Military vehicles; Christmas; devastated town
George Stevens (December 18, 1904 – March 8, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer. During World War II, Stevens joined the U.S. Army Signal Corps and headed a film unit from 1943 to 1946 under General Eisenhower. His unit shot footage documenting D-Day — including the only Allied European Front color film of the war — the liberation of Paris and the meeting of American and Soviet forces at the Elbe River, as well as horrific scenes from the Duben labor camp and the Dachau concentration camp. Stevens also helped prepare the Duben and Dachau footage and other material for presentation during the Nuremberg Trials. In 2008, his footage was entered into the U.S. National Film Registry by the Librarian of Congress as an"essential visual recor" of World War II. The Special Coverage Unit (SPECOU) was placed under the control of the Supreme Headquarters' Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF). The SPECOU consists of 45 people: writers like Ivan Moffat, William Saroyan and Irwin Shaw; cameramen like Dick Hoar, Ken Marthey, William Mellor, Jack Muth; sound operators as Bill Hamilton, who comes from Columbia, assistant directors, as Holly Morse, who has worked with Hal Roach.
EXT. Sign:"Maastricht Centrum 2.1, Tongeren 20" There is light snow on the ground. Vehicles passing jeep Toluca. CU of Stevens, smiles, points. Guard checking passing truck. Rooftops with vapor trails of planes in the BG. Street scene, a check point with a GI and a civilian. Christmas sequence. CU boxes of 105mm Howitzer shells, pan to Stevens sitting on jeep. He writes"Merry Christma" with his finger in snow on the jeep. Stevens, bareheaded, crewcut, opening Christmas present. Shows package with card:"To Dad from _____and George" Opens package, it is a shaving kit. Shaving kit is filled with candy, card says"To Dad" pans up to Stevens smiling, longer shot of him reading small card with writing from George Stevens Jr. Plane flies overhead firing. They get into the jeep and move out very fast. Bombed out buildings with storm clouds in BG. Pan of devastated street, jeep Toluca in FG. Sign:"Duren, Eschweiler ---->, to super highway autobahn" More devastated buildings. Burned out German tanks on side of country road.