'Veritas' Film Nears Completion

They capitalize on breaks down at Veritas Films, and with Spring bringing sunny days and warmer weather, the breaks are coming thick and fast.

President of the College's only film industry, William L. Alden '50, explains that the present shooting schedule is "plenty rugged," but that if the rains will hold off, the "Touch of the Times," Veritas' current production, may be finished by June.

And with the coming of Spring, preparations are underway for a timely filming of the movie's only love scene. Alden explains that this "tender bit of romanticism" will be immortalized on celluloid within the Boston Common when character "X" (male) kisses character "Y" (female). Theres no point in naming the stars, according to Alden, since the movie has no running dialogue.

Other outdoor scenes have already been shot this Spring, Alden continued, especially in the Charles slum district behind Scollay Square.

"The people down there certainly were cooperative. Only the cops gave us any trouble when we started gathering crowds," Alden said. When the representatives of Boston Law & Order discovered the subtle Harvard hand behind the movie-making, they grumbled, "Well you guys can be expected to do damn near anything." Then they proceeded to let Veritas alone. An earlier exploit was the shooting of a Keystone Cops scene in the Yard.

Requirements of the shooting schedule provided frequent opportunities for the gendarmes to raise a guestioning nightstick, but they stood by in quiet confusion as extras paraded a naked mannekin before the camera. "All part of the script," technicians explained.

Gnarled police mitts tightened around their billies when four limousines screeched to a halt in front of the director's critical eye. Satisfying neither the director nor the cops, beefy celluloid "capitalists' then piled in and out of their equipages all morning.

With the Veritas emphasis on fantasy, Alden said that the hilly Charles slum area was perfect. It's really rather quaint, with its cobblestone streets and local characters supplying more than enough of the proper atmosphere."

One of the biggest breaks giving Harvard moviemen a chance to crash into Ivy-League film circles, is a two page spread in a national magazine that will hit the newstands in August. "It may be the final boost we need," Alden added optimistically.