US 1960
outside, he reflects an image backwards through the rear win-
dow of the biobox, across a large town square, and on to a wall
Home cinemas and home movies even get a look-in!
of a distant building. How he accomplishes this feat probably
A Star Is Born US 1954 Rebecca US 1940
doesn’t trouble the average audience but I guess any projec-
Sunset Boulevard US 1950 Adam’s Rib US 1949
tionist worth his salt would be intrigued that the carbon arc
The Constant Husband UK 1955
lamp in the ancient projector can project an acceptable image
Short Subjects...
THEA TRE by Bernie Halperin
Rathdowne St, Carlton It has surfaced that Melbourne had an ‘in-between’ Tatler newsreel
theatrette in 1938 for almost a year, located under the Capitol the-
CATHS thanks Melbourne atre Swanston Street, with the entry in Howey Place.
IMAX for their generous Tatler 1 was in the block arcade 1934-1938, and Tatler 2 (later
support and assistance. Curzon) together with the Australia Cinema didn’t open until 1939
in the basement of Hotel Australia in Collins St.
22 Autumn 2001 CINEMARECORD