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Speaker 1 0:02
If this recording is vested in the ACTT History Project Jeff foot, film editor, interviewer, Sid co recorded on the sixth of January, 1988
Speaker 2 0:26
oh, you've done that, right? Well, Jeff, nice to see you. Could you tell me about, you know, your family thing when you were born in schooling and so on. Born in
Speaker 3 0:35
Putney in 1915 My father was a journalist. My mother had been a teacher. I had a brother. I went to school at Latimer, Arthur in Hammersmith, King Street. Hammersmith, terrible at academics. I was alright at sport, but I left school without anything at all except my colors for boxing. I think that was about it. I went into the film business. I went to the film business was not really my first choice. My father, I say, was a journalist. He was around about that time. He was an IT, editor of the New Herald, which came out in 2930 I suppose. And I've been around the office and seen the printing is rather exciting. I thought, as the sort of thing I like
Speaker 2 1:25
to do. What age were you at that time? Oh, I was
Speaker 3 1:29
I left school 18, and I been thinking about it for a year or so before my mother, of course, said, don't go into the Don't be a journalist. Don't go into the press. You'll never see home, because my father was being united. We left home at four in the afternoon and came back at three in the morning. You know, so social life was out. I never I still thought that was good idea, but it was difficult in those days. And then, Dad, there's anything else you want to do, I thought. And I'd always been interested in film, because when I was knee high to a grasshopper, my father brought home a roll of film. It was about 50 feet in length, which was a news reel of a fight between, I think was Becket and Carpentier. Oh, the famous, famous fight, which I think was about 926, or something, I seem remember, in which the bell went and carpenter went into the ring. He didn't want to turn that was that. And that was the end of the fight. My father brought this home, this little bit of film. I didn't know really what it was, but fascinated me all these little pictures, you know, that I could see going through. So I had a feeling for films there on. I think, did you go to the cinema? March? Oh, yes, quite Yes, winter. Went to lots of cinema. We had three in Putney. You know, four, in fact, four cinemas in Putney at one time. So, yes, I was very keen on that. So take taking what notice, what my mother had said about not having a social life, I thought, well, that's how I go. Well, of course, it's very difficult to get in, as it always is. But my father had some friends who were not having influence, but they knew people. And I had various interviews, and I saw Sidney Mosley, who, at that time was, I think, radio and film critic for The Herald. And he got me a couple of interviews, one with Bill Hammond, another one with Bill Lott at Ealing. Well, Bill Hammond said, Well, you know nothing here at the moment. I'll let you know when anything comes up. Of course, you had to be a tea boy. I don't mind that. You know, he said, I'll let you know. Or years went by as far as Bill was, and I think it was in 1953 that I saw him on the set at Pinewood or somewhere, and I went out to him and I said, I'm Jeff Foote. He said, Oh yes, I'm still waiting the year. He didn't think it was very funny. Anyway, I saw Bill lots, and there was a vacancy in the camera department at Ealing at the time, so he stuck me in there. I was only there a couple of months.
Unknown Speaker 4:27
Can you remember what they were filming at that time? Well,
Speaker 3 4:30
I know, as I say, it was a couple of months. And I went upstairs to the cutting room, to sorrel Sol Dickinson, who was then finishing off singers, we go, and I don't know what was on the floor. I don't want the camera. I can't remember what they would be doing at that time.
Speaker 2 4:47
No, I don't remember. No, I wasn't there at that time, but
Speaker 3 4:52
soul was right up to his eyes in finishing off soon as we go. And I know that both he and rape. It. Who was assisting him and slept for about three nights was a bottle of scotch on the on the bench, you know. Film was piled up all over the place, you know. So the first thing Ray said was, Well, come on, and I'll show you how to file this film. Because it away said, first of all, though, I wanted to read the fire regulations. So he showed me this great sheet of things. He said, I'll read that at the end. He said, Who do you know it? I said, Yes. He said, What do you do? I said, Well, you grab the nearest piece of film and you make for the door. He said, No, you don't you just run for your bloody life. Anyway, after that, he showed me how to file the film, and that was all right. Now, that first week in the cutting room, I did 80 hours, because I sort of gone on to this business of, you know, all night and whatever. And when I went home, my mother said, God, what have you done? Because she tried to live out of going into the press.
