Filmed by Albert K. Dawson - The Catacombs of War (1915)

On August 1, 1915, American cinematographer Albert K. Dawson while following the offensive on the Eastern Front with the Austro-Hungarian army produced a fascinating film report on the Russian trench system. "The breastworks are remarkably modern. I have taken some really great pictures of these trenches", Dawson noted that day in his war diary.

Dawson with movie camera in the destroyed city of Ivangorod. Colorized photograph from the Austrian National Archives

Link to original high res image

When Dawson wrote these lines he accompanied the Army Detachment under the command of General Remus von Woyrsch, which was just about to capture the Russian forts around Ivangorod. Dawson's notebook shows how he managed to get himself attached to this army and how he risked his life to cover the offensive. Because of the historical value of Dawson's work as a pioneering camera correspondent his war diary on this military campaign was partially published by the authors in 2011 in an article for Film History magazine.

Trench Warfare

Born in Vincennes, Indiana, in 1885, Albert K. Dawson was one of the most enterprising film correspondents in World War I. His movie report is particularly significant because - although the Russian front in World War I wasn't known to have been heavily fortified - it does indicate that the Russians had in some sectors developed some remarkably elaborate defenses. According to Dawson, the Russians had learned from the war against Japan in 1905 when the enemy used trenches extensively.

Dawson (right) inspecting Russian trenches near Ivangorod

Shortly after his return to Berlin, Dawson wrote a letter on this trench trip to his family in Indiana, in which he described his experiences. The letter was printed in the [Indiana] Seymour Republican on November 29, 1915:

On my last trip I had occasion to visit and study some of the Russian fortified field positions in Poland. From a military engineer's point of view they were simply beautiful. To take them with a direct frontal attack would require a force a hundred times as large as the defenders and the loss would be very heavy. In fact, I do not see how any number of infantry could break through without the help of artillery. Scientifically constructed barbed wire obstructions present an obstacle which is well-nigh impassable unless one has a good pair of clippers and a lot of time. And behind these obstructions in underground shelters are concealed machine guns which are so placed as to cover with their sweep the entire front.

Of course artillery, if you have enough of it and the right kind, will prepare the way for these attacks by blowing these positions up with explosive shells, but that takes very accurate work and costs a lot of time and ammunition. A well placed shell will do a lot of damage but if you miss your mark just a little bit you can shoot all day and do no damage at all. That is one big lesson we must learn, "digging in". 

Also, in May 1917 Dawson published an article for Scientific American on the Russian trench system, which can be viewed and downloaded here.

We uploaded scenes from Dawson's film, showing his visit to the Russian trenches, on our YouTube channel.

The Enemy Within - German Sabotage in the U.S.A.

On February 2, 1915, German officer Werner Horn bombed the international railroad bridge in Vancesboro, Maine, in an attempt to sabotage transport of war supplies to Canada. Masterminded by spymaster Franz von Papen, the bombing was the first public act of sabotage by German agents in America during World War I. Arriving on the scene shortly after the explosion, Louis de Rochemont filmed the aftermath of the stirring attack.

Werner Horn and Sheriff Ross (1915). Press photograph copied from the files at the National Archives 

Breaking News

The sabotage of the Vanceboro Bridge was breaking news in the United States. A number of film crews arrived in town looking for newsreel footage but left with nothing truly usable. However, Louis de Rochemont, a 16 year old freelance cameraman from Massachusetts, was able to capture the story. He reportedly convinced Deputy Sheriff Ross into a reenactment of Horn's arrest and combined it with footage of the damaged bridge into a newsreel that he sold to Hearst-Selig News Pictorial. A 16 mm. print of the historical footage that was shown at the local Vanceboro theater has survived and was made available to the Northeast Historic Film Archives in Bucksport, Maine. Because of its historical value the film was restored by UCLA Film and Television Archive.

Deputy Sheriff Ross and Werner Horn pose for de Rochemont's camera.

Although the surviving print doesn't have a reenactment of Horn's arrest the film does include a close-up of the German secret agent and Deputy Sheriff Ross. Both are shown posing in front of de Rochemont's movie camera. Here is a full review of the contemporary newsreel:

HEARST-SELIG PICTORIAL NO. 12  (Feb.11) [1915] — Testing new fire escape. Man slides down rope from top of Munsey Building, Washington, to street, eleven stories below. Mid-winter Carnival at Saranac Lake, N. Y. Picturesque parade. Twenty children are injured in Orphanage wrecked by wind in New Orleans, La. Grace Darling visits bide-a-wee, home for abandoned animals, in New York City, and has interesting experience.   First pictures of Italian earthquake. Avezzano, [shot by Ariel Varges] where 10,000 persons perished, a levelled waste. Maimed and destitute survivors are cared for by militia and volunteer aid corps. Searching for victims. Houses demolished at Yarmouth, England, in daring aerial invasion by Zeppelins. Mounted infantry and motor guards patrol English coast. International bridge across St. Croix River at Vanceboro, Maine, is damaged in dynamite blast.

