I had fully intended to have my career tribute article on matte exponents Ken Marschall and Bruce Block ready to roll for this final issue of Matte Shot for 2014, however it will be a little delayed as Ken uncovers and photographs more of his glorious matte art and old 35mm before and after clips that he feels will be of interest to me and my readers.  With that being the unavoidable case I had the option of just hanging on and waiting it out, or, being the impatient, now or never, go for broke type of fellow that I am I decided to assemble a 'fill in' article just so special effects fans won't feel 'hard done by'... and although it's somewhat off tangent, I'm fairly sure most of you will approve and enjoy the following chronology and pictorial album of the next best special effect after matte art ... the miniature.

I've been planning this retrospective on model work for a few years and wasn't sure how or when to include it.  The site's called Matte Shot for a reason as that medium has always been my lifes blood, as it were.  However, ever since I was a youngster I've been equally mesmerised by the use of the model, or miniatures if you prefer, in motion picture trick shots for as long as I can remember. I feel that miniatures - as with traditionally painted mattes - are the purest of the whole all encompassing realm of special effects with their success being to a considerable extent the result of - as much as anything else - the gut instinct and 'eye' of the miniatures exponent.

I vividly recall building model towns and 'sets' as a 11 year old and photographing these with a cheap Kodak Instamatic camera which had absolutely no control whatsoever over focus or aperture. A few years later when I was 13 or 14 my Dad bought me a Canon FTb SLR (still got it), and although it was still just static images, the leap forward was amazing.  I clearly recall trying to achieve maximum depth of field by 'shooting' model tanks, planes, war type set ups outdoors in bright sunlight and stopping the 35mm focal length lens down as far as I could to f22 if possible.  Then came the phase brought about upon seeing EARTHQUAKE on it's first day in 1974 (in 70mm and Sensurround!!!) where the only good miniature was one which burned, swayed, collapsed or was deluged in a torrent of water.  So came the era where my model trains and crudely constructed buildings were purposely wrecked in glorious Agfa Colour 36 exposure still photos.
 
A landmark step up came about in 1977 when high school mates and myself at Mount Roskill Grammar School got together with a Super 8mm Elmo camera and made our own amateur disaster picture.  Lots of bad miniatures made out of small Plaster of Paris 'bricks' and toy cars, fires which were always way too big for the quite small models, some improvised pyrotechnics which were hair raising to say the least - which included setting a friend on fire and pulling apart fire crackers and making newer, more lethal squibs with the contents - as well as some haphazardly backwound split screen matte shots and superimposed flames which rarely ever stayed in register.  As with most similar projects, our imaginations far exceeded our pocket money and our ability, with this epic (titled 1984 after the David Bowie song which we stole for the titles and was our notion of when the world would be destroyed by a bloody big earthquake!) - It was never finished as is so often the case with these things.  But fun it sure was! So, with that misguided amateur enterprise aside, let us take a look at some of the wonderful moments of miniature magic - and the technicians who created them.  I have a lot of material so depending upon the response to this article I just may well do a follow up article in due course.
As things turn out, a high proportion of miniature effects tended to be utilised in war films over and above any other genre, so it won't be a surprise to the reader that a large number of said shots are featured here today. Some you've seen before, though many I've never seen anywhere else, so the miniature maniacs among you are in for a treat.  Some of the familiar ones I've upgraded with BluRay images and they look sensational.  I've also included some great behind the scenes photos here which are very, very rare. One thing we should note, sadly, is the apparent demise of the motion picture miniature as a viable special effect.  Now correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me that it's all gone the way of glass matte art into the garbage bin as more and more (and more!) cinematic illusions are solely the domain of the MacIntosh computer.  I was horrified when I learned that WETA workshop here in NZ had mothballed it's vast model department a few years back and laid off all of those skilled model makers only to have all such work conceived as digital environments (gee I hate that term) henceforth.  My hopes were raised a little when I recently read that Richard Taylor's WETA will be making the all new THUNDERBIRDS television series and I understand actual, genuine models will be utilised!  Can't wait to see that, but they'd better not screw around with the designs and look of the original craft and vehicles or I'll get very upset.