Unknown Speaker 6:06
So anyway, after that, I stayed at Ealing for I was 1934 I think 1934 so end of 33 beginning of 34 I think I stayed about three years, some with sorrel, another one with soul. I think,
Unknown Speaker 6:31
I can't remember, were you on Midshipman easy?
Speaker 3 6:33
Midshipman easy, no, I didn't. I think was Alan James on easy, I think, did you mention music? Yeah, no, I don't think so.
Unknown Speaker 6:46
The film you first worked with me.
Unknown Speaker 6:51
No, I can't.
Speaker 3 6:58
I worked on various things as we had some French people in to do the chasse roussette. And was the Italian company, Topaz or something. And then also Chevalier made lovely Vagabond with Mark Lockwood. And I was on that. You know, they had two versions English and French, was that a dealing? Yes, about 3635
Speaker 2 7:27
36 dealing were doing a lot of that sort of thing, letting up. Yes,
Speaker 3 7:38
there's the Chevalier picture, which gave me one of my most embarrassing moments. I was a assistant, and we were running rushes in the theater with Chevalier, and where it was and who was cutting it, I can't remember. Was it Ray? Ray, no, it wasn't Ray, no, can't think who it was. Anyway, the phone rang, and I was at the desk at the back, and I picked it up and sorry, said, Mr. Chevalier, please. No. I said, Who is it? And to this day, I swear, she said, My his mother. So I said, Mrs. Vallier, once on the phone, he said, Who is it? And I said, your mother. Used to my mother, but she is dead. About the most embarrassing thing, and I thought I sank through the floor. Anyway, who was it? Oh, I know some friend of his. I swear she hurt his mother. Anyway. So, like all things eating, sort of had its gap. And oh, I was then getting, let me see my first contract was after three months. For the first three months, I was getting nothing,
Unknown Speaker 8:52
nothing at all. No,
Speaker 3 8:56
sorry, Alan. And then after three months, I got 15 Bob a week, and that went up to 30 Bob after another three months. So after a year, I think I was getting 25 Bob or something. You know, I was living at home. More fortunately, my father had a car, but he didn't drive, and I did, so I was able to sort of commute from Putney to eating, which only bell I 20 minutes. So that was right. So my my parents all subsidized me for the first year, and then after that, I applied for a picture at Denham,
Speaker 3 9:40
which was divorce of Lady X, the quarter picture, the quarter picture, which Tim wheelon directed, and that was cut by E V stock this, oh, yeah, which I didn't know I never heard of since I know what happened to stocky.
Unknown Speaker 9:56
I think I think he's passed on Norman. Out him drunk very long ago.
Unknown Speaker 10:02
It was quite a bit older than myself, I think. So we did that, and then again, there was nothing coming up with coward but Charles Laughton and Eric pomer started Mayflower pictures, and I think it was Hugh Stewart who was helping Bob Hamer was the editor for them, and Hugh was helping out the couple of sequences. I think he wanted somebody to help. So I went with Hugh on that. What
Speaker 2 10:42
was the picture vest of Roth? He's famous.
Speaker 3 10:51
So I stayed with Mayflower for that, and moved from Denham to VIP downstreet, where, of course, I met Harry, Harry Miller, who was dubbing the picture. And by this time I was I got diggers in denim. I was living in Denham, and so going from Harry was you Harry lived around the corner. Was giving me a lift in the mouth.
