News on Screen

Ian Struthers was born in Argentina, and educated in Switzerland, Germany, and England. He entered the film industry in 1933 as a clapper-boy at Sound City, and subsequently worked with G.B. Instructional and Liberty, and also on travel and industrial films shot in Africa and the West Indies. After the outbreak of war in 1939 he worked in a factory, and spent a year in the Ministry of Information, before joining British Paramount News as a war correspondent in 1942. Struthers served in North Africa with the 2nd Army, and then in Sicily and Italy, filming with a Newman-Sinclair camera. In June 1943 his material was used in ''MALTA IN REVERSE’ - PANTELLERIA’S ECLIPSE’ in British Movietone News No.733, and in ‘SICILIAN VICTORIES’ in No.740 from August 1943. In October 1943 Struthers was listed among the eight cameramen and two sound engineers on Paramount’s London staff, but he was noted as with the 8th Army in Southern Italy.

In June 1944, as part of Paramount’s coverage of D-Day, Struthers and Henry Hawkins [qv] filmed scenes around Westminster for ‘INVASION! - THE SECOND FRONT OPENS AT LAST’ in British Paramount News No.1385. Struthers afterwards filmed the Allied advance through France. In July 1944, using a DeVry and a Newman, he filmed the liberation of Caen, noting on his dopesheet that he was sorry not to have filmed more ‘but our jeep was perforated by a shell which rather held things up’: ‘Also a sniper had two pots at us!' His footage was included in ‘THE NOOSE TIGHTENS’ in British Paramount News No.1396. In August 1944 Struthers filmed General De Gaulle’s triumphant entry into Paris, noting that he ‘waliked down the Champs Elysees behind four tanks of the Le Clerc Division’: ‘The photographers and the rabble was unbelievable. The crowds ran riot and everybody got very excited.' The footage appeared in ‘THE PARIS STORY’ in British Paramount News No.1409. In September 1944 Struthers’ material appeared in ‘FORWARD INTO GERMANY’ in British Movietone News No.799, and in ‘THE THRUST INTO HOLLAND’ in No.799A. He was then sent to Denmark, and his footage appeared in ‘DANISH DEFIANCE’ in British Movietone News No.805A of November 1944. He then returned to Holland and Belgium, and filmed the advance to Berlin in 1945.

By May 1945 Struthers was back with Paramount, for whom he filmed in liberated Denmark and Norway for ‘DENMARK AND NORWAY HAIL THE BRITISH’ in British Paramount News No.1484. In June 1945 he filmed in Berlin for ‘IKE, MONTY AND ZHUKOV ZONE REICH’ in No.1491, and in September 1945 he filmed the Belsen trial, alongside Ken Gordon [qv] of Pathe, for ‘GALLOWS LOOM OVER BELSEN’ in British Paramount News No.1521. However, in 1947 Struthers left Paramount to join Rayant Pictures at Wembly Studios as director of photography. In December 1947 Struthers was also credited in the camera team that filmed ‘THE ROYAL WEDDING’ for British Movietone News No.964. In 1954 Struthers became a freelance lighting cameraman on television productions and feature films. During this time he is credited as cameraman for ‘SHOULD WE KILL THE SEALS?', an issue of the colour cinemagazine Look At Life, Issue No.461, released in 1968. Struthers remained in the film industry until 1983.

Sources

BUFVC, British Paramount News files, Issue Number 1563 (Paramount ‘Daily Assignment Sheet,' 12/10/1943), Number 1396 (Struthers’ dopesheets, 10/6/1944), Number 1409 (Struthers’ dopesheet, 28/8/1944), Number 1521 (Struthers’ dopesheet, 18/9/1945), NR 15080 (February 1946): P. Noble (ed) ‘British Film Yearbook 1949-50’ (London, 1949), p.687: J. Ballantyne (ed) ‘Researcher’s Guide to British Newsreels: Vol.III’ (1993), p.76: NoS Number 350651; Look At Life Number 461; Year released 1968.