F E (Ernie) Diamond

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IGNORE FIRST FEW SECONDS OF SPEECH

Sid Cole  1:43  
this copyright interview for the back to history project of Ernie diamond, carpenter and then construction manager. We've been conducted by Sidney Cole and Colin Sorenson. On Tuesday, February the eighth 1994. Ernie, when we were born, and

Ernie Diamond  2:07  
21st of may 1908. Oh, that's the same year as me. Oh, that's a bit earlier. So you are a bit older than me. And then what would your schooling like you went to the ordinary elementary school.

Sid Cole  0:03  
grada what your films were, at some point, Colin will come in because he wants to ask you a lot of detail about actual construction and his right to call your construction managers

Unknown Speaker  0:17  
as a as a contracting entity, because she's black, she became a construction Academy when I was assisting construction manager Jeff Jones. Yeah, we've

Sid Cole  0:30  
tried both

Unknown Speaker  0:32  
system. Yeah. And then number one, number two,

Ernie Diamond  0:39  
monitor your system construction manager. Yeah, if you put it that way, right.

Unknown Speaker  0:43  
started as a carpenter. A carpenter mechanic charge and then supervisor 19.

Sid Cole  0:53  
Awaiting to save it until we're in

Unknown Speaker  0:58  
1926? Not really. When we started, equipment was the night that when Mr. splendorous strike made the

Ernie Diamond  1:08  
first and I don't remember I was it's

Unknown Speaker  1:11  
26 2006 It was my first one could not recording. No, yeah. Yeah, no, it's very safe.

Sid Cole  1:20  
Can you hear me? Yeah. Well, it's good. I didn't know that. I was because I need to have to put something on the front. Okay, we'll put you outside again. That

Unknown Speaker  1:28  
always was the beginning. Can you?

Sid Cole  1:33  
Let me get my fleeting thought is

Unknown Speaker  2:20  
I went out and seek school in Kensington when I was 12 years older, and we rented a brand new devil. I missed a scholarship to go to a grammar school, whatever, in those days. And then I had four years at Western Central School Addison road and other add a previous to that. Artists difficut for for good work from Allen street for every year is give you a book that Nipa minimal came on I couldn't afford the books and they gave us tickets or she'll still go up and coming back to four years at West Country so I said it was for undergoes and for on the poorest West Kensington.

Sid Cole  3:11  
Now that Central School was very largely a craft school.

Unknown Speaker  3:16  
Now I had both my bursary which did you do manual did manual manual and I was like Secretary work know that. Because I was gotten to stick for dogs you know, frankly, because I was playing football.

Unknown Speaker  3:33  
Were you any good at football.

Unknown Speaker  3:35  
I was catching that time for the town of four years. I ran the football teams and then a school divided at a shield football shield. And there was promises to be a different house as Romans Saxons will be about six different different caps Norris and we used to go on a Wednesday to pump out about 10 footballs and go up to Rome was grabs with 10 teams playing football on a Wednesday. Anyway coming back to but I left there. My father asked me what I wanted to do. I couldn't go play football alpha nearly at the trough Queens Park Rangers and whatever that fancy that My name is dependency that

Sid Cole  4:31  
was too unsure. Well,

Unknown Speaker  4:32  
I wasn't. We father said to me, she said that. 35 years depression gone. So I said what about your trade desk should be thought of as a carpenter. And the grandfather was a carpenter. And his house it was a bit rough isn't the kind of work and a bit outside. I said Among assembly uncles in the cabinet making factory making grammar phones. So I went down so my uncle and the fathers and the boys did you have to get through them. So now the first year from say, I'm saying now the second, six bits and now the third. And that didn't appeal to me.

Ernie Diamond  5:23  
So I wasn't very good even for those days

Unknown Speaker  5:24  
was well, you know, anyway, so

Unknown Speaker  5:28  
where was the factory making the gramophone

Unknown Speaker  5:30  
part right? act. Anyway, so they said well, you can go and improve. So what is an improvement? And

Unknown Speaker  5:41  
what is an improvement mean? What does it mean?

Unknown Speaker  5:45  
You're not tied down. You're not tied down to apprenticeships. Anyway or within two, three years I was earning with making seven grammar fans. bourbon Allah please. Well, then the finish. nine, seven grammar phones we work Saturdays, Sundays are never on a Saturday because I play football and is to burn three pound, three pound tensioners a week. That's as much my father was earning practically more. So what year would that be wrapping that up be?

Unknown Speaker  6:29  
2426 24 to 36. Because general strike came after and I was broken on that. And I don't know I was sitting outside and the Brothers Band used to collect all the props for the studio work. Your brother the brother did that as a transport. So it was in one special studio or the creative studios. And I was sitting there and they're doing the general stuff and MasterCard and the candidates. Would you win the job and he says I can't get carpenters. I said now so they've done a good job in there to rough the mouse on the cabinetmaker in the hair. Anyways is coming he's coming out three times to save me. So since we're going to give him two days, we're going to film called Boadicea.

Ernie Diamond  7:21  
Xiong studios,

Unknown Speaker  7:23  
style Studio crickley Richard Stelzer extends run most of them sell studios, so I want you to make 100 spears. I suppose that is a piece of dow with a spike on the end, is it I said, Oh, come in anyway.

Sid Cole  7:43  
Julian Rp wantedly rp was wages. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker  7:46  
But on a show. I managed money straight away. When I present me an hour 48 hour away. And I think I came away with after taxes payoff. For pound for pound for shillings, which is good money

Sid Cole  8:04  
was better than you had been good.

Unknown Speaker  8:06  
Anyway, yes. Anyway, so after completing I finished that film and

Ernie Diamond  8:16  
remodel. What else did you do on that film apart from the experience,

Unknown Speaker  8:20  
nights the shares? shields here is a plywood bent round shaped. And the first insight senior film studio was there's about I suppose about 30 scantily clad girls running around the battlefield with a big fella with a whip. didn't change often.

Sid Cole  8:45  
So you decided you're going to stick in?

Ernie Diamond  8:56  
What do you remember about that studio apart from the scantily clad young

Unknown Speaker  8:59  
ladies?

Ernie Diamond  9:01  
I mean, what did it look like?

Unknown Speaker  9:04  
It's just a frame, no samples. Nothing.

Sid Cole  9:07  
Well, they hadn't got sound yet. And

Unknown Speaker  9:10  
it had been an aircraft factory

Sid Cole  9:11  
installed.

Unknown Speaker  9:12  
I've got photographs out of all these counters. There's

Ernie Diamond  9:18  
quite a big stage. Yes, when I wasn't. I remember.

Unknown Speaker  9:21  
Wilcox do dhungana stockings

Sid Cole  9:25  
and pink so yes, I think

Unknown Speaker  9:28  
they were lots of different sets.

Ernie Diamond  9:31  
But you pretty bad for me very bad boy. That was a George Pearson was the

Unknown Speaker  9:35  
test nemesis. George Pearson. Pearson not so not now. Okay. Next step is to admit to Joe's peers

Ernie Diamond  9:41  
that I suppose you didn't have a great deal as a cat and you didn't have a great deal of contact with the directors and actors and people did you all do

Unknown Speaker  9:49  
most of the time movies? Not at that time. Not at that time now.

Ernie Diamond  9:53  
You know where I can't remember wherever the comedy shops and stalls in the back and went back In the back, back back where the where the laboratory was.

Unknown Speaker  10:06  
barter. Yeah. Because he went out into a narrow, narrow studio is tucked in that. Yeah. So try a big a big run Running Man there would approve underneath it on stage on top of it, and then you won't round as you burn up to top road as a narrow studio. And in those days no machinery that was really electric staff. No, it was all hand down. All the streets are what we call sweet. So, Nathan, we made the maker church growing with thee. And that was all done by hand of a person named Yvonne

Sid Cole  10:42  
who, who is a chap in charge of

Unknown Speaker  10:44  
construction will have a shop I tell them. Well, the first one who was in charge was was on it. 26 I think I'll come back to that.

Sid Cole  10:59  
Yeah, I can't get into that.

Unknown Speaker  11:02  
Yet gonna say, Tony, you said we got put off your film with figures. So I went back for a period. Like 26 went back to the uncle carrying on with cabinet making and insurance and all the telegram tells me to come back to him to start with some studios. And he would actually be a runaway master. Yeah. I think it was.

Ernie Diamond  11:37  
Probably Yeah, but I don't remember.

