Take a S1bow, Hitchcock!
QUESTION Knew Too Much, were the hundreds of people in the orchestra, choir and audience all extras?In the Hitchcock
film The Man Who
Alfred HitcHcock filmed two versions of the Man Who knew too Much. He said he felt the 1934 version was the work of a talented amateur, while the 1956 remake was the work of a professional.
the original film starred leslie Banks, edna Best and Peter lorre. Having discovered that a foreign head of state is to be assassinated during a concert at the Albert Hall, Jill lawrence (Best) is torn between disrupting the performance and ensuring the safety of her daughter, Betty, who had been kidnapped to ensure her silence.
the famous scenes in the Albert Hall were created in very different ways in the two films.
While parts of the 1934 version were filmed in the Albert Hall, some of the action and most of the crowd were special effects using the Schufftan process.
Pioneered by German cinematographer eugen Schufftan for fritz lang’s 1927 sci-fi epic Metropolis, the process relied on a combination of camera angles, forced perspective and physical trickery to insert actors into miniature sets.
Photographs of the interior of the Albert Hall were blown up into large transparencies, onto which the renowned italian illustrator fortunino Matania painted most of the audience.
filming in the Albert Hall, the crew used the transparencies and the Schufftan process to insert a small number of actors among the painted audience to give the illusion of hundreds of extras. in close camera audience shots, 50 extras in evening dress were used.
Arthur Benjamin’s Storm clouds cantata, composed for the film, was recorded live at the Albert Hall, with H. Wynn reeves conducting the london Symphony orchestra and chorus.
the performance was filmed in front of a small audience of extras for editing into the final movie.
the 1956 film starred Hollywood A-listers James Stewart and doris day. Hitchcock had a bigger budget, so could stage the assassination scene with the requisite number of extras.
composer Bernard Herrmann extended Arthur Benjamin’s Storm clouds cantata and can be seen conducting the london Symphony orchestra and covent Garden chorus in the movie.
filming took place in the main lobby, the corridor and the auditorium of the Albert Hall. High-angle matte shots, completed in Hollywood, emphasise its size.
the prime minister’s box, assassin’s box, box office, green room and stage were all recreated in Hollywood by art director Henry Bumstead.
Michelle Benjamin, Crawley, W. Sussex.
QUESTION Does the buzzword ‘woke’ — meaning socially conscious — date from the Thirties?
in Modern parlance, the notion of being woke is associated with the social justice movement and means ‘alert to injustice in society, especially racism’. it’s essentially the past participle of awake.
the oed traces the term ‘woke’ from a 1962 new York times article by black author William Melvin kelley. ‘if You’re Woke, You dig it’ read the headline of the article in which kelley pointed out that much of what passed for beatnik slang (such as dig, chick and cool) originated with African-Americans.
Perhaps the earliest known example dates from the 1938 song Scottsboro Boys by Blues legend lead Belly.
it commemorates nine African-Americans aged 13 to 20 who were falsely accused in Alabama of the rape of two white women on a train in 1931.
lead Belly used the phrase in a live performance near the end of the song, singing: ‘i advise everybody to be a little careful when they go along through there, stay woke, keep their eyes open.’
the phrase was used in an overtly political manner in 1972 when Barry Beckham wrote in the play Garvey lives!: ‘i been sleeping all my life. And now that Mr Garvey done woke me up, i’m gon’ stay woke. And i’m gon’ help him wake up other black folk.’
it re-appeared intermittently over the decades following lead Belly’s song until it firmly re-entered popular culture in 2008 when the American singer-songwriter, erykah Badu, released her song, Master teacher. the song describes her dream of racial equality, but until that time comes she sings: ‘i stay woke.’
the phrase became well-known following the shooting of teenager trayvon Martin and the beginning of the Black lives Matter movement. #StayWoke became a rallying cry for public outrage.
Peter Bingham, Malvern, Worcs.
QUESTION Is the distinctive smell of freshly cut grass a distress signal?
ScientiStS believe the refreshing scent of a freshly mowed lawn is a sign of distress — the grass is trying to heal the injury it has received.
Mown grass releases a number of organic compounds known as green leaf volatiles (GlVs). the pungent smell they release is a mixture of oxygenated hydrocarbons that include methanol, ethanol, acetaldehyde and acetone.
the rapid release of some of these compounds stimulate the formation of new cells at the wound site so it closes faster. others act as antibiotics that prevent bacterial infection and inhibit fungal growth.
there is evidence of a remarkably sophisticated response to injury in some plants. Wild tobacco emit a certain GlV when it is being grazed on by caterpillars, which attracts nearby bugs that prey on the larvae.
Compiled by Charles Legge