*I'd like to take this moment to acknowledge the kind generosity of Robert Welch, who's grandfather A.Arnold Gillespie thrilled us for decades at MGM as the foremost miniature expert in Hollywood.  I am most grateful to Robert for allowing me (once again) full access to Buddy's extensive archive of photos, many of which are reproduced here.  Of course, for a full lowdown on Buddy Gillespie's extraordinary career I strongly recommend the wonderful memoir The Wizard of MGM, which is essential reading and is available from Amazon.com
*I must also make mention of David Coker, whose grandfather Filippo Guidobaldi was the highly regarded models and special processes wizard of the British film industry for many years.  His is a most fascinating story in itself and I am very grateful to David for sharing some amazing stories and terrific never before seen photographs with me from the old Gaumont Lime Grove and Rank special effects departments.

 LET'S MEET THE MINIATURISTS:

In no particular order, here is a run down of some of the key participants in this exciting field.
Early era exponents included Charles Cleon Baker who was Universal Studios' chief model maker for nearly fifty years, working on a vast array of films ranging from the 1924 LOST WORLD and James Whale's FRANKENSTEIN, all those 50's science fiction films like THIS ISLAND EARTH, THE DEADLY MANTIS and through to the particularly noteworthy work on EARTHQUAKE and the last two AIRPORT pictures.

John P.Fulton is well known among special effects fans and readers of this blog, and while not a model maker was certainly a major force in designing, executing and photographing hundreds of miniature sequences throughout his career. An all round visual effects pro, Fulton made up in his movie illusions what he sorely lacked in interpersonal relations, with the aforementioned Charlie Baker apparently being one of his few trusted friends in the business.  Among Fulton's best work as far as models go would have to be George Pal's THE NAKED JUNGLE flood sequences and the ferocious oil well infernos in Walter Wanger's TULSA.

Art Smith and Ivyl Burks were active at Paramount Studios, with Smith providing models on classic shows such as the Oscar winning effects show SPAWN OF THE NORTH and Burks building miniatures for several DeMille pictures, WAR OF THE WORLDS and THE BRIDGES AT TOKO-RI.  Supervisors were Gordon Jennings, and following his death, John P.Fulton.  Gordon's brother Devereaux Jennings would photograph miniatures at the studio.

British studios Gaumont and Rank employed Italian born maestro Filippo Guidobaldi who's expertise appeared in scores of films such as THAT LADY HAMILTON, THE MILLIONS LIKE US, THE PURPLE PLAIN, THE 39 STEPS, THE SEEKERS and many more.  Filippo, who would work side by side with Albert Whitlock and Les Bowie was, like them often unbilled, with effects department heads Henry Harris or later Bill Warrington taking screen credit, though he told his grandson that he didn't mind as it was the work that he cared about and not the spotlight.  Often 'Guido' (as he was known) was simply screen credited as "special effects by Guidobaldi" which is a bit odd I feel.  Guido's life, especially around WW2 where the Churchill government rounded up most every UK based Italian and deported them to internment camps in Canada (much akin to the American's internment of Japanese, though far more severe and tactless). Guido's transport ship, the Andorra Star out of Liverpool was torpedoed with large loss of life, though by sheer miracle Guido survived. To cut a long yet fascinating story short, once Italy capitulated to the allies, Guido returned to the UK and to what he loved doing - making movie illusions. Guido's story is genuinely riveting in full, and I may do a full article on him later.  Such an interesting, unassuming and talented man. A book could be written on Guido's event filled life - of which I'm thankful to David Coker for sharing much of it with me.  I've included a number of rare Guidobaldi effects photos throughout the body of this article. The importance of A.Arnold Gillespie and his contributions to special effects cannot be overstated.  Buddy, as he was known to friends, family and movie stars alike was one of a number of key creative forces based at MGM studios from the late 1920's on through to the early 1960's.  Together with Gillespie, people like production designer Cedric Gibbons, visual effects man James Basevi, miniaturist Donald Jahraus and matte supervisor Warren Newcombe would all play an important part in the high calibre of spectacle that the studio produced.  Buddy began as an art director and often merged into special effects assignments on as early projects as the original BEN HUR with cleverly devised hanging miniatures, and was seemingly unstoppable as his very long and productive career and a huge catalogue of titles would see Buddy's ingenuity and pragmatism the envy of the industry.  Among his many memorable films which are covered below are the jaw dropping model sequences from 30 SECONDS OVER TOKYO, the tank chase set pieces from COMRADE X and the shattering realism of the earthquake and tidal wave for GREEN DOLPHIN STREET.  Howard and Theodore Lydecker worked for the most part at Republic Studios, though later in his career Howard would work on some British pictures such as HMS DEFIANT and also at 20th Century Fox with L.B Abbott.  The Lydeckers' work at Republic Studios was remarkable for such a small studio with limited resources.  The quality of their model construction was very good, but it was their photographic methods which always sold the finished trick as most all of their work would be shot outdoors in natural light (always a major plus factor) and even more, the Lydeckers' were masters at destruction and pyro work which, on a scaled down set is a fine art, especially in the 1940's. Among their many serials and low budget action pictures, the brothers executed superb model effects on FLYING TIGERS as well as some later pictures such as HMS DEFIANT and SINK THE BISMARK.

