American Cinematographer - September 2004 - 87

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Smaller

British

pictures

were

photographed by British camera¬
men. But when the war
began, all of

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A Man of Many
the American

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back

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went

cameramen

America, and they either

joined up or went into war pictures.
Throughout the war years, there
were
only British cameramen."
Pascal was making Major
Barbara (1941), and although
Freddie Young, BSC was scheduled
to photograph the picture, Neame
was

out for

asked

shoot lead

to

actress

Wendy Hiller's makeup tests, which
being directed by the film's

competitive
prices and
friendly service

were

editor, David Lean. Neame and Lean

immediately became friends, and
decided not to work on
the film, Lean persuaded Pascal to let
Neame shoot the picture. Neame's
work was known to Pascal
they
had done "quota quickies" together
and the cinematographer knew
he was up to the task of shooting
what would be one of the major
British pictures of the season.
"During my years as a cinematogra¬
pher, I learned my own particular
style of lighting, and how to make
women look good on screen.
I
learned that if a woman was looking
slightly to the right of camera, the
when Young

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side of her face closest
should be

16 mm/35 mm

a

what I

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came

developed

add a subtle fill

camera.

was

away

It was handheld, so

if she turned her head, I could

adjust

the

light."
Major Barbara was shot at
Denham Studio during the height of
the Blitz, and the Nazi bombing of
London added
difficulties

more

the usual

than

a

few

production
problems. "Every time I drove home
at night, incendiary bombs would
drop right close," Neame reminisces
from the comfort of his Los Angeles
home. "But we very quickly got used
to it. The traffic lights were blacked
out except for a tiny cross of light,
and one evening I was stopped at the

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camera

call the 'Wendy light,'

the side of the face that

from the

is in the best

to

after Wendy Hiller, to
to

the

little bit in shadow. If she

had to turn her head, I

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light and a whole bunch of incen¬
yards from my
car. I just sat there, waiting for the
light to change! The harder you're
bombed, the harder you're deter¬
mined not to let it get you down.
Bombing really doesn't work in the
diaries fell about 30

end.
"When the Blitz sort of failed
and the Germans realized

we

weren't

kowtowing, they stopped the day
bombing, but they would send over
one bomber every hour. Every hour
the sirens would go off and we'd have
to go to the shelters, so we got way
behind schedule on Major Barbara.
We put a spotter on the roof of the
studio, with a wire running down the
wall to the inside of the stage and a
great big fire bell. With this precau¬
tion in place, we didn't take any
notice when the air-raid sirens went

off.

Obviously, they would ruin

a

take, and we'd say, 'Okay, let's go
again,' but the arrangement allowed
us

continue

to

filming without

running off to the bomb shelters.
The idea was that if a plane came
near, the spotter on the roof would
ring the fire bell, and only then
would

we

head for the shelter."

Neame went

on to
photograph
Oxford (1941) and One of
Our Aircraft is Missing (1942), and
then was tapped by Noel Coward to

A Yank in

shoot In Which We Serve

(1942). "In

my opinion, Noel is an underesti¬
mated talent," Neame observes. "He

wasn't

just the matinee idol that he's

somehow become known

really cared

very, very

what he

doing.

was

as.

He

much about

"Noel was asked to make

a war

propaganda film, but he had no
interest in making such a picture.
However, in speaking with his great
friend, Lord Louis Mountbatten, he
the sinking of
destroyer, the HMS
Kelly, which was sunk in the
Mediterranean by the Germans. Noel
thought it was a magnificent story.

learned

about

Mountbatten's

He

was

when he

very, very thorough, and
agreed to produce this film,
American Cinematographer - September 2004

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