NEWSREEL CAMERAMAN

Evening Star, Issue 21708, 1 May 1934, Page 5

NEWSREEL CAMERAMAN

LIFE DRAMATISED IN ‘ ABOVE CLOUDS ’ What is probably one of the most distinguishing features of motion pictures is its propensity for dramatising novel and interesting subjects. _ The wav ace, the gangster, the politician have all been the hub of tilin' entertainment—and now the intrepid newsreel photographer looms on the cinema horizon as the subject of a new and exciting series. The story of. a picture-hawk’s life must be thrilling, fast-moving, and unusual. ‘ Above the Clouds.’ opening on Friday at the Octagon Theatre, is the first of the Hollywood product revolving about the exploits of the newsreel fraternity. In this film are packed a wide gamut of thrills and adventures that are part of the daily life of men in this unusual business. When yon see any newsreel remember when the scene is shown, whether it is from the top beam on a skyscraper, a submarine view, an explosion, a fight, strike, fire, gang war, or Chinese Tong brawl, that the man who made the picture was only a short distance from the spot. Ho must not only get the news, but he must bring back a motion picture of it. There must bo no unnecessary footage in his film ; ho must gel the “ works ” or nothing. In ‘ Above the Clouds,’ in which Robert Armstrong plays the part of the ace cameraman, “ Scoop ” Adams, Richard Cromwell, Dick, his assistant, and Dorothy Wilson the part of Dick’s sweetheart, there is a big range in episodes all highly illustrative of the camera hawk’s life. The stories of the reporter, the columnist, and others of the news-gathering fraternity have been written, plavcd, and filmed, but for the ’first time the activities of perhaps tb"reatest of them all—-the ptcture-hr.wk -a- newsreel cameraman—is being given a moving, speaking personality on the screen.