Mystery Photographs No:7

 I was recently contacted by an owner of a miniature mechanised rowing boat which is purported to be a movie miniature. The owner has asked if any reader is able to identify from which movie the miniature has come. 

The owner writes;

"The boat originally had a motor that drove gears that caused the oars to row. I have one oar and an oar handle with a doll's forearm attached. I surmise that the large appendage below is a buoyancy chamber to cause the boat to float at the correct depth. The wood is very weathered, and the wire is brittle, so I guess that it is from the 1930's to the 1960's. Any suggestions as to which film the boat is from? I found a photo of a similar whaleboat model from Moby Dick (1956) (model maker Babs Gray). That boat had the same buoyancy chamber below, but the hull was lapstrake, not smooth, and there were ten oars, not four (made in the same model shop, perhaps?). Another possibility is Lifeboat (1944) for which Sersen also did the visual effects. In another of Peter's blog posts, the lifeboats in Titanic (1953) may be a match to this one; four oars, smooth sides, double pointed ends, mechanical puppets and oars (visual effects by Ray Kellogg). " 

He also adds that "there are short tubes (about ¼-inch diameter X 3 inches long) attached to a spar which is in turn attached to the bottom of the hull in which a guide wire ran.  The spar sticks out about eight inches beyond each end of the hull."

 

To me it has the hull form of a whale boat rather than a double ended lifeboat. For comparison look at the pictures below and contrast the miniature boats from Down to the Sea in Ships 1949 and Titanic 1953.

Whaleboat miniature from Down to the Sea In Ships 1949

Down to the Sea In Ships 1949

Miniature lifeboat from Titanic1953

Scene including miniature lifeboats from Titanic 1953

 I also like the very useful stand on which the model sits which is quite typical of a studio model. You can clearly see the circular clamp that would have located the motor in the hull.

If any readers have any suggestions or recognise the movie from where the miniature was used, please let us know in the comments.

Mystery Photographs No:6 Russian film.

I recently acquired a spectacular series of 30 photographs documenting the shooting of miniature ship effects for an unknown Russian film.

I had been watching these on ebay for at least a year. The original starting price was way outside what I could afford and ironically the seller had cut and pasted a section of text from the about page of this website. Over time with apparently no takers the price did come down gradually but was still higher than my meager resources would allow. Just recently a "make an offer" button was added to the listing and I offered what I could afford, which to my surprise was accepted.

The photographs are small prints only about 125mm by 80mm (5" x 3 1/4") and are pasted in an old  photo album. The photos show a range of techniques in use from very detailed miniatures to paintings on glass and what looks like a full size set piece. The filming tank is built outdoors on the coast so that the overflow blends with the real ocean horizon. There is a shot showing the wave making equipment and one showing a wind machine made from the cut off front of a small aircraft.

I would love to know the title of the film and the year it was made. If any reader has any clues about the film please let me know using the comments system.

Update - mystery solved 

Reader of this site Wings_of_Wrath knew exactly which Russian film these photographs are from (see his comment in the comment section below), they are from a double set of films on the life of Admiral Fyador Ushakov made in colour in 1953.
The first is called "Admiral Ushakov" (Адмирал Ушаков) and the second "Attack from the Sea" (Корабли штурмуют бастионы). Both films are able to be veiwed on Youtube and they both have some terrific miniature ship sequences.

The small photo album

Inside, no text just small black and white photos.

Back cover

The Photographs

Here you can see where the tank horizon is extended by the real ocean horizon behind.

The distant ships are not much more than some simple sail shapes lined up.

Full size set piece.

Glass painting of distant ships.

Clouds painted on glass.

Wave making; the bit of wood probably makes the small ripples while the drum makes the larger swell.

Wind machine made from the front of an old aircraft.

Miniature castle being populated with miniature cannons.

Close up of the distant simplified sail models

Mystery set photographs post from 2016 finally solved.

Long time reader and enthusiast McTodd has come up with the title of the movie from which the mystery film set photographs belong. This was a post from 2016 and you can find it and the answer here.

The miniature pier photographs from the Mystery Photographs No:5 post still remain a mystery.

Mystery Photographs No: 5

First some news

This re-built modelshipsinthecinema site has been up for some weeks now and I hope is working as well as it did. The only thing I note is that the search is not as intelligent as the old wordpress site's search function, you have to spell the title correctly and virtually word for word for it to work which is a little irritating. If there are any issues do please let me know in the comments and I will see if it's anything I can fix.

Before we get to the mystery photographs I would just like to announce that a new blog venture and sister site to this one, is now operational namely modelaircraftinthecinema.blogspot.com.
It follows the exact same format as modelships but features model aircraft of all types, that is any movie model of a vehicle that flies in an atmosphere, so fantasy airships are in but spacecraft are out, besides model spaceships are more than amply represented elsewhere online.

There are currently four entries posted along with a model control page. I have not yet completed the indexes but they will appear in the same format as the indexes here separated into movies released before the year 1970 and after (and including) 1970. I will not re-cover movies with model aircraft that have already been covered here but will include links in the model aircraft indexes that reference the original modelships post.

I have also commenced work on another sister blog modeltrainsinthecinema.blogspot.com which is not quite ready to go yet. I'll let you know when it is.

Mystery Photographs No:5

I recently acquired a couple of photographs of a miniature English seaside pier and beach. One shows the camera set up and lighting of the miniature pier with beach and ocean with some technicians standing on the miniature set while the other appears to show an explosion going off on the pier from the same position. The only information on the back of the photographs is " Special effects/ model stage at Shepperton Studios" and " Property of British Lion Distribution".

A person on a facebook group I am on suggested it is a model of Eastbourne Pier and it certainly looks like a perfect match.

The Camera in the photos is a Bell and Howell 2709 with a remote hand crank mounted on a second tripod. I assume this is to isolate any unwanted camera shake while cranking rapidly.  In fact in the second photo the cranking arm of the camera person is a total blur.
I was always under the impression that 2709's were unsuited to high speed work as they use a very precise film movement where the registration pins that engage the sprocket holes are fixed. This means the film has to be lifted up off the pins, advanced one frame and replaced back on the pins for the next frame. This is an inherently slower process than a High speed Mitchell where the registration pins retract, the film is slid on to the next frame and the pins extend back into position. The Mitchell was capable of 128 Frames per second top speed where the 2709 I believe could only achieve about 64 frames per second, especially when hand cranked.
If the Bell and Howell was was most commonly used for taking miniature shots in Britain at the time it would explain the criticism I have expressed in the past that many miniature shots were not filmed at a high enough speed to impart the desired illusion of scale.

The other notable aspect to the first photograph is the Pier seems to be broken up at the point of the explosion shown in photograph 2. This would suggest that this still photo was taken after the event had been filmed. Two of the three technicians standing on the set are staring at the damaged section, probably wondering if they will have to go in and repair the pier for a second take.


I would love to know the title of the film that these belong to, so if any of the erudite readers of this blog has any idea please let me know in the comments.