In one of the night scenes where the cavalry rides along the river, the trees on the bank show up almost white. The only way that would be possible is filming with IR film, in my opinion. Or does some-one have another idea?
Dan.
FotoFilmVideo
Production Services in Spain
According to Maureen O'Hara and Harry Carey Jr, this was the process used for at least part of this film. If you can get the special edition DVD, it's in the mini-documentary edition.
Good catch!!
I don't act...I react. John Wayne
It is possible that a deep red filter was used along with underexposure to make it look like night when the film was actually shot during the day. It is a process we call "day for night".
Of course, with color filming or video, we can no longer use red filters, just underexposure.
I'm watching the movie right now on Movies!, the new over-the-air TV network. Maureen O'Hara is scrubbing clothes in a wash bucket. Maybe the night scene you mentioned will come up soon.
UPDATE: OK, the scenes were just on.
1. Cpl. Tyree was headed back from Mexico and was crossing the river. The scene cuts between a regular "day for night" shot and an infrared. It is quite obvious because the trees switch from black to white depending on the cuts.
2. The soldiers are moving along the river on their way to try to rescue the children. Once again the trees are white - an artifact of the use of infrared film which requires a deep red filter.
Also, if you look closely you can see that the uniforms of the soldiers are not dark when the shot is made using infrared, they are medium grey.
Terry Thomas
Cinematographer
Director of Photography
Film Unit Stills Photographer
Atlanta, Georgia USA
www.imdb.com/name/nm1669504/board/thread/100119963
www.TerryThomasPhotos.com
Holy crap.
A post on imdb message boards that's not only factual and informative, it's authoritative by a genuine expert in the field.
This literally just made my day.