Page 21 - Cinerama_booklet

erama camera shot through walls

orm behind a sawed-off canoe, it
antic cypress-shaded waterlanes. And,
rists who annually visit Cypress Gardens,
ently cast its three eyes in the direction of the

lovely Aquabelles as they strolled among the tropical flowers or
raced over the lagoon on water skis.
At last "This Is Cinerama" was complete -except for the

final sequence. After the wonders already assembled, finding a
subject that would serve as an appropriate climax was a difficult
assignment. It was Cooper, a veteran airman, who came up with

the answer: why not a tour of America from the air? Paul Mantz,
America's foremost stunt pilot and thrice winner of the Bendix Air
Trophy, was commissioned to do the job. With the C~nerama

camera fixed in the nose of a souped·up B-25, Mantz Aew from
the green hills of New England across the farms and plains and
deserts of the United States, skimming the trees of the great
national forests and winding through the canyons of our great

national parks. Perhaps the most unusual tribute to the reality of
Cinerama and, incidentally, the aerial prowess of Paul Mantz, is
the number of spectators who regularly get airsick during the

projection of this sequence on the Cinerama screen.
"This Is Cinerama" was finished. Before it could be shown,
however, the Broadway Theatre in New York had to be virtually

rebuilt to make room for the 75-foot screen and the three giant
projection booths, rewired for the elaborate sound system with
its nine huge amplifiers spotted behind the screen and around the

auditorium. But at last all was ready. On the evening of September
30, 1952, a distinguished first night audience took their seats
within the compass of the enormous, encircling screen. The house

lights dimmed and lowell Thomas' familiar voice spoke three
magic words: "This Is Cinerama!"
The rest is history.