Newsreel Cameras In The Shadow Of Haile Selassie's Palace

Radio Record, Volume IX, Issue 15, 18 October 1935, Page 7

Newsreel Cameras In The Shadow Of Haile Selassie's Palace

Filming Events on the Ethiopian Frontier

~* In the following story, reprinted from the ‘Motion Picture Herald," a Paramount cameraman, John Dored, tells of the trials and tribulations of a newsreel cameraman in the most discussed town in the world-Addis Ababa. in a week or two New Zealand picture-goers will see in.the theatres the very films that Dored mentions in this story.

4 1 "ay 3 BH are headquartered in the Imperial Hotel here, in the shadow of the palace of my personal: friend the _ Emperor, Haile Selassie. This old town bums. Fierce native tribesnren throng its dirty, twisting streets. Supplies pour into the city. The hotel is already filled to near capacity. Foreign newspapermen are keyed to a high pitch. It is almost impossible to purchase a camel-the "news hawks" having bought them up to prevent latecomers from following the news to the front. Our war staff, however, is completely quartered and equipped. It rains every day, clearing occasionally for afew hours. At night it grows intensely cold, and there is no beating system in the Imperial, nor any other place. Hthiopian officials are very courteous, very co-operative, but very firm. Our Yvameramen are permitted to make pic- . ures of anything they want-with the approval of these officials. The fact that we were the first on the scene liasn’t hurt matters. In fact it has helped us to become known, which is everything now. Without ready identification, a news man, especially a newsreel cameraman, might just as well have stayed at home. An army officer has been assigned to accompany each cameraman at all times. That makes things a lot easier. A white man may not walk on

the streets of Addis Ababa, nor may he carry any burden, not eyen a newspaper. That meant hiring a carriage and driver, at ast ten porters, nd an interpreter. After three Gays we were ready to take pictures. By this time an engineer from our. Paris bureau had arrived with sound equipment. The following morning Wwe started up into the hills overlooking Addis Ababa. With us were the Ethiopian officer, all tea .porers, the interpreer, and 12 mules carrying the bulky sound equipment and necessary aceessories. All but the porters were mounted on wiry

native horses. It was slow going. The trail we followed could hardly be called aroad. The rain poured down monctonously, reducing the path underfoot to an ankle and sometimes a knee-deep morass of mud. Ten miles of this twisting mountain trail must be coyered before the elevation could be reached. Then all we could do was hope that. the sun would come out momentarily; otherwise no _ picture would be possible, because of this distance from the city and with. such poor light, it would be impossible to expos > the film sufficiently. Four hours of slow plodding and the miniature caravan was still a mile from its goal. Occasionally we met small groups of natives driving heavilyloaded mules before them. These wiry tribesmen, scarcely touched by civilisation, eyed our camera expedition with suspicion and muttered low remarks as we passed. They wore curious tent-like "raincoats" of stiff straw extending almost to their ankles to ward off the rain. The officer persuaded one group to pose. Our camera was set up While the open-mouthed natives watched. Mud and rain made the task a dreary, tedious effort. Thatch mats were laid in the road to give cameramen and soundmen dry footing. The porters set up a flimsy canvas. roof to shelter them from the downpour. By this time the fear and suspicion of the tribesmen was such

that they could not be persuaded to. pass or stand in front of the apparatus that to them appeared to be au instrument of the devil. The WDthiopian officer prevailed upon them to remain, but they went muttering -on their way and even the jingle of our silver coins could not tempt them. Two hours. were wasted. It would be necessary to knock down our outfit and continue the journey to the mountain top, n0w near at hand. Another group of travellers approached. After a half-hour’s negotiations, involving persuasion to the extent of five dollars in silver coins, they agreed to be photographed. It was first necessary for both cameraman and soundman to stand in front of the runving camera in order to show them that they would suffer no injury. The painful progress of the little group in their stiff thatch "raincoats," driving theiy mules over the muddy trail, was finally "shot." Our outfit was again packed on the backs of the mules. In a half hour the elevation was reached and Addis Ababa could be seen faintly through the grey veil of rain. Now it was recessary to wait for the sun. The cutfit was set up again, after which the natives prepared a midday meal. Our camera crew, army Officer, and interpreters ate a lunch at the hotel. Six . hours passed and all hope of the sun’s © appearance was gone. Fifty feet of

film were "shot" in. the vain hope that it might be. even faintly exposed. Five days passed before the sun -gshone again over Addis Ababa. Hach one of those days the same muddy, exhausting journey was repeated. But our pictures were made, at the end: of the fifth day-just one scene that when finally shown to the public would run 10 feet at the most, for a period of six and two-thirds seconds. At the end of each exasperating day we returned to the draughty, unheated Impérial, soaked through and chilled to the bone. The menace of fever constantly (Continued on next page.)

Newsreel Cameras in _ Abyssinia . .- (Continued from previous page.) 4~/ threatens and as a preventive we take quantities.of quinine, almost as unpleasant as the fever might be. Meanwhile in the Royal Palace the net of diplomatic intrigue kept us and newspapermen in constant tension...We watched each other suspiciously for feai of being "beaten" on some sensational break. During the day our camera crew investigated various parts of the city for "colour"’,shots. We "shot" several hundred feet on Swedish’ twilitary officers drilling the pitifully inept natives, recruits in a motley collection of makeshift uniforms, withv so much as a rifle with which to train We photographed Emperor Haile Se lassie in his suite of offices in intervals between the parade of known and unknown visitors:to- his Highness... Al_ways the military officer accompanied them. Many scefies we wanted he rerused us permission. to "shoot"? =~ _ When. Haile Selassie reviewed his crack troops just beforé their departure _for the Eritrean. border, the officer politely informed us that it would be unpossible to photograph them. The pictures were photographed; a camera concealed in the roof of a thatched hovel caught some significant views of the not-so-inept, well disciplined and adequately equipped regiments. Other scenes were taboo. © Newly-arrived crates of supplies, the transfer of inestimable wealth from the _ secret vaults of the Emperor, to the more remote and safer resting place, hoards of modern military equipment-all these could not _be photographed, and no in- _. génuity could invent the means for "stealing" them. ~ me ~ No objection was made to taking pic--turés of the thousands upon thousands of wild ttibesmen who tramped into Addis Ababa barefooted, and carrying only an antiquated’ but accurate tifle -and a few rounds of ammniunition. livery day they thtonged into t dity, their chieftains paid respects to the mperor, then they departed again. ‘hough officials refused to reveal their destination, no one in Addis Ababa doubted that they were headed anywhere but to the frontiers. very encouragement was given our crew in vecording the meeting of Hithiopia’s prominent women, who banded together in an organisation "For Defence of Ethiopia" and who raised 10,000 dollars for war suppl ire less than three minutes. 'f Next come the actual scenes of battle, Preparations for the uewsreel covetage of actual warfire are being rushed. Camels are being held in readiness, more than 50 natives have been hired. Some will. serve as portery and guides, but others in’ relays will rush exposed films to shipping . points. With other. newsreels’ reptesentatives arriving on the field, the fight to get pictures to America first will rage almost as bitterly as the struggle between Italy and Ethiopia.