Unknown Speaker  11:39  
Find Mr. Golden master carpenter. The boss. And I don't remember the whole Oh, yes. Yes. Yes, Frodo. Frodo was presenting the master carpenter and the redone. I was at 27. Two years I spent 2728. We were at our ours growth centre. And I had to marry cars during that time. That six navy blue says 50 suits. That's about 66 fit fittings to each suit. And he's 1010 Tintin diver Sue. And

Ernie Diamond  12:29  
was having the days of burden was that

Unknown Speaker  12:33  
burden says yeah, 5055 tires. And then

Ernie Diamond  12:39  
the cars How much did the cars cost? Well, this second hand,

Unknown Speaker  12:42  
I bought my first car into like 26 when I first 40 pounds future, and a five horsepower Peugeot. And it has done 5000 revs a minute. And finish that will begin coming through to some that was the end of that. And then in 3728 to 27 I bought the Norris for see a tour with a cup Hold on. It

Unknown Speaker  13:13  
didn't quite a lot of people working at the studios by cars. I mean, were they one might say a little bit better made than the

Unknown Speaker  13:20  
average carpenter. And that cost me now and he found that he bought a new car founder Navy. And that was stupid enough to know it used to be that

Ernie Diamond  13:31  
well, you get a lot of overtime in those days.

Unknown Speaker  13:34  
Yeah, it must be done. You got paid overtime. Oh, yes. Yes.

Ernie Diamond  13:38  
What was the sort of brain Do you remember?

Unknown Speaker  13:41  
Tom timing off for the first two hours. And then Tom weekends.

Ernie Diamond  13:49  
And if you're working those all those hours as you said you did? Do you remember knew the names of any of the films during 27 and 28? The films The films that were abundant was one of all Kane subjects.

Unknown Speaker  14:05  
Did you work on shooting stars with Asquith?

Unknown Speaker  14:08  
I can't remember that.

Unknown Speaker  14:08  
Did you drive to work in the car? Yeah, where did you park it? Outside just outside in the street?

Unknown Speaker  14:15  
Oh, there's no parking. There's no car park. No, nothing just parked in the street?

Ernie Diamond  14:22  
Because you couldn't, there was plenty of room because there weren't anything like the number of cars. So what did you do on 228?

Unknown Speaker  14:33  
Did you know that the sack started as a vote from frivolous do the next morning to Lime Grove? gamma break 20 I was I think the first tokens can remember right?

Ernie Diamond  14:49  
The NIH 29 I would say even

Unknown Speaker  14:53  
20 I ended up working at soundproof glass. Last year guys glass you soundproof the glass house. Yeah. Standard Lime Grove made the three bid to start in major sections about 10 foot square lead with what I call RF in celotex. And that was holed up stood around another and fixing the balls in sections

Unknown Speaker  15:17  
not that stuffing sort of wire bags and

Unknown Speaker  15:21  
it was a cheap take before so that takes its invite today actually really, really put it on for you on a pin match to

Unknown Speaker  15:36  
get short journey I was there first room that night? hydrating our trays and poetry and drawers. And I'll tell you, the master carton in those days was Percy snow. Oh, yes, I remember no sons are still about today. Yeah, they're still in the business is that they're still on is from going from now.

Ernie Diamond  16:05  
I think there is a you know, a point currently. What was the union position in those days? Where

Unknown Speaker  16:13  
are you in the Yes, journey in sickness, sickness sickness dance Nova or payroll if phase. I do get branch boss that really needs students working during the war. We had an error message after 10 o'clock at night that we might have went over. I was doing an aircraft with a red I forget what it may have called. And we added the Parker Ria gun complete sent into us and restricts dipsticks down underneath and there is pregnant that's. That's on. On to our wooden frame. A man got cross me when we come out. Everybody's got Phil soon. There's about half a dozen more 10 guys because it was and we came out about tense five to 10 us worship boys are not there. You clock out Coronavirus 10. We've got Brian for Corbin now. Yeah. Yeah. And that was finical boo Vegas. Oh, and I remember that he bill Vegas. Already was. It was it was the last man we enjoyed. And the first one out the gate. Yeah, yeah.

Ernie Diamond  17:31  
I went I was just going ahead a bit. Yeah, yeah. No, I just wanted to know about the human situation. So how long were you did you stay at Lime Grove?

Unknown Speaker  17:43  
ternary. Oh, now when the when the after that. Until 1009 is 30. On the built we build it up a little bit in there. Now not 29 turning into an anonymous thing now.

Ernie Diamond  18:05  
The 1930s I remember was the 1930s they were basil Dean was shooting exteriors in Hyde Park. So you weren't very low Wembley.

Unknown Speaker  18:19  
Now night, one film just came over. For the old gang when we went out. We went to Wembley and Janka pyrrha

Sid Cole  18:30  
Oh, yeah. Something. City of song.

Unknown Speaker  18:33  
I've still got photographs. As a workshop,

Unknown Speaker  18:37  
what was the company Wembley in flux?

Unknown Speaker  18:40  
It's very centrally focused.

Unknown Speaker  18:43  
And present in the old part of the old exhibition ground or on the front, a new building? is still there now.

Unknown Speaker  18:50  
Yeah, it's a new building, then.

Unknown Speaker  18:52  
Yes. Shouting is still there. Because if you look above the top is to Fox. Is that right? Yeah.

Ernie Diamond  18:59  
Because the film was made that was a stone wall studios film, in fact, was released at Sinclair Hill, the director on it called the first message praiser was made at Wembley in 19 3031. Could I ask whether that

Unknown Speaker  19:17  
was a studio built as a studio or converted part of the Wembley exhibition?

Sid Cole  19:22  
I don't I think it was built as

Unknown Speaker  19:24  
a studio. Pretty sure it was. exhibition came afterwards. So 24

Ernie Diamond  19:30  
Yeah, yeah. So it might have been but my impression is and But anyhow, you'd have to check it. Yes, I would. I was it'd be interesting to know. My impression is it was built as a studio.

Unknown Speaker  19:42  
So you went to Wembley

Unknown Speaker  19:43  
very long. No.

Unknown Speaker  19:47  
See? Yeah, the bom bom film, and we all came down. We did you have what we call a Florida versus Hey, He went he copied

Ernie Diamond  20:03  
it. Yeah, go to the foreigner. renter

Unknown Speaker  20:09  
went in the studio and set up an ad set figure for it. That was that was studios. Don't buy groceries. Oh, yes. That was Sinclair.

Unknown Speaker  20:21  
Yeah. That was that

Unknown Speaker  20:26  
was too large Sarazen is two hours. It was studios. Yeah. I don't know which I can't remember which one it was. dark red roses was a

Ernie Diamond  20:33  
big success. It was before my time. So it must have been dark red roses must have been about 1929. Any after Wembley, you went to? Yeah. He went to Ealing up to Wembley.

Unknown Speaker  20:51  
Yes. Started on there. They just as the workshops we laid out or workshops out put the game three out in the workshop.

Ernie Diamond  21:05  
This was actually building the studio.

Unknown Speaker  21:07  
Yeah. And actually building that wasn't filming in those building. Because Stan stands out. Instead of EDA, he was an engineer, wasn't he? That's right. Yeah. You put the you put the big

Ernie Diamond  21:29  
because that was interesting. A special interest to UConn and I think in building an even history. Oh, yeah.

Unknown Speaker  21:35  
Yeah, well, the deliverables I was told was built a call around for the soundproof on the foundations. on call, I remember the you can shut the doors even at a county or a car outside.

Unknown Speaker  21:51  
I remember they put the big dynamos on two rubber bands on on a big rubber base because I was there when they took the dynamos out for the last time because we filmed

Unknown Speaker  22:01  
edited after they cut the whole wall away again, because they had

Unknown Speaker  22:05  
to we took them out and we filmed it with stop action with a stop action camera so that when you joined up they actually came out. But the thing that fascinated me about the soundstage at Ealing was the roofing because the walls are very very thin almost any one brick thick and thin but that's that roof on stage two Is it the biggest or was a slight slightly arched in fact it's made out of some kind of pillows more you tell me about it.

Unknown Speaker  22:36  
I'll tell you why. And tell you that's my because during the war we ended December he bumped up on that and caused I put it back and put it back again. No Baxter is down on on a expanding mill. And then some of that you got this strange patter score mostro all solid strong, pack together the pack together. And importantly we found out the guy yeah. And then I Asheville, Asheville roof.

Unknown Speaker  23:10  
I know when you walk on it, it feels a little bit elastic. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker  23:13  
I walked

Unknown Speaker  23:14  
on that roof and it's stronger than Yeah, what is missing? You see? It's really I can aeroplanes. We know what it's like to see because the walls couldn't take anyway.

Unknown Speaker  23:25  
Now that's true.

Ernie Diamond  23:28  
So Mattel told us more about the building of the studio, as you remember. Is that was that really there's only

Unknown Speaker  23:35  
one went up there that then that breakdown most or interior fit in June. So putting the doors out know all that and we maintain the benches, the work benches and all the equipment running for the office

Unknown Speaker  23:52  
down. Remember who designed it? Do you remember if there was an architect coming around saying no. I never know.

