Page 8 -

At the end of the day's shooting, and the whole combination of factors and the authentic
farewells to management completed, KK realism, created a film masterpiece. As I said,
walked across to me and asked “Is there in my opinion the best to come out of WW II.
anything you need - anything I can get you
from The States?” “Ah, yes there is. I can't get This does not diminish in any way the superb
proper editing gloves in Australia ... I could war time documentaries from Britain,
certainly use a few pairs of cotton Australia and other countries,
editing gloves.” He nodded and walked away. including Germany, that graphically captured
the drama of the era.
Some months later a large cardboard box
arrived at Cambridge Films addressed to me. Warner Brothers re-staged World War 2 for
It was jam-packed with dozens of pairs of best their 1990 feature film based loosely on the
quality cotton editing gloves- enough to keep story of the Memphis Belle. In its planning,
every editor in Australia going for a year - this feature would have relied heavily on the
“With Compliments, Marathon International 1944 documentary, but most, if not all the
Pictures, New York”. combat scenes, were reproduced in the studio
affects department using models.
In the years following the war, Konstantin
Kaiser's 16 mm Memphis Belle footage and The work of Combat Cameramen like
that of other combat cameramen who Konstantin Kaiser captured a record of
contributed to The Memphis Belle story, would immense historical value and one of the
be seen by millions of people all over the highlights of my life was that brief
world. This aerial combat footage was used in conversation in a Cafe at Olinda. I wish it had
the feature films The Best Years of Our Lives, been longer. How little we know of other
Twelve O'clock High and Command Decision, people's lives.
also in the TV series Twelve O'clock High and
many other Documentaries on the history of William Wyler also directed a second wartime
World War 2. classic titled Thunderbolt, the story of a
Fighter Squadron in Italy. All the production
I still believe that William Wyler 's Memphis elements are the same, but it does not have
Belle was the best American Documentary to the special ‘magic’ of The Memphis Belle, the
come out of World War 2. It was brilliant! difference being the way the human story is
captured in this vast and spectacular operation
EPILOGUE: of wartime machinery.
William Wyler's great war time documentary
excelled in every department of film Sadly, my treasured 35 mm nitrate print of
production. Memphis Belle became unstable and
hazardous - as old nitrate does - and
The scripting, editing, music, direction, and now resides deep in a municipal dump. All that
narration (by a young actor called Lee Marvin) remains is an old VHS tape taken off the
were superb. The photography, some of which screen, and a little box of film trims from the
was Konstatin Kaiser's, won an Academy original print, ‘the ashes’ of a great film.
Award, in spite of the fact that several of the
16 mm cameras appear to have
needed servicing, with frame lines out of Credits:
position and, I think, a few focusing problems.
The 16 mm Kodachrome film was All images and text supplied by Kev Franzi.
processed in England under very difficult
wartime conditions that may have contributed
to some uneven colour. However, this

8 REEL DEALS September 2021