Learning on ScreenMovietone’s War Time News - Reported by Leslie Mitchell: Battle of Egypt
Series
- Series Name
- British Movietone News
Issue
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- Story No. within this Issue
- 2 / 2
- Section Title
- Movietone’s War Time News - Reported by Leslie Mitchell
- Summary
- MOVIETONE CARD TITLE: Battle of Egypt WO B271/B. DESCRIPTION: The new defence position at El Alamein is being reinforced and General Auchinleck went up to the front to see for himself. The Royal Army Ordnance Corps works on disabled tanks to bring them back into service as seen as possible. Land mines are being buried in the sand to demolish enemy vehicles trying to push on towards Alexandria and the Nile. The RAF is also playing its part with constant blast of the enemy day by day. SHOTLIST: Camel train winding its way over the desert towards the pyramids. Squadrons of RAF Boston Bombers heading towards the enemy lines. Arab families with their camels, goats, etc., heading towards the Pyramids and Cairo. A solitary figure trudging eastwards through the sand. Arab families travelling along with Pyramids in the distance. Going up the winding path to the Pyramids. Arab showing his small daughter the Pyramids and talking to her about same. Arabs from the Western Desert arriving at the end of their journey. The Pyramids of Giza (close up). Looking at same and looking backwards over the desert. Views. Shot of Pyramid pan to Sphinx with Arab looking at same. CU of Arab turning to look in the distance, where main road is taking supplies to the battle front. Lorries moving forward passing a camel train. Pan shot of desert towards road. Supply vehicles moving forward showing pyramids in back-ground. Guns and supply lorries moving up road and across desert. Arabs waving to our troops as the lorries pass by going forward. CU of Arab shouting. Troops in the Alamein area digging trenches and putting in Mortars and covering same with camouflage nets. Erecting machine-gun in pit. Lorries in the back-ground. General views behind front lines at Alamein showing our tanks arriving on conveyors and reinforcements being got ready for action. Troops digging in positions for heavy AA guns at Alamein. Erecting height finder. Tanks on the move. Infantry arriving in trucks and getting out of same. Good shots of our heavy tanks moving forward under cover of smoke-screen. Infantry taking up their positions around tanks and moving forward with same. As the tanks move forward they are followed by Infantry with fixed bayonets. At first they walk and then gradually break into a run. (They are men of a famous Guards Regiment). Transport In The Western Desert WO N. A236/2 AFU 580ft Shots of military transport moving back from forward areas along the Cairo Alexandria Road. At the causeway near Amriya and back from the Alamein Line. Transport On The Roads Outside Cairo WO N. A236/3 AFU 100ft Shots show units of the Eighth Army on the roads outside Cairo going back to depots to re re-equipped. 1. Mid Shots. Tracking shot of line of 30 cwt. and 3 ton trucks loaded with men and equipment. 2. Fast moving convoy passing slower convoy. Pan round to show lorries in the distance. 3. Close-up of lorries laden with troops and equipment (rear). 4. Close-up of lorries laden with troops and equipment (front). 5. Long shot of convoy of lorries on the Cairo-Ismailia road. Tank Recovery In The Field 400ft AFU Location: South of Matruh Line Tank recovery sections are attached to all tank formations in the field. As soon as one of our tanks is disabled the appropriate section Commander is informed and he sends out a Transporter. 1. A disabled tank has been reported to the Recovery Section. Here we see Staff Sergeant in Command, discussing the route with the crew of a transporter. 2. Setting the compass. 3. The crew get aboard the transporter. 4. The vehicle moves off. 5. Moving off accompanied by Jeep. 6. On the move through the dust. 7. At the scene of action. Tanks have been hooked onto the winch. 8. The Sergeant transporter gives directions as the cable is drawn tight and the tanks commences to climb the gradient. 9. One of the crew watches the tank as it strikes the ramp. 10. Tank moves up the ramps to the transporter. 11. Crew spot enemy aircraft and scatter for cover. 12. Bombs fall round vehicles. 13. Tank continues up ramps. 14. Securing ramps, etc. 15. Front view moving off to the Ordnance Workshop with its burden. The crew of the tanks can be seen sitting on the tank. 16. Transporter moves away from camera. 25 Pounder In Action 100ft AFU Location: Southern Flank of Matruh [sic] Line. 25 Pounders of the 2nd Royal Horse Artillery firing against the enemy at dusk. 25 Pounder gun firing with another gun in the foreground preparing to fire. Shots showing crew of the gun operating the control. Nearly all in close-shots. German Prisoners Captured At El-Alamein. 100ft AFU Location: El-Alamein German prisoners of the 90th Light Motorised Division are seen going through front line interrogations by the 4th Armoured Brigade, before being sent to Prisoner of War Camps. The prisoners with the word ‘Sonderfuaer’ on the sleeve of his coat is a special intelligence Corps Leader. Blazing Italian Truck 100ft AFU The particular truck blazing in the desert is an Italian Ammunition and Petrol transporter which was bombed by one of our Bostons. (Long distance shot). 1. Pan blazing truck stern to stern. 2. Close-up showing rubber tyres burning passing the rear of truck. 3. Truck ablaze following thick black smoke in the twilight. Libyan Campaign (Miscellaneous) 400ft AFU Pan shot pulling into petrol station, manned by natives. Mass shots of lorries. Troops and soldiers etc. Bostons And Kitty Hawks 805ft RAFFU. Various scenes at an aerodrome in the Western Desert, where Kitty Hawk Fighter Bombers (Curtiss P44 Fighters previously called Tomahawks in England are loaded with bombs). Bostons too are prepared and the bombs are loaded from lorries, from one of which a bomb is dropped, without any result. Aerial shots of the bombers looking down on transport moving across the dust and shots of the bombs bursting in the sand below. All good stuff for Library purposes. Battle Of Egypt B274/B - CARD 42701 Scenes from our forward positions at El Alamein, artillery shelling enemy positions, troops in newly dug trenches & gun pits. Infantry patrol setting out into enemy territory & try to capture position in coastal area. Troops passing barbed wire entanglement & fixing bayonets. Troops take cover as they come under mortar fire. Infantry under terrific mortar & shell fire, showing huge clouds of sand rising in air. Shot of some of the 2,000 prisoners we have taken recently being taken away in lorries. Information obtained from dupe sheet.
- Keywords
- Buildings and structures; Children; Environment; Weapons; Aviation; Transport; War damage; Prisoners of war; Animals; Military
- Locations
- El Alamein
- Footage sources
- Army Film Unit
Pathe
Royal Air Force Film Unit [RAFFU]
Rota
- Card file number
- 42597
- Credits:
-
- Commentator
- Leslie Mitchell
- Length of story (in feet)
- 434
-
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