Unknown Speaker  23:57  
Because then that we're used to it most

Ernie Diamond  24:03  
people seem to be in charge of everything. I

Unknown Speaker  24:04  
think in those days because they built a crane. There's a man called Atkins. And the first clients ever built was their country. Because in the car is a car powerhouse in the top of the match in the car tourism that is never painted on the wall. goal posts in the garden there. The team is a studio with a team spirit.

Ernie Diamond  24:31  
Oh, that one? Yes. That was a lap down the ages. That was a lap down the ages. The Dream Team was to do with a team spirit. Because when Charles Kroc was being interviewed on television recently, he said that was nonsense. We weren't a team spirit at all.

Unknown Speaker  24:55  
But that put that was put there by basil been before Bolton that

Unknown Speaker  24:59  
was that was Have a casual day and yeah

Unknown Speaker  25:04  
there's a whole range of

Ernie Diamond  25:05  
possible any So did you stay from an evening from then on? Yeah, yeah.

Unknown Speaker  25:20  
Now where it was changeover and we got a sec 3830 I went to Parliament. Oh,

Ernie Diamond  25:33  
my Margo jacket because no new changeover and that was when Balkan came in I think so yeah

Unknown Speaker  25:38  
they shut down Sunday and they shut down and I was beginning today Yeah, you bet yours came back into it.

Unknown Speaker  25:51  
And your Jeff Did it

Unknown Speaker  25:54  
ever worked on Pygmalion Aha. The first Pygmalion Andrea. Was it Profumo they

Ernie Diamond  26:04  
might have moved thinking thinking of Barry option who was married to perfume

Unknown Speaker  26:10  
she wasn't in that film. Now. It was Wendy Hiller

Ernie Diamond  26:13  
Wendy Hiller was in there

Unknown Speaker  26:15  
was Gabrielle Pascal,

Unknown Speaker  26:16  
who's who's not a director and a producer on that Pascal capital because he had his wife in the film as nicely as Chris

Unknown Speaker  26:28  
asked him to lead to heart directive, didn't they? But no, no,

Ernie Diamond  26:32  
no one won't be associated with not

Unknown Speaker  26:37  
proceeded to nag him and his early age we got we got a sack we finished Pygmalion. And we were fed out was fed out then. But am I afraid to send the master carpenter at Pinewood the primer is always days out there

Unknown Speaker  26:55  
when you've moved from Ealing to pine or did you get the job because you've got in touch with an old mate as it were? Did

Unknown Speaker  27:00  
you do you know, ring, ring outside? up at a pretty good name in the business? I just ran across the networks before I start and I see so I've always been, I've never been out of work and we laugh films are moved from one film to another.

Ernie Diamond  27:16  
And you must have earned yourself a good reputation to earn income being the good work man and all that counts in such a small industry really.

Unknown Speaker  27:29  
I even took that were made to into Grenada. First out four years ago nada.

Ernie Diamond  27:39  
But how long did you stay for a long, long time when you went back to Ealing? 39

Unknown Speaker  27:48  
got a book and marked all the films. And you didn't bring it with us now. Anyway,

Unknown Speaker  27:54  
I've got I've got it.

Unknown Speaker  27:54  
I wrote it down here.

Sid Cole  27:57  
Now when you ask, Colin, you ask, Well, I've

Unknown Speaker  28:00  
just got the phone. I've got the list of the films of the films that he some of the films he worked on it evening. You can I ask you a bit early about the contact you had with the art department building the sets and things did you work

Unknown Speaker  28:15  
particularly for and mostly Jim Monahan

Unknown Speaker  28:18  
at Ealing? Yeah.

Unknown Speaker  28:21  
It probably couldn't get on with Tom erratic.

Sid Cole  28:26  
They're very different from German. Normal, so different. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker  28:33  
Did you work? Did you work fairly closely? I mean, what about somebody like William Kellner?

Unknown Speaker  28:37  
You remember him?

Unknown Speaker  28:39  
He had very, very nice person to work for you. And Michael

Unknown Speaker  28:41  
Ralph. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker  28:47  
Marc Benioff used to work there. bezel didn't pencil do. Yeah.

Ernie Diamond  28:53  
Duncan Sutherland drunken 79 which, unfortunately,

Unknown Speaker  29:01  
is not that early interval one. Versus You see, that's a question of, you know, where to probably fall on the Instagram six. And I still got six F. Because I was on not on Santa Metro, or down that ship, you know. And now the bomber was around. And he come in. It was very married. It's not that they're not ours. I'm gonna do your bloody cells

Unknown Speaker  29:33  
that you were doing during the war? Yeah. All the way through. Because you were working at Ealing? No.

Unknown Speaker  29:42  
No, no. Also the boys go one by one and it came down to juice bar. Asked the carpenter. Gavin Watson, our chubby is and myself. So next time less for me to go and don't limit you. was going to come nice sorry oh nice new good and bad news for years and we mean I've got good news also there's not another unusual in this day and age This is a good news he said we'll come back in the fall nice down black studio out. You've been deferred for the war to the war.

Ernie Diamond  30:24  
Or you thought you were going to say that you were a mainland reserved occupation but didn't apply to carpenters you know, the Rihanna thing if you were if you were 30 or older you could be deferred if you're on the grounds of you know being you're doing work No, no

Unknown Speaker  30:45  
No, no, I was I wasn't I was I say

Ernie Diamond  30:51  
yes you were Yeah, we were

Unknown Speaker  30:54  
What was it like working at hearing during the war? Can you remember? How did you get there during the war? I mean with no car and seeing where do you weigh Where were you living at that time?

Unknown Speaker  31:08  
And then I brought me on now soon. Nice three No, I don't know I'd add me so I must be first of all, I'd have committed suicide Yeah. Yeah. Now try is wild. Just lay down the government when you sleep and coming out the end of the war it was not in yet. Because the foreign we are sending Jack's COVID those 4545

Unknown Speaker  31:43  
I remember you telling me once about how you were told to save wood and to hammer the nails flat again during we

Unknown Speaker  31:49  
always do that but yeah, we've ADHD those have always done that

Unknown Speaker  31:53  
what before the war

Unknown Speaker  31:56  
war during the war but it's always been a recommends the Ignace in the war. And his two foot long was cleaned and put in a wreck and used to him salvage timber because that gave him right into they can be done. So where are you going to start with a bit of money? You could put it on the other ones? Yes,

Unknown Speaker  32:15  
it was it was a process you were making lots of films one after the

Unknown Speaker  32:18  
other. That was a big deal and that was the

Ernie Diamond  32:22  
only studio that was doing it again. Well, I suppose go might work but last time I went and filmed at Pinewood well why not be mostly

Unknown Speaker  32:31  
renters firstly

Ernie Diamond  32:34  
but evening on the Balkan was making its own was making evening films could keep regular stuff

Unknown Speaker  32:41  
and you actually had to collect up the nails and hammer them straight again. Oh, yeah.

Unknown Speaker  32:46  
Oh, no, no, no. No, no. So much that now. That was on Berra, Berra Berra when you're on Barry.

Unknown Speaker  32:56  
Under straightener. Now a king whiskey was Oh, because you couldn't get any more nails you

Unknown Speaker  33:02  
any basepaws people have existed out there. There I didn't know they existed. Those four or five shops? And how did

Unknown Speaker  33:17  
you get the apprentices? Did you train apprentices? Do you have apprentices?

Unknown Speaker  33:21  
Wherever you were there? You know is it just climate matthijs in the air Now coming back from them is in the air now. Coming back today?

Unknown Speaker  33:32  
One of your apprentices

Unknown Speaker  33:35  
who said line thinking ready was Carpenter It was our premise because he back in those days know plenty eating be lucky you got plenty of car bucket of tea and have a bucket but I didn't have a canteen for the start and never stop working.

Unknown Speaker  33:56  
So what happened about I mean, what did you do for food? It just

Unknown Speaker  33:59  
sat on the bed so you brought it with you you'd bring own sandwiches with sit on the bench did with a bucket for a couple to get the boy Penny?

Unknown Speaker  34:07  
When was that all the way through the time? You were there? At the beginning 1930 Oh yeah. When

Ernie Diamond  34:13  
when the studio was built? Yeah,

Unknown Speaker  34:16  
but after that you had a county? Oh, yeah.

Ernie Diamond  34:18  
Yeah. Oh, yes. Because it was quite a good one. When what film you thought you're going to go through

Unknown Speaker  34:23  
the well any any it's got a list here of the films he worked on. You seem to have worked at the beginning. Did you work on films like Lorna doone

Unknown Speaker  34:32  
now was not that easy? I was on another one. So

Unknown Speaker  34:35  
were you on Mr. Midshipman? Is he the one? Yes. You were on that? Because they built that ship up in the sky? Yes, right. Cool. Teddy

Unknown Speaker  34:44  
character, correct. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker  34:46  
he designed that is a great guy. Yeah, great day.