The scoop by de Rochemont is mentioned in Raymond Fielding's classic film history book The American Newsreel. One of the earliest references we could find was in a newspaper story by the [Kansas] Emporia Gazette on October 23, 1937: "De Rochemont persuaded the marshal who had Horn in custody to reenact the arrest. The newsreel company to whom de Rochemont sold the film at first refused to accept it on the ground that it was faked, but the budding cameraman persuaded them that it had been re-enacted just as it had taken place, and they used it."

Nicknamed "the father of the docu-drama", de Rochemont in the 1930s created the groundbreaking newsreel series March of Time. His early documentary productions won two Academy Awards. Louis de Rochemont died in Newington, New Hampshire, on December 23, 1978.

A reconstruction of the making of de Rochemont's World War I film has been uploaded on our YouTube channel.



                             

Lost & Found - "The Battles of A Nation" (USA, 1915)

Walter De Swaef from Belgium recently contacted us about a remarkable World War I silent newsreel that he had discovered on the Internet, showing among other scenes fighting along the Western Front, including combat in Belgium. Based on copyright references that we had found earlier at the Library of Congress, we could identify some of the scenes from this footage, which were culled from Albert K. Dawson's 1915 feature film The Battles of A Nation.

Frame enlargement found at the Library of Congress from The Battles of A Nation. Note the copyright reference to the American Correspondent Film Company

Link to high res image

First shown on November 18, 1915, at the Park Theatre in New York City, The Battles of A Nation pictured the attack by the Austro-German Army at the Eastern Front and highlighted the capture of Lemberg (Lviv), the Galician capital, and Warsaw. We had found similar scenes before, both in the nitrate vaults at the Library of Congress, as well as in footage that was used for an Austrian TV documentary on the First World War. But until this discovery we were never quite sure about the actual identity and the original production company. The intertitles in the footage however mention the American Correspondent Film Company (A.C.F) - the film company Dawson worked for - and provide us with some solid proof.

Cameraman Albert K. Dawson

Link to high res image Dawson in camp before Przemysl

Propaganda Tool

As described in more detail in our book American Cinematographers in the Great War, the American Correspondent Film Company was secretly funded by the Germans in 1915 and used as a propaganda tool in the United States. Apart from film shot by Dawson, the company also used films that were supplied by the Zentralstelle für Auslandsdienst, Germany's official foreign propaganda agency in World War I.

Here is a synopsis of this film, as listed in the catalogue of the American Film Institute.

Advertisement Battles of A Nation. Source: www.imdb.com

The footage was uploaded by a stock film library, Periscope, in February 2015 and it is a very messy and no doubt pirated compilation with original World War I footage from a number of sources, including Eclair Films. Apart from the footage that came from Dawson's war film, the film also shows some remarkable scenes taken in 1914, showing the German invasion of Belgium and the resistance by the Belgian army. We contacted Periscope film researcher Nick Spark about the footage, and he said these films were not copied from other archives but come from Periscope's own collection. So, the provenance of this historic World War I movie for the moment remains a mystery, but the authors together with Walter De Swaef are still trying to find out more about this remarkable film.

Review Battles of A Nation. Source: Motion Picture News, 4 December 1915
Link to trade paper article

Mr. De Swaef discovered this film while researching his book Duitse Oorlogsgruwel in Aalst. This book deals with the attack and destruction of the Belgian city of Aalst (Alost) in September/October 1914 by the German army, in the process of which 40 Belgian civilians were killed.

We have also uploaded the original The Battles of A Nation scenes from this Periscope footage on our YouTube channel.

                             

Arthur Sintzenich and the U.S. School of Military Cinematography (1918)

America's first training ground for military cameramen featured in a previous weblog on Carl Gregory and his contribution to the U.S. School of Military Cinematography at Columbia University. Together with Gregory another cinematographer was instrumental in setting up this new school in January 1918 - Arthur H.C. Sintzenich. Surprisingly, he was British.

Left: Sintzenich making movies at an airfield in Sussex, England, October 1918. Right: Portrait 1st Lieutenant Sintzenich, U.S. Signal Corps, Paris, May 1919

Link to high res image (left)

Link to high res image (right)

Nicknamed "Snitch", Sintzenich was born in London on August 14, 1884. He is among the best known early cameramen in film history mainly because of his personal diaries that are now at the Library of Congress. From 1913, he recorded his career as a cinematographer in great detail. Nowadays Sintzenich is probably best remembered for his work in the 1920s as a cameraman with director D.W. Griffith. His contribution to the U.S. School of Military Cinematography has remained somewhat underexposed, so this weblog is another attempt to set the record straight and give Sintzenich the credits that he deserves.

