REEL WAR

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 484, 13 October 1928, Page 25

REEL WAR

Sham Movie Battles Keep Directors Busy CAREFUL PLANS NEEDED A movie battle is as carefully planned as the real thing, according to Harry Redmond, one specialist in make-believe war for the films. “While ‘war pictures’ properly speaking have waned in popularity, there is still sufficient demand for military episodes to keep the cinema powder experts busy,” he says. “Ships move scientifically in screen manoeuvres. Mines, barrages and aerial bombs are laid with the same care and precision as in actual battle, save that they offer no peril to life and limb. “Each battle is reduced to a mechanical problem before the scene is made. Electric connections are numbered and each shot fired from a central switchboard. With a fleet of ships the guns are controlled by electric switches, reaching the craft by means of cables. Timing is. planned before the battle begins. “Eight thousand pounds of explosives were used in Coleen Moore’s ‘Lilac Time,’ and 300,000 ft of electric wire were required as connectives. The battle of Trafalgar fought for Corinne Griffith’s ‘The Divine Lady,’ employed 27 ships and 37,000 rounds of ammunition. Twelve hundred shots were fired from a French and a German ship in ‘Night Watch,’ starring Billie Dove.”