Ernie Diamond  34:50  
We've already interviewed him, you know, down in

Unknown Speaker  34:55  
sort of princes Risborough somewhere

Ernie Diamond  35:00  
writing his memoirs, and we had a long time because he knew everybody. And because he's the grandson of Ellen Terry, the actress. Yes, we'll admit it. I edited Midshipman easy.

Unknown Speaker  35:14  
Did you know it's built up in the scanner

Ernie Diamond  35:19  
to be taking about the seamless sky not not shooting indoors,

Unknown Speaker  35:27  
with full carpenters out from this kind of procedure.

Unknown Speaker  35:33  
I've got some lovely photographs of the lady down in the garden, the house at the back, standing with our hands on our hips looking up at the sky with these cannon going up there and, and you had Harry Tate and Roger Lindsay and people standing in this ship for Margaret Lockwood.

Ernie Diamond  35:50  
That's right. Huey green extreme is going green agreements.

Unknown Speaker  35:55  
But then you did you work on any of the greasy fields films that were easily made?

Unknown Speaker  36:01  
Because coming to that when the first studio was finished now the block over area wasn't smear ground. Well, that's the first set for looking on a BI service bill.

Unknown Speaker  36:16  
Oh, yeah, that was that near that where the chestnut tree was right at the side of it? Because there was a chestnut tree there wasn't it that's what you built the when you built the ship

Unknown Speaker  36:27  
the other out that was on the lot see Ross that I mean he has a studio name is a blank spot where his second stage was the model stage went eventually didn't get the model stage where they noticed

Sid Cole  36:44  
where the ship where the ship set.

Unknown Speaker  36:47  
Yeah, that was a clever thing that model can good. Joe speller was a very clever construction manager. But he didn't get recognised by the IRS a fool to himself. You know, he never got paid for what he should have. You know, I mean,

Ernie Diamond  37:05  
because he invented that thing but moving objects around.

Unknown Speaker  37:08  
You got a photograph and suggest one that says it towards you. Yeah. And I've got a lot of stills from my favourite picture.

Sid Cole  37:26  
Controversy to say

Unknown Speaker  37:30  
he burned a lot in his temper Run. Run the federal romney's still department obviously. I would have been wasn't it was

Ernie Diamond  37:42  
come back to minimalist gym. Somebody newly

Unknown Speaker  37:46  
gingerly. Yes, yeah. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Because one day he went back on the break. It was too he burned what the stills? stills? Yeah. But there's not missing now. stills because it is well received. But however, these bees can these keep these I was.

Unknown Speaker  38:07  
They'll be hard on that lawn. Now,

Ernie Diamond  38:13  
I didn't remember that about Dooley being so angry. No, I don't remember that. Yeah. I don't know exactly when that was. I don't know what it was. But it might have been your See, I didn't go to healing myself until 1942. I mean, to say, I'd been there before the war. So it might have been the beginning of the war. And then it was another storm in place. So one more film mentioned simple Well,

Unknown Speaker  38:43  
the list would seem to include virtually everything that one remembers kind hearts and coronets. You worked on champagne, Charlie. Yeah. Do you remember the search for some of the sets for that convoy? convoy? vanderwaal. I mean, you built the there was a replica of the titfield Thunderbolt wasn't there. Which you build?

Unknown Speaker  39:06  
Yeah. Which was done that was taken outside the Museum at

Unknown Speaker  39:10  
South Kensington.

Unknown Speaker  39:12  
Imperial imperialism, as I remember. Charged crime wasn't it?

Ernie Diamond  39:18  
Yeah, it is. I don't know why do you know why know why Charles did that because on another film that we made called against the wind work on that potentially will now leave we shot the same place down at exactly the same line gender It was a street in Brussels. Nobody ever queried. It was interesting.

Unknown Speaker  39:44  
If you know those steps outside the museum, yeah, there's a flight steps. There's a platform, isn't it? Yeah. And then some more steps. But allow us to at five o'clock will allow logo. Tick fills that loudly. And I'll put a written shoe on the inside. We laid it down on stage as myself the other person thanks because I had to get over that. If it had gone in there we'd go over it but now that the level of number two's put the track them correctly, it's always in burnout. So, Joseph, you ready? I now said, Yeah, okay, everything's ready. So you're on the back end on the winch because we let it down so and comes up with track. This is what's about as good as we're willing to tell that crowd to mine it. Don't bother me at all. There's no money in my account. They're doing it. Anyway. There's a really bad job and

Unknown Speaker  41:04  
you were telling me once about how you built the sand Demetrio to rock studio on a big some sort of roller I assume was it Oh, no.

Unknown Speaker  41:16  
No, it was a slot that right? All right, sure. Yeah. Every 10 feet it went like that. Isn't flattens? Are they they're on they're on our jury check, check. or drugs or whatever. I doubt they're all connected together. So when you run out

Unknown Speaker  41:42  
budget the whole thing to fill the hole sounds

Unknown Speaker  41:46  
stressful especially especially in Denver GMO. It was a very well known special effects man. Outside comfort. They had a place South Island just down the road in GMO

Unknown Speaker  42:04  
so and you build the sand Dimitrios

Unknown Speaker  42:08  
for inside the top of it.

Unknown Speaker  42:11  
Another thing I remember you told me was when you were making the bills go down, which was all about the fire brigade during the war. You actually had to have a fire inside the soundstage during the blackout Yes. And so you had to black the whole studio out to have a real fire no black fireproof it in fireproof blank asbestos blank.

Unknown Speaker  42:32  
The whole studio was built on it does You see? Did you remember that says

Ernie Diamond  42:35  
no, I didn't remember that fact. But I can understand that Master surance wouldn't have underneath the gantry

Unknown Speaker  42:42  
right so for suspended cheat sheets and the building was free stores are and we used to make the file is yours matter? Your broxson letter get them over a lot. Yeah.

Ernie Diamond  42:54  
Because that actually brings us to the model stage because the model stage and have been largely built for walpert films like bells going down before because again, I was the supervising editor on and we had a great mixture of really ordinary shooting and model shots and Greg Lena was the cameraman who photographed the a lot of the model shots and fire engines and model farm and and all sorts of things. We have to be kept together with real shops and real time. People union work lady

Unknown Speaker  43:27  
has always been brilliant ism is always bragging about. Remember Dr. Thomas, Ruth, Ruth Stanley, by the way, and then all of a sudden he gets on my first cut. Whoa.

Unknown Speaker  43:49  
Nice. Oh, yeah.

Unknown Speaker  44:02  
What was it like working at hearing during the war? Because you were making some interesting films. They're like the form and goes to France and so on. But what were their tremendous shortages of timber, and no,

Unknown Speaker  44:13  
no, pretty gnarly, you see? rambley that's where artists are the alien personnel went to Wembley, Kamikaze aircraft. And the rules, Captain

Ernie Diamond  44:27  
moves around the world will zoom in on the world.

Unknown Speaker  44:32  
You're not a boy. Was that friendly? He figured it out for you. He transferred

Unknown Speaker  44:41  
to camouflage.

Unknown Speaker  44:44  
The army that was making these mock up aircraft per se. What sort of fake aircraft to put around airfields

Unknown Speaker  44:50  
oxy. Yeah,

Ernie Diamond  44:52  
it was Jim was worked at the factory on and Elstree where they made all sorts of things for dropping Much more than that all in that film I was talking about against the wind that was set partly in that thing and so that Jim was associated with all those things like explosive horse dung to drop on fields for black German cars in Europe.

Unknown Speaker  45:17  
I did carry papers at the end of the war. He will get directed by the government bomb damage on bombed down the border finished.

Unknown Speaker  45:29  
So sorry when the war came in rural finish or finish what you were working at Ealing as we're going to eat and you've got papers on a government

Unknown Speaker  45:36  
sending you to go to gonna go and bomb them to leave the studio.

Unknown Speaker  45:40  
Repairing

Unknown Speaker  45:42  
I went over to room tiny wick over there we would have bunks with terrible price ceilings.

Ernie Diamond  0:03  
Anyway, and when I was there, I bought as a monitor just nearby to Irish congressmen, repair. This put artificial glass you can get glass off the board is artificial stuff anyway at Pine is done with pine and we're down to lunch during the lunch hour per gallon green plan will not come down to junk do a look out for us Mrs. Geno's to acjs COMM The plane is down at play in the gates in the monastery.

Sid Cole  0:44  
How long were you doing more

Unknown Speaker  0:45  
repairs?

Ernie Diamond  0:46  
I was at around about a month a month. Yeah. How'd

Unknown Speaker  0:50  
you get back then you went back to Ealing again I

Ernie Diamond  0:52  
didn't apply for me.

