THIRTY THOUSAND MILES FOR THE FILMS . By Natalie Barkas
Mrs. Barkas was a member of the Gaumont-British unit which made the Indian scenes for Soldiers Three and the- African scenes for Rhodes of Africa. In this book (Blackie, rots. 6d.) she tells all about the fun they had. If fun is too flippant a word to describe the activities of a film-unit in the Khyber Pass and the Rhodesian bush it is the author's fault for writing about it in such a light-hearted way. She has produced a very readable book, • con- sidered either as a • travel-book or a behind-the-scenes story. The technical details of the planning and taking of shots of border fighting in India and of the Matabele war would be interesting however written. But _ Mrs. Barkas writes with the same cool impudence with which dignified British army officers and unimaginative-and often extremely rude—soldiers were coaxed into dressing up_ and acting warfare with the very tribesmen they often have to deal with more seriously. She admits that, as is usual in the film industry, much of the work was wasted. Her account of it deserves a better fate.
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