Some of these pictures feature Peter locked in the middle of a table. Peter says –
“As I recall this was a Noel Coward play set on a cruise ship, directed by Jack Gold – can’t remember the title. Garth Tucker would have been the Camera Supervisor but was on leave so as his No 2, I took over the crew for the 3 days. The production, although a happy one, was beset with all kinds of problems mainly because they wanted a real wooden deck on which the whole set was built. Right from the start, this proved to be almost unworkable due to the creaking and groaning of the hardwood slats on which the 3 or 4 peds were moving (loads of linseed oil poured into the cracks helped a bit) Also the designer (bless him) had assured me in very arrogant terms that this deck would take the weight of a mole crane. I don’t think he included the weight of the three operators and camera and consequently as I was driven up the ramp onto the deck, one back wheel went straight through the floor. Lucky the chain was still on! The Mole crane was hauled out and abandoned (didn’t see the designer again).
Anyway, the table. Jack wanted a shot panning round all the people seated (forget how many) so we had the table made to accommodate lightweight camera and me as you can see. The camera had a cable, not a recorder so it was a bit tricky going 360 degrees – Johnny Longley ably assisting.”