Unknown Speaker  0:53  
They said he's too good too. We was having back

Ernie Diamond  0:56  
got back

Unknown Speaker  0:59  
did that until after the staff at eating

Ernie Diamond  1:05  
more or ethics for one month

Unknown Speaker  1:08  
repairing the damaged houses it actually was very surprising though. That was in 45 was it? Yeah, it was over Yeah. And then they suddenly called called you up? Yeah.

Unknown Speaker  1:21  
Do you remember working for Elan quite a lot on location I mean he went to Bera which is pretty extreme but working around Maggie was was golden

Ernie Diamond  1:30  
Yeah, that was an effort that was an effort based on the others but the Maggie the mat building that 93 four out pier 20 foot wide renowned diver and tactical apps or something didn't it now Didn't they said it would I laughter we have a Naga gal Now the idea that George bear again clever now I went and put it together because he would have made his Emily's clever jokes. I said let's sing somewhere else on the clever Jota ottomanson easy doesn't you got to go on this one and there are eight riggers for pain is about six chippers and essentially during six weeks building and about we're done here could go out and the TPS on the end but we've finished up with one side only the idea and build it now and make a breakaway Is this a short an idea and a breakaway section there says bye boat anchor they're right there in our to stop that cargo go out there unload this cargo and they're over there already remember this dice suddenly became races are nice it's four o'clock in the afternoon should be shooting instances some just right so just before four o'clock he says bring the boat back slowly the position ready for shooting all of a sudden there's a crash that barely boats from north through here I can return we found out the scanner We've had a few drill beams back as good as muscle and the entire the entire forward line on the board is doubled going back right if you put a safety check on and done that is Eros oh shoot we did not and I remember telling Mr. COVID while doing that pilot and getting some water it wasn't focused when the blood I stepped on the three inch now she come out on the left poor weather I still run the impression we're going to this day it was very dangerous because again gangrenous on that anyway, they put me certainly the doctor straightaway Wendover bensalem a great job especially in our barracks, and our combat zones are so true I'm getting ready for tomorrow tomorrow I've done it and the only thing I'm shooting myself left because I don't come back. They got pulled out and got home or whatever service I was gonna go back the knob there's 66 ways so we're gonna remember it was a bit choppy. I remember it was in this boat turn it wire now we're going to make it all especially affects a great breakdown again. Remember a flat and that is when you save a shot. That is awesome. I'll say forget it was early earlier. Tony Roy Yeah, he was chilly. And the new way in the water and the way we managed it we got it done. Good.

Unknown Speaker  5:13  
Did you do you remember we're working on a for example the blue lap did you go are in a lot of the blue lamp is shot on location in West London all around Paddington and all on there. Do you remember going and working in those parts of London

Ernie Diamond  5:31  
now with that? No, it was no you didn't do that now cool for us. They shot on location standby chipping. Construction. That is part of that exterior was made on the luck outside Do you remember street? Yeah,

Unknown Speaker  5:48  
I think I think he might ladykillers No, not that one. No blue, blue.

Ernie Diamond  5:53  
There was one exterior run power that let's go for now. Just to show you where it is. That was built on the law. Nobody can nobody can see it. Yeah, that's true. Yeah, sure. Around the atmosphere.

Unknown Speaker  6:09  
Because there is there is in the ladykillers a sequence where there's Frankie Howard and Barrow of fruit and everything. And it looks like there's a view under a railway bridge or actually that was the door of the model stage kept open as right at the top of the door was disguised as a railway bridge because they had that little street in front of that didn't but quite a lot of stuff was built out there in that little space was

Ernie Diamond  6:33  
there the dickens film poor

Unknown Speaker  6:36  
Nicholas Nickleby.

Unknown Speaker  6:38  
Roland records Nickleby was shorter. What about what about the magnet? We were talking before we started recording, you know, the picture that was made up on Merseyside new Brighton new Brighton.

Ernie Diamond  6:52  
Well, that was that was a soundproof studio.

Unknown Speaker  6:55  
converted church hall,

Ernie Diamond  6:56  
Joshua. Oh, yeah. This is made of we took this. I think there's about 62 foot slabs of soundproofing. Because we used to allege he Nick next in the neck, while the soundproofing, soundproofing that's silicon. Isn't that supposed to be? Oh

Unknown Speaker  7:24  
my gosh, yeah. Yeah. Because I didn't realise it was dangerous now. silica.

Ernie Diamond  7:28  
I think they call it silica. Yeah. Well, that was that used to fly over das used to fly and get there. As you put it out, there, you put out new slabs covered in padding. That's right. That was the most we've done with that. And then the same roof was draped with rows of six foot wide fell about authentic red spray that was very fireproof proof. And then you build a little film studio

Unknown Speaker  8:02  
really huge.

Ernie Diamond  8:03  
Studio.

Unknown Speaker  8:04  
Yeah. Because the idea was wasn't to take some sets up for weather cover so that there was something that can be built and worked on when the weather wasn't ready.

Ernie Diamond  8:14  
Well, that's the idea. I'll say the old idea originated from them. Back to that were mentioned Pharaoh's started with them. was going on. Because that was all prefabs and sound out there. That's right. I suppose when they're done it, wasn't it? Yeah, I

Unknown Speaker  8:37  
think studio the Ealing studios was a pioneer about

Unknown Speaker  8:45  
did you work on passport Pimlico. They built a set on a bomb site

Ernie Diamond  8:52  
just off Lambert. Jimmy Shen gamma. Jamie down there. How did you get the job? Yeah,

Unknown Speaker  9:01  
well, that was part of what Federica was made in Lamberth, actually,

Ernie Diamond  9:04  
it was

Unknown Speaker  9:06  
the bomb site there.

Unknown Speaker  9:07  
Yeah.

Unknown Speaker  9:07  
How did the jobs come to you? Did somebody say we're going to make such and such a film and you're going to be the chief Carpenter or already pentest.

Ernie Diamond  9:17  
designer?

Unknown Speaker  9:17  
He chose you?

Ernie Diamond  9:19  
Yeah, most of you get used to one another. Like Yes. And you worked with? Quite literally like, he goes with him because that's just right. Yeah. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker  9:32  
So who was your art director that Jim?

Unknown Speaker  9:35  
Jim had was a kind of genius. I think reproducing actuality real things he couldn't design them perfectly.

Ernie Diamond  9:44  
Jim you could you could do the same for Jim and you could say well, and they listen not tell me brother now. We're gonna do is right. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker  9:56  
But did did. Did you work on training events which you produced into New directives sigma. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker  10:01  
no, I just directed monkseaton Yeah.

Ernie Diamond  10:04  
Did you work on worked on now? So yeah, because it worked on.

Unknown Speaker  10:08  
On that was on the jet warning.

Unknown Speaker  10:11  
That was a very good kitchen. Beautiful set. Yeah. Was that Monahan remember,

Unknown Speaker  10:16  
that was more and I think that was that you talked

Unknown Speaker  10:18  
about him being very good actualities.

Unknown Speaker  10:19  
Wonderful. Yeah. I'm

Ernie Diamond  10:20  
sure it was. It was Jim. Sarah Bedford did lab assessment. One of Jim's Yeah. Which one? And that's our, across the road in Olympia, that some exhibition on I'm not allowed to make a model. And there's big news, but half the size, this table of the staircase would have grown another big staircase. Yeah. Yeah. The library room. That's right. To do that, and

Unknown Speaker  10:52  
you make the model of it rather than that. Yeah.

Ernie Diamond  10:53  
Because I got in trouble the union over there. Because I asked W and that gave that night one another never did. So that we could not get couldn't go. We can go out and abilities of work with Natalie ticular was ridiculous. Which which union to do, but that came

Unknown Speaker  11:12  
back as I told you, what

Unknown Speaker  11:14  
did you do? How did we even use a lot of models? for one reason or another? There was a special model shop wasn't there?

Unknown Speaker  11:21  
Did you check out the carpenters made

Unknown Speaker  11:23  
the model? Yeah.

Ernie Diamond  11:24  
All depends on his plaster. What am I supposed to live? Remember zero losses show that they explained to me never there. Really any bonus.

Unknown Speaker  11:38  
So you've got the drawings in the art department. And you may if there was a model needed, it didn't matter what size it was, you made it? Well, that

Ernie Diamond  11:44  
contract, rightly broken down. It was your job.

Unknown Speaker  11:47  
So a carpenter in the world working in the carpentry shop would actually be expected to be able to be a model maker.

Ernie Diamond  11:55  
Now it's all depends. If he had that personnel, individually, flair for salary and all sorts of carpenters. We had a problem. Ali Ali, his name was given the floor is now as a piece of forward to he's happy to go back.

Reggie shares is a carpenter. He doesn't want to lose the boats and motorbikes based on he was always sold as a getter.

