FUMING THE BIG PUSH.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 240, 7 October 1916, Page 13

FUMING THE BIG PUSH.

THE CINEMA MAN AT THE FRONT.

Almost.as soon as the war began cinematograph operators were attached to the Russian, .French and German armies, but it was. not until last September that British operators were allowed to go to the front to take pictures, says the

"Daily Mail." The.earlier pictures, how- ! ever, < greatly displeased the kinema trade Press, which denounced them as " tame' and. instructional. , ' A fine film of the ruins of Ypre3 made na appeal, poseibly because no account of how it was eecured was put upon the screen. JWhea firet the operators attempted to 'get v pictufeß'"i6flihe' Germanf : lihe3*'ff6mi r the trenches they had not realised the close watch of the German sniper. The camera, fixed -on a tripod, was/raised' above, the parapet to the level of the lens. In a few seconds it became a'target for "bullets, but the operator calmly turned the handle, taking hie pictures at the regulation speed of sixteen per second, until a richochet shot hit the camera and put it out of action. ' J At another time he mounted the tower of a ruined church to get-a good picture. The Germans look upon' church towers as artillery observation posts, and shell them accordingly. He had turned the handle but a few minutes, i when ehelle burst dangerously near, so he came down, not before he has secured ' the picture he wanted. The next morning the church tower had disappeared. The cinema man's greatest triumph will be found in the series of pictures recently released. These show the bursting of British mines under German trenches, so.close to the camera as to make one wonder how the operator escaped the falling earth*. To get these pictures required a strong nerve and not a little cunning. The lessons of the past had been learned. The camera was no longer exposed to enemy snipers. The tripod fixed in the trenches the next thing was so to place the camera that the lens had a clear view. In one' instance this was done by putting two extra sandbags on the parapet, with the lens of the camera pointing through the opening between the bags, a sack being suspended over camera and sandbags so as to cover any movements during the take. On another occasion wire was stretched over the camera and on the ; top a sack was placed. ' .'■. In both instances German snipers saw tne movement in the British trench and opened fire. Unable to hit the spot the Hune brought up a machine gun, and just as they were about to riddle the camera the mine went up, and with it, machine-gun, Hune, .and scores of bombs which exploded in the air. But the' operator got his picture. '•'■ Elated with his success, he took down his camera, and as he did so a couple of bullets went through his cap, which fell into the trench. Dragging his camera, which weighs 351b, he hurried down the trench and coon got to a village. As he entered it the Germans started to drop tear shells. Finding hie car at the appointed spot he rushed out of the village, where the air was clear. : Then the car fell into a ditch and the operator had to carry his camera to headquarters, where he made his report and delivered the films, which the public will shortly see from the comfort of an arm-' chair.