3-D Revolution: The History of Modern Stereoscopic Cinema

Chapter 3: Converging in Time

Revisiting the 1950s 3-D Films The 3-D movie boom of 1952–54 could be characterized as the second historical phase for stereoscopic cinema, an era of convergence—and not just because many of the dual-camera technologies of the time incorporated that optical feature into their stereo photography. It was also a brief stereo window in time in which the narrative canvas of classical Hollywood , 1.33 to 1 in aspect ratio, briefly converged with the amplification of depth before being exploded by CinemaScope into the wide-screen format (2.35 to 1) that subsequently became commonplace. For a short time in the early 1950s, Hollywood filmmakers worked with the expanded narrative palette of 3-D on the luminous canvas of classic Hollywood (1939–51), with greatly varying results, just as that era was ending. With the screening of thirty-three feature films and over twenty shorts in the classic dual-projection 3-D format at the World 3-D Film Expos (I and II) that ran from September 12–21, 2003, and September 8–17, 2006, at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, a rare opportunity to revisit the 3-D movies of the 1950s was provided. Through the efforts of SabuCat Productions and festival organizer Jeff Joseph, 3-D film archivist Bob Furmanek, and stereoscopic technician Dan Symmes, the remaining elements and prints of rare 3-D films were assiduously assembled and projected onto a silver screen using state-of-the-art dual-band technology. Stereoscopic projectionist Paul Rayton used two projectors interlocked with a computer to keep the two filmstrips running synchronously and to be on the lookout for problems inherent in twin-strip projection such as film weave, in which horizontally traveling subjects appear to be pseudoConverging in Time 3 32 3-D Revolution scopic. In addition, with the screening of a special “Rarities in 3-D” program , alternative stereoscopic formats such as single-strip over and under, anaglyph, and even the incredibly scarce vectographic format were used. Speaking as one of a handful of dedicated but exhausted individuals who saw every one of the 3-D films at the festivals, I can tell you that the experience was a little like trying to consume a twelve-course meal in ten minutes. It was a perceptual feast, a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the stereoscopic cineaste that was not to be missed—and very likely will never be equaled. The Gold Standard for 3-D The first World 3-D Film Expo opened September 12, 2003, with the screening of two fine-condition prints of Warner Bros.’s House of Wax, still Jeff Joseph, World 3-D Film Expo organizer and head of Sabucat Productions, is seen at the Egyptian Theatre in 2003. Photograph by Ray Zone. Converging in Time 33 the gold standard for 3-D movies in a seamless integration of great stereo photography with an excellent story and acting. Director Andre de Toth was a one-eyed director of stereoscopic movies, but his handling of the three-dimensional visual elements of House of Wax was exceedingly creA script page from House of Wax with an accompanying scene shows that dimensional effects were planned. 34 3-D Revolution ative, from a silhouetted foreground head of Igor (Charles Bronson) rising up and entering the screen space to deep-focus nighttime exteriors. At all times, the dramatic action in House of Wax includes the audience as an invisible but implicit element. De Toth was working from a fine screenplay by Crane Wilbur that incorporated dimensional effects. Here, for example, is the description of scene 30, a fight sequence between Jarrod (Vincent Price) and Burke (Roy Roberts): “another angle—jarrod in f.g. Burke in b.g. as the latter flings the chair. Jarrod sees it coming and ducks down out of shot—the chair comes hurtling toward the camera, through the frame and toward the audience. DIMENSIONAL EFFECT.”1 Ironically, de Toth opposed the use of the 3-D gimmick sequence with the paddleball coming out at the audience and had to defer to the wishes of producer Bryan Foy in using it in the film. Before the showing of House of Wax, John Norling’s 3-D short Motor Rhythm, a Technicolor stop-frame animation of a blue Chrysler assembling itself, was screened with brandnew prints. This film delighted the audience. Under the title New Dimensions , it had been originally commissioned...