Unknown Speaker  12:35  
And he did he learned that himself. Oh, yeah, yes. He taught himself.

Ernie Diamond  12:40  
Roberts he was charging. We made a model turning seven foot long.

Unknown Speaker  12:46  
Ships we're doing Yes.

Ernie Diamond  12:49  
That was made in just inside the door of the rail service. We used to call it that was the boat Ranchero Remember that? And Ferraris made that for example. I believe I heard that they got bombed sank again to send it to America. I think I'll file then the ship government

Unknown Speaker  13:10  
says the model is that art raw? before the actual arc.

Unknown Speaker  13:15  
There was a there was a chapter his name I can't remember who was a model maker that did some more work for museums and did do some jobs but even do remember him.

Unknown Speaker  13:25  
There was a famous model maker called Norman Oh. gh

Unknown Speaker  13:31  
he did a lot of work.

Unknown Speaker  13:33  
Yeah, he was a fantastic model.

Ernie Diamond  13:36  
Burberry just barely made it. Right back who knows that? Yeah.

Unknown Speaker  13:41  
He made them.

Unknown Speaker  13:42  
Yeah.

Unknown Speaker  13:43  
What about those hanging? What about hanging models for completing a set have put in front of the camera for them to put a roof on tomorrow and Gaza?

Ernie Diamond  13:53  
is so much diff quarter. I say Yeah. A quarter the distance is is 25 for you to go back under

Unknown Speaker  14:01  
the actual art director made the model? No, no, no.

Ernie Diamond  14:07  
There's all sorts in the motorbike. Yes. Yeah. As a model mica actually. Because in clay.

Unknown Speaker  14:12  
Yeah. But if you had a I mean, for example, I'm thinking of champagne. Charlie, that set had a lovely roof when you see us, but that was all. That was a glass shot. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker  14:23  
reviewing them on a film called scholar the Antarctic Yes, where there was a street scene, which was model because it was a receding perspective. And it had the little lamppost about that high. And the small, someone standing underneath it, and they got so enthusiastic, whoever did it got so infused gastic that they gave the little man a newspaper, a tiny newspaper, which he actually opened to read the course of the shop, which is wonderful.

Unknown Speaker  14:57  
I can't

Unknown Speaker  14:58  
remember actually who Did the art direction although we had a Swedish art director sound reason on that one? You remember that?

Ernie Diamond  15:08  
Yeah. Swedish by now.

Unknown Speaker  15:11  
I can't remember his name.

Ernie Diamond  15:13  
That was my best

Unknown Speaker  15:19  
links drama or something.

Ernie Diamond  15:20  
When I first drove, there was some guy his name just now.

Unknown Speaker  15:32  
It'll come tell us about him and it'll come on do you mean to me draughtsman drawing,

Ernie Diamond  15:37  
check checked jack champagne. a really bad day is day draw. I know that we're not I will never say no era Shatila, that great craftsman.

Unknown Speaker  15:52  
What was the sort of what was the working conditions are teetering? Right, can you it was a pleasant place to work

Unknown Speaker  15:57  
unless it was you,

Unknown Speaker  15:58  
did you? I mean, did you think comparison with the other studios it worked, but what would you say the different characteristics were of working at Pinewood

Ernie Diamond  16:07  
you got to know,

Unknown Speaker  16:09  
because of the size of

Unknown Speaker  16:10  
it. You didn't like

Unknown Speaker  16:13  
working in fine, but so much. I mean, that was right in the early days.

Ernie Diamond  16:17  
Good Moses actually.

Unknown Speaker  16:19  
Did you ever work in Elstree?

Ernie Diamond  16:21  
Yes. When I asked for the SEC, you asked for the SAS

Unknown Speaker  16:26  
at Elstree.

Ernie Diamond  16:27  
Don't quote me on spy 60 twos 24 hour 24 hours by platform. Right? All six bits, that's about 20 feet. These are six piece they're borrowing together. Lighting scaffolding for the life, and you had to go out there, we had to put it together. Yeah, that so for that. Anyway, so most of us have actually managed no mercy VIP patients out when we were there. Now it is summer roundabout, but not for long. Now. I asked him to say, No, no, it must have been a period when he had to reset researcher with XSplit. Tell me about that. You are

Unknown Speaker  17:19  
so sad because they're asking you to do what to say. But why did you ask her to say

Ernie Diamond  17:24  
what is coming out? The other staircases. So it's coming out there with this list. You've got the same as if I went down to him. I was at the top. But Miami and this is the world as soon as I know. Cause you probably know so let's go give us a sack that wouldn't get this. done the job.

Unknown Speaker  17:44  
But that was in the 1930s and you felt you felt confident enough to find another job?

Ernie Diamond  17:50  
Yeah, you fell away. We went back. We knew he's going back. We're back with another challenge of ours. Right now. Spoiler alert

Unknown Speaker  18:02  
guys know now. What happened when even close down? 50 is 55 and went?

Ernie Diamond  18:12  
I took myself 55 and I close down with for our carpenters and Michelle as a team. We were born on Tim's

Unknown Speaker  18:25  
Oh yeah.

Ernie Diamond  18:26  
They remember that. I used to do mine coordinate. I used to do most of them. I'm Robbie good.

Unknown Speaker  18:39  
We renewed acquaintance

Ernie Diamond  18:41  
robidoux. design it was always missing. It comes down to land post modernism.

Unknown Speaker  18:49  
He fell down a lamppost

Ernie Diamond  18:51  
down the drain. Remember when I got drunk Scotland that

Unknown Speaker  19:10  
when you're saying Scotland? I mean on the crew now on the director, art director. Oh, yes, I

Ernie Diamond  19:20  
know that. You mean I can't remember Johnny busy but he's assistant john visit. Yeah. Now I'm seeing Johnson says he's a proud, proud,

Unknown Speaker  19:28  
proud. Gary Payton was a very talented jet who was an absolute maniac.

Unknown Speaker  19:34  
Yeah, I know. He was a terrific designer.

Ernie Diamond  19:37  
Yeah, yeah. But he broke his leg.

Unknown Speaker  19:44  
He was in the habit of breaking his leg. He managed to do that. Sandy McCain dragged to the war in Italy. He broke his leg during the moral cloud trying to climb in to a fraction Robin Hood was interesting tell us tell me about your own Robin Hood all right through yeah

Ernie Diamond  20:12  
cuz I have again oversell and I know everybody Smith yeah shoot shoot in an hour while I'm waiting back on the beta next week. Anyway I still because I like the job so yeah, if you're like me we're like Robin is designer sense

Unknown Speaker  20:31  
yeah

Ernie Diamond  20:33  
now we'll have to say rather than multiple years by the way she's on wheels and body Smith he would not give me the Casanova so many great templates were unit with four art pieces on it on wheels, four inch casters. Now as you read this dude, I was a rock. Now they're telling me the room come off to you for yourself for the picture your blood draws in the end. And

Unknown Speaker  21:02  
that was for television there, wasn't it? I tell you.

Ernie Diamond  21:03  
Yes, that's right. Yeah. And then dumbbells charges on that. Charge and on. For adjustment for

Unknown Speaker  21:13  
Jasmine. Yeah,

Ernie Diamond  21:14  
the balcony is that

Unknown Speaker  21:17  
until

Ernie Diamond  21:18  
Lancelot. So some of the freedom.

Unknown Speaker  21:20  
Yeah, sort of freedom video. All of those I produced. DJ.

Ernie Diamond  21:26  
Yeah, I said do that sooner unless you say man they're working.

Unknown Speaker  21:31  
The studio, of course, was a bit difficult because I remember when we finished Robin Hood, and there was a sort of party, Richard green made a speech in which he said the great. It was a new experience for him because it's the first time we've worked in a studio in which you not only could hear every sound that was uttered in this made in the studio, but you could also hear it from outside. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker  21:57  
Why did I mean what was the point of that? I mean, he was so small, or it wasn't soundproofed or

Unknown Speaker  22:01  
woman. I was a slight exaggeration. But it was right in those days rather than like, not like it was similar or not the same as the one one with the train. Like, but Voltron it was that the birds would settle on the roof as pigeons except on the roof and make an awful lot of noise because it was a corrugated iron roof that I remember.

Unknown Speaker  22:26  
It was supposed to be a soundstage, where he was supposed to be sound was anyone soundstage taught and wasn't there was only

Unknown Speaker  22:31  
one to begin with. And then there were new stages built in towards the end and the new wonderful new recording stage. But that didn't last long. Because Anna Weinstein who was you know, the American lady in charge sold it. Not long after it had been built. But that time I wasn't there. And it was all demolished, wasn't it? So I'm telling you, it was all demolished and

Ernie Diamond  22:56  
and I was dying. Wasn't that right yet?

