August 1, 2012
Life Magazine published a pictorial essay on REDES film on May 10, 1937. The film had just been released in the United States, some two years after its Mexican release. Both Gunther von Fritsch and Ned Scott reacted to this essay in letters, making the point that little recognition was given by Strand to the REDES film collaborators. They were both seized by a righteous fury. No mention was made of Ned, Fred Zinnemann, Henwar Rodakiewicz, Gunther or any of the Mexican contributors to the film.
The Life article described the published photographs as “some of the loveliest photographs ever to come out of Mexico or motion pictures.” It then went on to point out that “the photographer who produced The Wave (REDES film) is Paul Strand, one of the best U.S. cameramen alive.” A casual reader will make the assumption from reading these two lines that Paul Strand created the stills which fill the pages of the article. Only by checking the credits toward the end of the magazine pages will one find that Ned Scott made these photographs. But hardly anyone is likely to do such a search, especially when the writer of the article leaves the reader with the impression that Strand was the maker of the stills.
