CHARMED LIFE

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 270, 28 August 1935, Page 7

CHARMED LIFE

CRIPPLE’S ADVENTURES. The luckiest man in the whole world of film-making has begun work on London Film Productions’ “Conquest of the Air,” which Mr Churchill is supervising. His name is Hans Schneebeiger, and he is one of the greatest authorities on aerial photography. Though he also photographed such famous pictures as “The White Hell of Pitz Palu,” “The Blue Light,” and “The" Blue Angel”—the last made Marlene Dietrich a star —it was his ability to achieve amazing effects while an aeroplane is falling into a Ravine oi •nose-diving toward a glacier that led to his appointment as cameraman lor this British epic of the air. But Herr Sdhneeberger’s life has beep more remarkable than bis films. Born in the Austrian Tyrol, he became a crack pilot in the war, was shot down by the Italians, and had his thigh hioken so' badly that the surgeons wished to amputate. As lie was a officer they had to have his permission, arid ho refused. He took to crutches, was able to discard them in 18 months, and within another year had recovered so completely os to become ski-ing champion of Austria —a distinction ho 'held for several years. Working generally on “stunt’ pictures, ho has had some astonishing adventures. While he was flying over the African jungle with tho famous Geiman pilot, Ernst Udet, filming tie animal stampede in “Sanders of the River,” a leaky petrol tank forced them to land in wild country, where, they were lost four days. By a coincidence that no intelligent scenario writer would dare to use, he and Udet were rescued by one of the airmen whom Udet had shot down in the war. While Sclineeberger was shooting “15.0.5. Iceberg,” an iceberg split and ho daopped 40 feet, breaking both hips; and on another occasion his balloon collapsed and he fell, bieaking some bones in his back.