Unknown Speaker  23:00  
And what has to happen? We had some interesting people there then

Unknown Speaker  23:04  
Jeffery faith was still working there as a cameraman.

Unknown Speaker  23:07  
No, he

Unknown Speaker  23:08  
can't move on.

Ernie Diamond  23:09  
She's got she's got a place there. Where we build a castle. Warren and then a swimming pool. Yeah. And they put this flat roof on their text. Now, remember that?

Unknown Speaker  23:31  
Because we built the actual balls on the on the in the grounds of

Ernie Diamond  23:36  
comptoir Astra and the Brompton Indian tea merchant,

Unknown Speaker  23:40  
have no idea. I remember once looking

Unknown Speaker  23:43  
at your photographs, and you showed me a photograph of a vast castle, which you built and it was a film we were hunting tower and it had the What's his name? Oh, no, we doc and Doris What was it? Oh, oh, no. And that was built up that was for Cricklewood wasn't that when you were still

Ernie Diamond  24:01  
in 20

Unknown Speaker  24:03  
Do you

Ernie Diamond  24:07  
doubt on that was the same type of construction made backwards and forwards to fibreglass. Go and get a beer for the boy boys and made the tea that's my job now the counter to run around

Unknown Speaker  24:20  
when you were around.

Unknown Speaker  24:21  
Do you remember what it was?

Unknown Speaker  24:23  
Roughly? Can you remember where about a second field? Was was it just outside London somewhere?

Ernie Diamond  24:27  
No. Is that in STEM or Stanmore? stem? No. I know. It looked down into this atmosphere. Hi, the Federal Reserve bill in the field because I got a photograph

Unknown Speaker  24:45  
you have is a wonderful photograph. But I mean they actually built that in a field somewhere in stone

Ernie Diamond  24:49  
Hill building timber. Yeah, next year, but yeah, I remember 44 odd three bit to run out. chippies there, they went out and put a flag out when we finished it and came out and read it and years to afterwards, ride a bike. And they were ready to keep going and

Unknown Speaker  25:13  
getting on knows that that is that would be fella. Older more I was early you you use in the film studios and I suppose in some ways still do you use an enormous amount of timber? Yeah, I read somewhere that filmmaking was the third largest user of timber in Britain in the 30s Yes, third largest after something and house building was a main one but then film set construction use vast, vast timber. Do you remember how you actually got timber to the studio when you use a lot of timber? Where did it come from? How did you get it?

Ernie Diamond  25:46  
Oh, from so it's all timber company? Yeah. Southall. Ealing. I

Unknown Speaker  25:52  
mean, that all came all the south or timber company? Did you store it in EU there was

Ernie Diamond  25:58  
timber acts like timber racks on the back end. And when salvaged that incinerator

Unknown Speaker  26:06  
and you burnt all the stuff you didn't well that was very

Ernie Diamond  26:10  
wasn't because I locally didn't really see single biggest as far as outside of that. The same that was this tour. Is this a cat running out there? Right? Ever seen doc? And there's a big shed here. Seen doc shed there then? Well rather erect there. The timber closed in circle rack there is a back end for it, sir. Yeah, I remember that. And yes, it all open ground. as we should. Like I said we pound on there. And we had a blowout the Eau de salvaging style stage for your work jack returns it vertically net,

Unknown Speaker  26:54  
or with anything else to do. Yeah. But when you burned it, that must have created vast amounts of smoke and cinders and No, you didn't say it wasn't the local nuisance complex, fairly tall because it earrings pretty surrounded by houses

Ernie Diamond  27:08  
are very tortured.

Unknown Speaker  27:11  
What about the difference? I've never really understood. I mean, both you gentlemen would know but the difference between the front building that you know that building that faces onto earring green, there is a sort of well known front of the studios, but then the history of the studios begins in a place called West Lodge. There was a building down a side road wasn't there?

Ernie Diamond  27:32  
Was that large Is it a lot? That's West North say

Unknown Speaker  27:36  
yes. For what was that for

Unknown Speaker  27:37  
Welsh large was used for publicity still. And I think some of the things I forget, but it was Danish headquarters when he was growing up there. So that was where the high numbers of studio still photography studio Yeah, for taking

Unknown Speaker  27:57  
the history of Ealing. It was when Bardwell Barker got hold of West large and he he built his first glasshouse studio in the grounds of West Lodge. And then when it got larger that building at the front became the kind of main most obvious public building but it didn't do not at the beginning the studio began as the first public as it will the first existing building was West large and it the studio kind of grew up in the orchard ground at the back of it.

Unknown Speaker  28:27  
Yeah, but the Barker studio but I assure that the the West lodge that we knew as West Lodge is a new

Unknown Speaker  28:34  
building it's a new build replaces it. Yeah. You don't remember the Barca glass house? No

Ernie Diamond  28:38  
sandwich. Oh, is this breast dogs? Yeah,

Unknown Speaker  28:41  
I suppose it was. No, but the glass house we're talking about now down in the ground the graph houses Yeah. It wasn't that place. It

Unknown Speaker  28:53  
was used as a garage by people.

Unknown Speaker  28:55  
Yes. Yes. Yes. Because the glass Barker's glass studio was not on the grounds of the news no

Unknown Speaker  29:03  
right or, and there was a sort of glass house building that was a sort of garage for years natural

Unknown Speaker  29:07  
on the connector. I think that must have been involved because

Ernie Diamond  29:15  
now this is a desert back entrance test West Lodge. This is the generator as the tourists we use clock out there and there's been a carton so you used to get rid get in front of them. Well, as you know, when I finished was flowers. So I used to do get thrown to the commissionaire occupies does that thing a bunch of flowers which he took off his set on the back and I'm walking around with

Unknown Speaker  29:50  
so he could get them out. Yeah.

Ernie Diamond  29:54  
Because actually, the proxies that are thrown away. We know mostly used but not all worried. You must have seen barley Dally big big Yeti fell up. Yeah, carpenter. Great trays movers in the funny lines are 49 talking about is flying back from Los Angeles today. I really burn out. disease you just missed on the first day I was quite

Unknown Speaker  30:27  
fat. How

Unknown Speaker  30:28  
many people did you have under you working there? Did you have a little team of your own that you always work together?

Ernie Diamond  30:34  
No, no. You had to get especially pairs and now you just admit is the same ones for me to fashion airlines with Motorola, right? cell phones the interior the interior of a bus, the network, interior of a car during the car ride was too bad for us to give the good man because they're siciliana Rossa for overtime. And the great argument going on when it come we rewind that was George Miller said that more memories are never lost say because if I want to special way I'm not going to take your mind off that job. So then we're overtime on it. The only one that is our lead gen rusty trombone Ian drivatar those who run there are no paid parliaments wages. This come down on Friday of Thursday. Cyril Arison gonna say

Unknown Speaker  31:38  
Oh, yeah,

Ernie Diamond  31:41  
they still live I live far from me. Just that idea. And those flats. And I know. So how,

Unknown Speaker  31:52  
how early? Did you get warning of a new set? I mean, you when they were making a film, they were all set to design. How, how quickly did you have to produce them? I

Ernie Diamond  32:02  
mean, how they work to coordinate with the somebody was timing at the top of that command to do and I said,

Unknown Speaker  32:10  
Well, I think it worked with work with a complicated business, isn't it film production? You've got you've got the story, then you've got the script. The script is analysed and there's an elaborate federal policeman in every department. I suppose the art and director concern in consultation with the studio manager would work out the schedule for the actual construction of sets because it would depend on a shoot shooting or the actual shooting shot to get under the soundstages Wouldn't

Unknown Speaker  32:43  
that you didn't have space to build something and then get round to it you had to everybody was kind of clamouring to get onto the floor

Unknown Speaker  32:49  
when they wouldn't have been space really to build anything elaborate in the carpentry shops were there now but you didn't do some didn't do some small things that got pushed across from the shop to these to that branch stage anyway

Ernie Diamond  33:06  
it's pretty pretty fast and the most of the stuff is all prefabs everything's pretty fast.

Unknown Speaker  33:11  
So you're building the carpenter shop as much as I could get across that passageway

Ernie Diamond  33:14  
the counter Minnesota drawing they never saw the actual

Unknown Speaker  33:21  
actual design and

Ernie Diamond  33:23  
now they rented the charging because we had there was Joe's was breaking down our breaking down there was ready line.

Unknown Speaker  33:35  
What do you mean by breaking down?

Ernie Diamond  33:37  
Are you got you got your joy and you break it down? Now run a set of architraves you draw it out for the lesson where it says that set out that a set out. It be made a cut and listen to the mill came back with a drawing later in the fall. McCartan has got it

Unknown Speaker  33:59  
fitted exactly because everybody

Ernie Diamond  34:01  
in the fireplace met fireplace. That seems too big too. We couldn't prefab the back of that to give it a to close to the individual.

