FIRST FILM OF PH INCIDENT

Northern Advocate, 30 December 1937, Page 5

FIRST FILM OF PH INCIDENT

(Received 10 a.m.)

HOLLYWOOD, December 29,

'One film of the sinking of the Panay was shown privately to a small audience The Japanese aeroplanes were not „ visible, nor, surprisingly, was there any sign of the American flag flying oyer the gunboat. The presence of the aeroplanes was signified by scenes of the American sailors training their machine-guns at them as they roared by. The first scenes were taken on the top decks of the Panay and, subsequently, from the Navy launches going to the shore with survivors, and from the banks of the Yangtse. The film showed the victims dropping to the deck and civilians and seamen being carried below decks. There was no evidence of confusion. Several bombs were visible dropping near the launches and a few survivors were seen swimming to the shore. The final scenes, taken-from the bank, showed the Panay settling under the water, but the flag was not visible. A photographer, Mr Norman Alley, said he saw the »apanese patrol boat machine-gun ihe launches, and. he insisted that

the flag was visible on the mast until the Panay sank. The film which he took has not yet been shown. It is being flown to New York, where it will be developed. It is pointed out that the American claims regarding the flag are not affected, as the camera was located in joarts of the boat where the flag could not be seen, and the range from shore was too long to reveal such a small object. However, a flag was visible on the stern of one of the oilers. The film showed that the weather was clear. There were many scenes of bravery under fire. Those not wounded seemed more concerned with caring for the wounded than with their own safety.