With Byrd at the South Pole

With Byrd at the South Pole is an American documentary from the year 1930. Documents the first Antarctic expedition of U.S. Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd ( 1888-1957 ), which was conducted from 1928 to 1930. The aim of the expedition was the crossing of the South Pole in an airplane, which on 28-29. November 1929 succeeded.

The two cameramen Joseph T. Rucker and Willard Van der Veer accompanied the expedition and spent the Antarctic winter with Byrd and his men in the Antarctic. In addition to her recordings, the film also contains scenes that co- pilot Harold June recorded during the South Pole flight.

Only a few scenes of black and white film are with voice messages, the rest of the film is accompanied only by music.

Action

In the commentary of Admiral Byrd introduction shows how the expedition leaves New York. The way to Antarctica is not easy for the ships. It must storms are passed, even the ice pack makes them to create. On Christmas Day the Ross Ice Shelf comes into view on which the expedition set up the expedition base Little America.

While the admiral ice formations observed at the same time the new arrivals of penguins are viewed. An Aircraft with Lawrence M. Gould, Harold June and Bernt Balchen breaks on board in March 1929 the Rockefeller Mountains on, but is damaged there after landing in a snowstorm. Byrd breaks by air and can bring back his comrades to the base.

In the six-month winter night, the men are preparing for the flight to the South Pole. In the spring of the first light illuminates the area, Byrd leaves the flags of Great Britain and Norway hoist, in honor of the explorer Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott, the quick succession reached the South Pole in 1911/12. Lawrence Gould goes with a group of men on a sled dog expedition to Queen Maud Mountains, which is to the South Pole airmen come for a forced landing to help. The actual Polar pilot Bernt Balchen flight is with the "Floyd Bennett" undertake baptized aircraft, but the departure must be installed by a week due to snow storm.

Finally, the flight can be started. Byrd navigated the machine from Balchen controlled machine to the South Pole. Also on board are also the radio operator Harold June and photographer Ashley McKinley the air. At the South Pole arrived the U.S. flag is dropped. The dangerous return flight will overcome. Once in Little America, they will be thrilled welcomed. The return home is prepared.

Production

During the preparations for the expedition acquired Paramount Pictures Byrd the exclusive film rights for newsreels and a documentary. For Byrd, this was a great way to help finance the costly expedition, but also to achieve the greatest possible media attention for his expedition.

On board the ship " City of New York" left Rucker and Van der Veer with the expedition to the United States and arrived after a stop in New Zealand in December 1928, the Antarctic.

Although the cameras were specially designed for Antarctic conditions, they failed from the very first use, since different existing metal components of the cameras themselves stretched to different extents due to the cold. Rucker and Van der Veer were forced to make many items of spare cameras. A camera was damaged when she was taken from the warmth of the base in the icy cold and froze moisture inside the camera.

Already on the way to Antarctica and during construction of the research base Little America they could make a lot of movies. These first shots were sent back to the City of New York, who awaited the Antarctic winter in New Zealand. When the ship returned to the beginning of 1930 and the expedition brought home, you could show some finished shots on board the men already.

As Rucker and Van der Veer had their documentation finish for the great arrival of the expedition returnees in the United station in time, they went with a faster ship, the whaler Larsen, back to the United States, which they reached several weeks before the rest of the expedition. After Byrd had reached Panama in May 1930, Rucker and Van der Veer traveled from the U.S. to work with Byrd on some scenes of the film. Meanwhile, was the precious from the Antarctic returned footage, which included about 20 miles roll of film, picked up by plane and brought hastily to New York. The several -day long-haul flight was unusual enough to report almost daily on his progress for the New York Times.

The accompanying comment section on the South Pole flight was spoken by commentator Floyd Gibbons. For background music has also been used John Philip Sousa's Stars and Stripes Forever.

Eugene Rodgers book, Beyond the Barrier are provided according to various scenes of the movie or give events of the expedition only distorted again. For example, a scene in which a man of them floating on an iceberg and must be saved. This was done according to Rodgers to make the events of the expedition for the moviegoers dramatic. Many scenes had to be readjusted because although the camera men tried to capture the events directly on film, the events but often suddenly or under unfavorable light conditions took place to film it.

Criticism

The film was praised by many critics in the United States and Europe. The London newspaper The Times described him against it as " sentimental kitsch " ( " sentimental slush "). The author Eugene Rodgers calls the film in his book Beyond the Barrier due to the sometimes very simplistic representations and over- dramatization of the events a " melodramatic tale story" ( " melodramatic fairy tale" ).

Awards

In the third Oscar Joseph T. Rucker and Willard Van der Veer was awarded the Oscar for Best Cinematography.

Publication

The premiere was held in New York on 19 June 1930. In Germany the film was released in the same year in theaters.

In February 2000, Image Entertainment brought the film in the United States out on DVD.