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| Victor Milner, A.S.C., at Port Said in 1913 with his pioneer camera and African assistant. |
My assignment was to get some scenes of the mountain-like waves off the Rockaway pier. The spray was ice cold, so that my fingers became numb and felt like so many hams as I turned the crank 'round and 'round. The cold made me very sleepy before I finished my task, and by the time I boarded the B.R.T. elevated for New York City, I could hardly hold my eyes open. Once I had settled into a seat, I was quite asleep. Dreams ran wild with me and whisked me to every corner of the globe. Everywhere I was photographing and dashing through all sorts of adventures. First I was in the wilds of Africa, then in the capitals of Europe and so on and on. When the yell of the conductor awakened me at the City Hall, New York, I was still smacking my lips after an unfinished glass of champagne which I left, in my dreams, on one of the little tables on the Boulevard des Italiens, Paris.
Little did I dream that it would not be long before my dreams would be consummated, in part, at least.
Early Trans-Atlantic Film Trip
A few months later a gentleman called at Mr. Schneider's establishment with the request for a cameraman and equipment to be retained by him for a tour to Europe and Egypt. This gentleman's request was actuated by a hobby to introduce, to this democratic country of ours, the idea of a chain of co-operative banks and department stores which were in vogue in Europe. This was one of the first examples of the system whereby it was made possible for the wage earner as well as the person of means to become a part owner in a business and to purchase that business' products at cost.
Rockaway Scenes Impressive
This gentleman, Mr. Hyle, was shown my shots of the storm at Rockaway. My ability as a cinematographer- it was my first picture- so impressed Mr. Hyle that I was engaged on the spot.
We sailed on the Hamburg-American liner Moltke for Naples. My camera was a Schneider professional model, having "side-by-side" magazines. My assistant was a negro, a native of the east coast of Africa and Mr. Hyle's valet.
The camera sympathized with my excitement which ran at the highest. The instrument "buckled" as I made the first shot as the Moltke passed the Statue of Liberty.
Arrival at Naples
When we arrived at the beautiful harbor of Naples it was enveloped in a haze. Mt. Vesuvius, the strangest sentinel of the bay of Naples, sending up thin curls of smoke, was defiant in its glory as we slowly picked our way among the schools of small rowboats manned by Italians, all of whom were shouting to us in a friendly chorus.
We spent a few weeks in and around Naples, photographing Pompeii, the buried city, and the blue grottos of the Island of Capri, obtaining interesting views everywhere, particularly of the life of the poorer classes.
On to Egypt
Our next move was to Egypt. We left Naples for Port Said on a P.&O. liner, arriving a few days later.
Here Mr. Hyle was in his seventh heaven. Port Said, situated at the entrance of the Suez Canal, offered unusual possibilities for his proposed lecture, particularly in the Mohammedan quarter where misery, ignorance and filth worked hand in hand.
Feast for Flies
I could never reconcile myself to the sight of the natives allowing flies to cluster around their eyes and on their faces, making no attempt to kill them. A Mohammedan, as we all know, believes in reincarnation, and the killing of insects, according to his belief, is sacrilegious.
The natives are champion beggars. They are taught the art from childhood. "Baekshees" is a word that will ring in the ears of the traveler in that country from morning until night.
We next proceeded to Jerusalem. We sailed from Port Said on a small coastwise steamer in the afternoon of one day. There were many wealthy Mohammedans on board with their retinue of wives who kept the lower part of their faces covered. Mr. Hyle advised that I confine the use of my eyes to looking through the "finder," and remarked that the Mohammedans are rather sensitive to being "sized up," especially when their women are the object of the gazing. But remember that I was 20 years of age.
Musical Soup
Dinner time on board that night was quite amusing. The soup sounded particularly good and could be heard above even the sound of the engine. How the Mohammedans do love a musical accompaniment with their soups.
The port of entry of Jerusalem is Jaffa. There being no harbor there, we climbed down the ladder on the side of the ship and clamored into a huge rowboat in which I "set up" and filmed some views of Jaffa from the Mediterranean. The trip from that town to Jerusalem requires about four hours, I believe, on a narrow gauge railroad. The train was made up of first, second and third class coaches which were as old as King David. The monotony of the trip was broken by frequent stops along the route and a few arguments between the conductor and the engineer because the latter started the train before the conductor blew the third blast on the whistle.
The arrival in Jerusalem made a lasting impression on me. Many of the landmarks were familiar to me in story since childhood. Entering through the Jaffa gate unfolded an unusual panorama of the city. The caravans of camels winding down the narrow streets, the gilded domes of the mosques, picturesque humanity crowding the streets- all were very fascinating. I was a very tired young man as I went to bed in the hotel located opposite King David's temple. It seemed that I had been asleep a minute when I wakened with a start. My hair stood up on my head. It was the middle of the night. But the cause of my alarm was only the braying of the donkeys parked along the dried-up moat under King David's wall.
The mosque of Omar built over Solomon's temple, the Garden of Gethesmane outside the old wall, Mt. Olive, the wailing wall of the Jews, all were objects of wonderful pictorial interest.
Turkish Gold
We next visited Bethlehem and the Church of the Holy Nativity. The Turks were then the rulers of Palestine and we had to do quite a lot of "palm greasing" to be able to take moving pictures, but the power of gold- which had lost none of its effectiveness down through the ages- turned many a Turk's back to our operations.
Program in Three Tongues
They even had one movie theater in Jerusalem. The program sheet was wonderful enough to put in a museum. It was printed in Hebrew, Arabic and Egyptian. It was the size of a single page of a modern newspaper. Max Linder, the famous French comedian, was then the hero of the screen for them. The music consisted of three pieces and reminded one of what must have been the music of King Tut's days.
"Alexander's Ragtime Band"
From Palestine we sailed for London where they were whistling "Alexander's Ragtime Band" on our arrival. I immediately made arrangements with Barker's to develop my negative. The developing was done on wooden racks laid flat in large porcelain trays which were mechanically rocked.
We photographed in the slums, and the conditions that we found there were beyond description. Imagine children following one for blocks in order to pick up cherry pits which one spits out. The "pubs" were doing a land office business. Many a Saturday night I saw a mother enter a "pub" with a child in arms and get as drunk as a lord. Leaving that district for the Strand used to be a relief to me, and leaving London for New York was a happy event in my trip.
Victor Milner, "Fade Out and Slowly Fade In," American Cinematographer, November, 1923, pages 6, 20, 21.
© 1998, David Pierce, on editing and revisions (if any)
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