Page 56 - Film Facilities & Studios Almanac_ok

YOUNG AT
YOUNG AT
An interview with
B ritish cinema has pro- duced some wonderful talents over the years but none greater, or with such longevity, as triple
Oscar winner Freddie Young. Now 95,
it is amazing to think he has been retired since 1985. Now, a full 81 years after first entering the film industry he remains in good spir- its, despite having recently broken his hip.
Typically, he is facing this latest challenge with humour and stoicism, the mark of a man who has, movie-wise, seen it and done it all in a career that spanned almost the entire history of cinema.
“It was a wonderful journey,” he says. “I was nearly 15 when I started in the lab at the old Gaumont Studio in Shepherd’s Bush, developing and printing. I was there for ten years, and during that time I graduated into the studio as an assis- tant cameraman. I drove the studio camera car which was a Model T Ford, projected the rushes and edited the film at the end of the day.
Such versatility was to serve Young well over the years, as he forged a notable early association with director Herbert Wilcox, before going on to work with a veritable Who’s Who of directing greats. During the war he made training films - and thinly disguised war propaganda such as Michael Powell’s 49th Parallel - before, in 1949, signing a long term contract with MGM.
“Over the years they hired me out to Warner Bros and 20th Century Fox and United Artists who all came over to make films in the MGM studios,” he recalls. “They were charging them double my salary for my services. Then at the end of 15 years, the studio manager called me into his office and explained that things were getting tough.
He said they didn’t want to lose me, but would I take a cut in salary? I said certainly not. I’d been
working for them all that time and thatithadn’tcostthemabean.”
During this period Young worked on a succession of chal- lenging films. He firmly denies
that the gradual switch from black & white to colour stock caused him any major headaches, and indeed he continued to win praise for his work in both, most notably for his cinematography on Vincente Minnelli’s Lust For Life.
But the most significant collaboration in Freddie Young’s long illustrious career came when David Lean selected him for Lawrence of Arabia, an ambitious project that was to be shot on loca- tion in the new 70mm Panavision format.
Young’s previous experience shooting the classic, Solomon & Sheba, will have helped, but not even the greatest optimist could have predict- ed the resulting masterpiece.
Looking back, he is very matter-of-fact about the problems of filming in the desert with equip- ment that, by today’s standards, seems primitive.
Photos: Robert Donat in Goodbye Mr Chips, Peter O’Toole and Anthony Quinn in Lawrence Of Arabia, with David Lean on Ryan’s Daughter (BFI Stills & Posters)
EXPOSURE • 8 & 9
flashback