Still photographer shoots Stevens & camera crew on board ship
Creator(s)
- Special Coverage Unit (SPECOU) (Producer)
- George C. Stevens (Director)
- Library of Congress - Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division (MBRS)
Biographical History
George Stevens (December 18, 1904 – March 8, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer. During World War II, Stevens joined the U.S. Army Signal Corps and headed a film unit from 1943 to 1946 under General Eisenhower. His unit shot footage documenting D-Day — including the only Allied European Front color film of the war — the liberation of Paris and the meeting of American and Soviet forces at the Elbe River, as well as horrific scenes from the Duben labor camp and the Dachau concentration camp. Stevens also helped prepare the Duben and Dachau footage and other material for presentation during the Nuremberg Trials. In 2008, his footage was entered into the U.S. National Film Registry by the Librarian of Congress as an "essential visual record" of World War II.
The Special Coverage Unit (SPECOU) was placed under the control of the Supreme Headquarters' Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF). The SPECOU consists of 45 people: writers like Ivan Moffat, William Saroyan and Irwin Shaw; cameramen like Dick Hoar, Ken Marthey, William Mellor, Jack Muth; sound operators as Bill Hamilton, who comes from Columbia, assistant directors, as Holly Morse, who has worked with Hal Roach.
Scope and Content
Helmeted officer shooting still photos toward Stevens and his camera crew. Men at stations. Man with Red Cross arm band, heavy white gloves and canvas hood peering through binoculars behind camera. VS of sailors, guns and empty shell casings. Pan of eight ships with barrage balloons overhead. Shot over shoulders of officers on bow of ship. HAS of deck. VS of Stevens looking through 35mm camera on tripod. Shot of aircraft overhead.
People
- Stevens, George, 1904-1975.
Corporate Bodies
- United States. Army. Signal Corps. Special Coverage Unit
Subjects
- CAMERA OPERATORS
- NORMANDY INVASION
- SOLDIERS/MILITARY
- STEVENS, GEORGE
- SHOOTINGS
- SHIPS
- GUNS
- SOLDIERS/MILITARY (CANADIAN)
- RED CROSS
- SOLDIERS/MILITARY (ALLIES)
- FRANCE
- AIRPLANES
- ARMBANDS
- BOATS
- SOLDIERS/MILITARY (AMERICAN)
- MILITARY OFFICERS
- CAMERAS
Places
- , France
Genre
- Unedited.
- Film