Birth Of A Statue (1961)

St John's Wood, London. In his studio we see sculptor Dr Arthur Fleischmann working on a statue of St Francis of Assisi. The Doctor looks rather eccentric in a blue smock and yellow bobble hat. The statue is seen in clay, then a plaster mould is applied by the Doctor and his assistant. The dried plaster is removed in sections. In a foundry at Battersea various shots show further stages of the statue. Bronze is melted in a pit furnace then several men lift the bronze container and pour the molten metal into a hole at the top of the mould. Various shots of Dr Fleischmann watching as metal caster Vincent Galizia cleans up the face and head of the statue; an older man wipes the lower part of the figure. L/S and M/S of the statue in place, halfway up the wall of the headquarters and library of a Franciscan order of monks in London; the street sign looks like 'Willow Place'. L/S shows some monks strolling past the front of the building. Note: there is no print for this issue. Dr Fleischmann app