Filming Safari, Newsreels and Harry Houdini

Sintzenich became a motion picture cameraman in 1909 and his first job in England was with Kinemacolor, the first succesful color system introduced by Charles Urban. Filming his way around the world in the West Indies and Canada, Sintzenich in 1914 went to Africa to capture a safari on film. He then became a newsreel and studio cameraman for Universal in the United States and in 1916 went to the Bahamas to film underwater footage for the movie The Submarine Eye. This experience no doubt also helped him to film the world famous stunt artist Harry Houdini during one of his escape performances.

When America entered the Great War in 1917 Sintzenich applied for a commission as cameraman in the U.S. Signal Corps. He entered the Signal Corps as a master signal electrician in December 1917. The entry of his diary for January 2, 1918, mentions: "Took Carl Gregory up and introduced him to the Captain with the result [that] he was requested [to] apply for a commission right away." Just two days later at Columbia University Sintzenich and Gregory for the first time went over the blue prints for the new facilities that were required for the U.S. School of Military Cinematography. During the next days Sintzenich worked hard on interviewing many applicants for the job of photographic instructor. The entry for January 9, 1918, says: "Made up a final curriculum of instruction with Gregory." Sintzenich also drew up the final plan for the film lab at the campus. Meanwhile Gregory returned from Washington, D.C. on January 17, 1918, with the news that he had been commissioned second Lieutenant and was made "Production Expert" for the new school. The two men worked on the outside plans of the film lab the very same day.

The diary clearly demonstrates that the U.S. School of Military Cinematography was a co-production by the two men, although Sintzenich seems to have done most of the work during the first formative weeks in January 1918. Sintzenich's work stopped suddenly when he was ordered to report in Washington, D.C. for special work. He was called to make movies for the Committee on Public Information, America's wartime propaganda agency, but Sintzenich turned the offer down when he found out he could only do this work as a civilian because of his British nationality.

2nd Lieut. A.H.C. Sintzenich, U.S. Signal Corps, operating a Debrie film camera from Farman Plane No. 1741 and 1st Lieut. A.W. Bevin, A.S. pilot, about to make a flight over the Aerodrome at Sussex, England, October 1918. Colorized picture.

Link to original high res image

In February 1918, Sintzenich had finished all of his preparations. Two new labs were ready, new camera equipment had been ordered and he had built up a complete staff of instructors who would teach the recruits how to film and photograph America's entry into World War I. Among the new instructors was Victor Fleming, who would later be President Wilson's official photographer during his first visit to Europe. Fleming after the war became one of America's top film directors. Sintzenich noted on February 16, 1918:  "Vic Fleming, cameraman for Douglas Fairbanks, has been put in charge of the movie men, temporarily. An awfully good fellow."

A Day at the U.S. School of Military Cinematography

Sintzenich and Gregory not only set up the new school, they also went to Fort Slocum for basic training with the first batch of fresh recruits. A typical day, as described by Sintzenich, for the soldiers would be as follows:

Wednesday - April 24, 1918:  Our usual routine again today. Drills and classes at semaphore. The Motion Picture Office Quarters are moved from the Library to the Havemeyer Hall. The unit carrying over the equipment, etc. In the afternoon I gave them a lecture on camera construction, explaining parts etc, then out for a "hike".

In May 1918, Sintzenich was taken to City Hall and came back an American citizen. He boarded the SS Leviathan in August 1918 and went over to France. If he expected to see any action he was soon disappointed . Most of his photographic work consisted of making identification snapshots of American soldiers. From September 1918 until the Armistice he spent his work for the U.S. Signal Corps photographing American camps, airfields and hospitals in England.

Lt. Sintzenich on the roof of an ambulance, making moving pictures in London of a crowd outside of Buckingham Palace who are celebrating the Armistice, November 1918. Colorized picture.

Link to original high res image

Long after the Great War Sintzenich remained active as a cinematographer in Hollywood, the Soviet Union and elsewhere. He spent three years in India, working for the Eastman Kodak Company, and on his return to America in May 1932 Sintzenich again joined forces with Carl Gregory. In a family letter Gregory wrote:

"Hal Sintzenich, a camera friend of mine, comes here every day and works with me in the hope that we can make some stuff we can sell.  He has not been able to get anything to do since he came back and so we have been working as best we can without capital to try and make something with what I have here. We are building a [motion picture] machine for trick work ... We started building the machine two weeks ago yesterday and estimate that we have it about half finished. Of course we can't do any work with it to bring in any money. We start to work on it about 9.00 every morning and work until nearly midnight." 

Sintzenich died in Charleston, South Carolina, in August 1974.

Information from Sintzenich Diaries courtesy Cooper C. Graham. With special thanks also to Charles "Buckey" Grimm for providing us with some family letters by Carl Gregory.