Fort George G. Meade: The First 100 Years

Hollywood's Here Again
THE EIGHTIES AND NINETIES
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The B-25 Mitchell bomber swooped low and landed
at Tipton Army Airfield here. A U.S. Navy R4D, better
known in its civilian configuration as a DC-3, soon
followed. Both WWII aircraft taxied and parked on the
tarmac in front of Hanger 84.
Scenes from 1942? Not exactly.
With several big-name stars, and an entourage of scores
of extras and some 22 vehicles, the movies came to Fort
Meade.
The result was a fleeting glance at how a film is put
together, during an afternoon which stretched into
evening, then into night as set and camera placement,
rehearsals and “takes” showed an order to what at first
appeared to be total chaos.
Topping the list of stars who arrive Aug. 18 for the oneday
shoot was Robert Mitchum who – yes, it has to be
said – looks the same in person as on the screen. Victoria
Tennant and Hart Bochner were co-stars in the scenes
filmed at Tipton.
The cause of all this was the shooting of several scenes
from the Dan Curtis Productions/ABC Circle Films
production of “War and Remembrance,” a sequel to the
ABC television mini-series “The Winds of War,” which
was aired several years ago.
Perhaps 100 spectators from Fort Meade, cordoned
off behind yellow police-line tape with not a bucket of
popcorn in sight, braved the heat and boredom of waiting
to catch a glimpse of the stars.
What most of the spectators learned was that the life
of a star, on the job at least, isn’t all glamor. Mitchum,
Tenant and Bochner endured several rehearsals followed
by what seemed like endless “takes” as they recited the
same lines, embraced the same embraces and acted out
the same emotions repeatedly.
As he stood in the 90-plus degree heat, on the tarmac
reflecting the sun, Mitchum waited with his co-stars as
cameras and reflectors were set up, repositioned, and
sound checks were made again and again. “Don’t hurry.
We’re all comfortable out here,” he sarcastically remarked.
Bochner was a little more direct. “I’m sweating like a pig
out here,” was his comment on the weather, as he wiped
By Larry Heslin
his face with a handkerchief before the cameras final
rolled.
Tipton AAF was chosen for the filming because the
production company needed a location where the hangers
bore a resemblance to the era in which the film is set,
WWII. The airfield, in fact, is supposed to be what is now
Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, around 1942.
Hanger 84 was used for more than just the backdrop for
filming. Just after arriving the stars, extras and production
crew sat eating a late lunch – inside the hanger. Mitchum
was in his tee shirt. Despite the setting, the menu wasn’t
bad; a choice of filet of swordfish or lasagna for the
entrée, with a fruit/vegetable salad buffet.
The repast was served from the dropdown side of a
food trailer, and overseen by executive chef Wayne Serbu,
based in Ontario, Canada, who just got finished doing the
same thing on a movie starring Burt Reynolds.
He’s been on movie sets for years so he isn’t exactly
star-struck. He had time to walk over to Tennant and ask
her to pose with a group of hopeful and anxious soldiers,
who put Serbu up to it.
The crew of the UH-1 Huey were soldiers from the U.S.
Army Reserve from Georgia, at Fort Meade for annual
training with the 11th Special Forces. Capt. Thomas M.
Penland, Warrent Officer 1 David Miles and Spc. Brian C.
Raynor were ecstatic when Tennant got up from her lunch
and joined them at their helicopter for the snapshot.
The stars had just arrived from shooting scenes at the
U.S. Naval Academy and had driven up in a caravan to
fort Meade; lunch was a brief respite.
Executive producer and director Dan Curtis got them
to work quickly afterward with makeup, setting up shots,
rehearsals and finally actual “takes.” Altogether, two
scenes involving Mitchum, Tennant and Bochner were
shot. The first involved Bochner, who plays Mitchum’s
son, arriving on a DC-3, called a R4D in the Navy at the
time, from the South Pacific. Mitchum and Tennant are
on hand to greet him. The second scene was shot inside
the aircraft, supposedly in flight in daylight. By the time
the scene got moving it was around 9 p.m. and dark. But,
true to the reputation, movie magic prevailed and the