Donald Jahraus began his long career at RKO building models though would spend the majority of his effects career at MGM working closely with Buddy Gillespie.  Many of my all time favourite model shots were the result of Jahraus's handiwork - often in wartime pictures and many of which are described and illustrated below. Don was one of the true geniuses of his field, without question.

L.B Abbott (Lenwood Ballard 'Bill' Abbott) was an all round visual effects expert who had mastered almost all facets of the medium, from optical cinematography through to miniature set ups and camerawork.  Bill's particular area of expertise has to be in controlling, directing and shooting miniatures - of which he achieved stunning on screen results.

Working mostly for 20th Century Fox for much of his long career Bill was involved in complex model sequences in films such as THE RAINS CAME, IN OLD CHICAGO, CRASH DIVE and TORA TORA TORA.  It was common for a time to see many of Abbott's model shots recycled in other films or tv series. One of Bill's last pictures was Steven Spielberg's 1941 which to my mind had some of the best miniature work seen in years and came very close to taking home that FX Oscar in 1979.  Wonderful old school Lydecker wire gags and mayhem on a vast scale that looked great on the big screen in scope. Britain's George Blackwell was one of the best known specialists on that side of the Atlantic, with many fine credits under his belt such as the large model of 16th Century London built for Percy Day's unit for HENRY V.  Blackwell is also well known for his DAMBUSTERS miniatures as well as the excellent maritime battle set pieces in CAPTAIN HORATIO HORNBLOWER.  Some of George's best work I felt was the really impressive model whale and whaling boats as seen in John Huston's MOBY DICK.
As a kid growing up in the 1960's, I, and millions like me, were weaned on Gerry Anderson's tv shows such as STINGRAY and THUNDERBIRDS, thus it comes as no great surprise to you that these shows formed an integral part of my psyche (for what it's worth) regarding movie illusions, trick work and exploding models.  You simply could not get anything better on tv (or at the cinema) at that time.  The name Derek Meddings struck a chord with this impressionable young lad and has stayed with me ever since.  Derek was one of the true masters of the craft without doubt, and it was such a sad loss to the industry (and fans like me) when he passed away far too early in the mid 1990's.  Derek was my hero as far as this sort of work went, and I could never get enough of those fantastic plotlines, high adventure, wonderous flying craft and best of all for me, those bloody fantastic multi-wheeled rescue vehicles that rolled out of Thunderbird 2 to the tones of Barry Gray's magnificent, full bodied orchestral score each week.  New Zealand only had one tv channel then, and it was in glorious monochrome so I recall the excitement when the feature film THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO (1966) was released in Technicolor and scope!!! Oh my God... all my Xmas's had come at once.  I saw that film many times on double bills with things like ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS and other shows to delight kids.  Many British effects artists owe much to Derek and were heavily influenced by his work ethic. On the continental side of things we absolutely must not overlook one of my all time favourite effects practitioners - the maestro himself Emilio Ruiz del Rio.  I've often written about Emilio and his astonishing career which spanned some 45 years and a reported 450 films in Spain, Italy, France and the United States. Emilio was primarily a matte painter who specialised in the latent image foreground glass shot.  Over time Emilio would become an internationally acknowledged expert in hanging miniatures and cleverly integrated foreground models which not even the keenest eye could spot.  One of the greats without question, with a body of work to prove it.

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GREAT MINIATURE MOMENTS:

Well friends, that's enough for tonight.  I know I've missed out some key participants and films but maybe I'll do another Miniatures post some other time.

Merry Xmas to all...

Peter