Speaker 2 11:22
You know, improbable looking village in those days, denim, but all the Wisteria, yes,
Speaker 3 11:28
lovely, yes. I had, I had rooms at jeepside cottage, which was famous in the business Mrs. Stiles, who was lovely person, a great cook. She had this quite large house, and I suppose she had about six rooms she let out, mostly to film people. And David Lean used to stay there and everybody else, you know, one passed it the other day, and it's still there, but the gardens were taken up by three large detached houses. You know, it's hardly the same place anymore. But anyway, so I stayed with Mayflower. We did French festival of Rawls, and then went on to St Martin, also at Elstree. And then after that, they got Hitchcock for Jamaica in which introduced a new lady morning, oh, Hara, where they brought over. So that really took us up to the war of
Speaker 2 12:35
virtual you were on Jamaica Inn? Yes, because I worked on two reels at right at the end. Oh, did you because I needed in a hurry. I just worked with Palmer, you know, all those all night sort of sessions. Robert was finishing the other one. So you were I hardly ever saw you, probably because different cutting rooms. Yes, that was right about 3838 i Eight,
Speaker 3 13:05
called Powell was a great man, but I mean, he must have, I remember one wonderful occasion with when he was working with Robert on Vessel of Roth and he wanted to intercut a close up of, I think it was Elsa Lancaster into a scene with Charles, and she was looking the way along the way across cameras. She was looking right to left, and so left to right. And Robert, of course, said this, you can't work. I mean, she's not looking at him. And so Powell drew a diagram of the set and where Elsa should have been, and where Charles was, and so with a great circle from her to him when, of course, she's looking. Never gotten that. But you know, I worked, as I say, with some good people at Ealing, like Thol and Jack kitchens, your jack
Speaker 2 14:10
kitchens, and re running that marvelous picture of his that he saved, really, in Hollywood. You remember flying down to real I sweat the other day on the box.
Speaker 3 14:19
Beautiful job. Lovely job. I said to my wife, I said, That was a great bit of cutting for 1933 you know, it's marvelous. And of course, you saw yourself and so, you know, Ruth Bob, Robert, Heyman, Hugh Stewart, I had some good, good people to work with.
Unknown Speaker 14:38
And originally,
Speaker 3 14:39
this is hard, yes, this. Yes, when
Unknown Speaker 14:43
did you? When did you come to Ealing? When
Speaker 3 14:45
did I come to Ealing? After that? No, I didn't come back to Ealing.
Speaker 2 14:50
Never mean after the Mayflower thing. Were you? All
Speaker 3 14:54
right now, after mayflow, 38 nothing happened for a time. And it must have been 39 I think it finished. Finished in 39 I think because I remember Bob and myself, sort of, they kept some on Saturday, which was good, you know, until round about the August, I know Bob and I used to spend sort of hours doing nothing at all, but in the studio. And of course, the Wall came along. So they both went off to Hollywood or wherever, and left us. So Bob went up to join the crown Film Unit. And I think it was about February, 40 I still hadn't been gone into the forces. Bob rang me and asked me if I wanted to work up there. So I went up and with Humphrey Jennings a picture Humphrey directed, called directing rather spring offensive. And that was my first sort of Michael solo, I suppose you know, I cut that myself with Humphrey. Of course, I was lovely champ. After that, I went on to another one with Jack Holmes. I think it was Jack Holmes, doing men of the light ships. And I got halfway through that, and then they caught me up. So I had to leave it. So in the to the army,
Speaker 3 16:35
I called up in May, I think it was May 14. It's May 14 into the tank, or down at Farm bro, where I found one of those two other people, funny enough, from the film business. You know, can you remember who they were? Well, I remember Pat Willie was one. I one. I was a fellow called Bill Watson who, funnily enough, had been working for rank on religious films. So I don't know whether they thought that we were sort of tank materials. Anyway. So did complete of a training in the film, in the tank corps. Didn't see any action. At the end of the training, we were we were asked whether we wanted to be drivers or gunners. So I said driver. The following week, all the gunners were in Egypt, and all the drivers were up. Another training, an officers training unit up in acting as drivers for the cadets, you know, and tank drivers and that sort of thing, which is so I was there a while, and then told holding Dickinson started the production side of the AKs army, kinematic red society service, which was originally formed as form an entertainment branch for the army of projecting films and things. They had units used to go around with mobile projectors, around all, I mean, abroad and everything, but Seoul started the production unit and asked me if I joined him. So they applied for applied for me to get a transfer, which eventually came through, after a bit of a hassle from my colony officer didn't particularly say think that was the right thing to do. But anyway, we got it through. So I joined them at Wendy, the old Wendy studios there which the headquarters i.