Unknown Speaker  34:16  
Were there any things that you weren't allowed to do because of some union demarcation? Or could you more or less take over and build the thing? Oh, yeah, the

Ernie Diamond  34:24  
built in stuff can't interfere Union for anyone breaking their rules

Unknown Speaker  34:31  
that were deemed demarcation lines. mean What about painters? I mean, you're not supposed to do a painters job well,

Ernie Diamond  34:37  
they should have mentioned. Oh, no, they didn't do not a man's job. No, you can't do the carpenter. You can't do Cotton's job.

Unknown Speaker  34:50  
Did you get when you recruited people into you didn't reset these it sounds to me as if once you'd all got together, you really grew up with it and stayed with it. You didn't really bring new in there

Ernie Diamond  35:00  
weren't a lot of young people getting jobs. This time not accomplice reckless. There was upstairs there was two and 234 or seven benches. That's 14 men out there and then there's under metres and other foot the officers officers in the corner were staircase going up there with a game journal i think is about seven benches up there. up the top. And underneath underneath the gantry there was another six benches.

Unknown Speaker  35:40  
So you got about

Ernie Diamond  35:41  
30 aren't we we had about 30 men 30 carpenters cuz I didn't ever didn't come in here. We had a set as our office does say, at a live next to it. I run them for that. And then you add 10 men in the mill, machinist? Each one that is a machine. Gun all the time. But you were telling me when you were telling me about?

Unknown Speaker  36:06  
I think it was San Dimitrios you said I did this and I did that. I mean, did you draw drawings? Other people who work to or did you Morris do it by feel? And look, I

Ernie Diamond  36:15  
mean, do you know? It's proof add as much as possible? Yes sections in the shell, right? Then it can add to it. You have to charge end. Users, you probably been set down right? Using shell, then the edgy charge on the floor. But she shipped it out to him. He built it and you become a supervisor. So I was actually to even one server that too You didn't make

Unknown Speaker  36:42  
a lot of you you did scribbles and sketches to show how something will be done. But you didn't draw something up just to give it to another carpenters and make it like that. Yeah, never

Ernie Diamond  36:50  
give it to you don't ever give it to them never give it to sit around. They don't only love. So he was doing all the drawing. Now we're gonna draw you did the drawing, bro record breaking down. All right,

Unknown Speaker  37:02  
sorry. Yeah,

Ernie Diamond  37:03  
we had a lot of stumped flats. Yes, right. I suppose you want to? Suppose you want that timber case, right? You do that? That and got your four foot six, flat there. Ah, there one foot six. And these are all standard shapes, these rules, standard shapes, you will really come in. Let's do them in stock.

Unknown Speaker  37:29  
So in effect are designed by a designer was adapted to use standard sizes. Yeah, quite a lot. So you actually once they were finished, you could break them down and use them again.

Ernie Diamond  37:39  
Oh, yeah, same as that was all covered in essence. And suppose you want that 12 foot long wall, you put it to six months together. And then everything modular is an eight foot 10 foot a foot 10 foot tall for us.

Unknown Speaker  37:56  
So there's sort of there's a whole basic set of modules that are used over and over again,

Ernie Diamond  38:00  
that was all captured in the scene Doc, right? Right.

Unknown Speaker  38:06  
So you get to know them, you'd say we can do this, but there's something rather than bringing that one.

Ernie Diamond  38:11  
Yeah, I'm used to filling in pieces. That door. If you want to do it, you buy the flatbed

Unknown Speaker  38:19  
film set and see if we can put it all together.

Unknown Speaker  38:23  
Because bigger studios like MGM, Princeton's dangerman, one series of danger, man, they haven't been seen doc there. For instance, if you wanted a continental train, he would go along and they would say what do you want French, Belgian, Dutch, German, Austrian, you guys. And do do as you know, a bit of painting and joining up and start and they would have a big, big, an enormous, marvellous marble mantel piece and fireplace from some big MGM picture that we made. So all this accumulate, the art director could go in and say I want that. I'll have that. And then he would just as Ernie was saying, he would also take a big staircase and build up everything around with with these leftover as it were and reused

Unknown Speaker  39:15  
from previous

Unknown Speaker  39:16  
productions and reuse. Yeah, but there wasn't Roman Roman Ealing, to do too much of that

Ernie Diamond  39:21  
kind of space. Would you say that the

Unknown Speaker  39:26  
physical limitations of Ealing its smallness, and its geographical location influenced the kind of films that were made there?

Unknown Speaker  39:34  
Hmm, no, I don't think so. So you made confirms Oh, yes. I wasn't saying i didn't know i don't think that because in point of fact, I mean, our stages weren't all that small, you know. And so we did some quite big thing.

Unknown Speaker  39:50  
sarabande was immense, I mean, Scott at the Antarctic

Ernie Diamond  39:55  
stage.

Unknown Speaker  39:59  
So what Awesome. Any other films that you?

Unknown Speaker  40:04  
Well, I've got a tremendous list here but pink string and sealing wax convoy that's at the beginning of the war wasn't that was pen Tennyson? Yes. Yeah, kind hearts and coronets.

Ernie Diamond  40:17  
There's one arm coming trial Valley. And the

Unknown Speaker  40:19  
same as that resume really going back that was beginning before the war. Yeah, all roads, all roads. And a lot of that was shot on location and we want that Yeah. Because

Ernie Diamond  40:30  
we built the the pace. He built the COVID. Ideally, ideally, yeah. For interiors.

Unknown Speaker  40:43  
As you see, I think the averting do what you get asked to come in. I think the reverse was the occasion it made everybody concerned be particularly on the construction or designing side. But have to be very ingenious, right. Next rather bigger studios to more easily.

Ernie Diamond  41:04  
Coming back to the days I turned in the fish because I remember they can learn Shani, was it a downer? We had to build a prison in the stage where we used to Robinhood and Orangemen most guns realities, and it gave me 10 power no sorry, I can't think she said Oh, he's so nice. They are going to enjoy yourself 10 pound night again. Anyway, I came back and I came back put me back on the bench. Didn't I working on the bench, reduce money and the family from those in Parliament. We want to construct your mojo there never been actually in charge of it. You know, it's been in our record a big film. And I went over there. Take more of a job and now I had to do that a polar bear lose. Film and savage unison's.

Unknown Speaker  42:25  
Oh yeah, yes.

Ernie Diamond  42:27  
I found Eskimo Eskimos.

Unknown Speaker  42:32  
Delightful. Japanese lady called you last

Ernie Diamond  42:38  
year and filmstar. female and male. Oh, yes. What's that? Sorry. In Savage. Savage, innocent purposes. Oh, I don't know. I have to.

Unknown Speaker  42:57  
film Star

Unknown Speaker  43:01  
Wars. No, dude, the query.

Ernie Diamond  43:04  
Oh. Anyway, so I go over there. On that polar bear loosens a reopener. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker  43:22  
Whatever, maybe off the top of the car. faced in that film industry, that was no

Ernie Diamond  43:30  
last time that the partner let loose in GE stage. It was done. First of all, Bernard is telling me what to do what I should do, because I don't notice that in Argos. Now I was in charge of the bears have a good tilt as a trainer. Well I can do what the band has and so forth. We're not bouncy the cages pride bear the bears. Small ones and a large bag I said which one they use? You get a larger anyway. So I said what you have to do is where's the family says if one dies I go berserk or Sammy said you know we have to be very careful. And never German German circus act and as in his truck, so I said it really big big conference, you know? So he said what a polar bear doesn't jump reaches. You Ever See a polar bear? clan? Yes. And no. I said, our hot dog. I said, Well, first of all since you've left this is a good idea for us to know Annie. She's a PA programme Studio 15 which you So this is stage three status but and and ga and it said centre actors can still go with that and they got a shot there of the polar bear coming towards the camera out of Arizona coming towards the camera. So from that come out from the dark and doing underlay is icy Yes. So, start here to go back down to there. then then then it's our business. Wire wire. Expanding five foot, five foot high. Yes. Tourists Domino, Domino that went in front of it fix to it, with the game around them now in front of this Domino to fall away from that

Sid Cole  0:06  
Are we running yes we're running side three 

Ernie Diamond  0:09  
learn to not rely on coses connection as allowed cages around here you know on a surface like a sluice New Relic when it comes in the top right isn't it I leave and then I got out of the tunnel that that was connected that to the lized travelling cage goes there's no mas a drawbridge or anyone that wanted to come there go there through their rounds and then they're out the flyers that come towards camera back again run off organically and my bad I'm one of

Unknown Speaker  1:08  
one shot one shot one take one shot

Ernie Diamond  1:11  
one shot so that you do the opposite or we just put a smell of fish

Unknown Speaker  1:24  
all right so

Ernie Diamond  1:28  
guys remember to put in the calibration right or left to gather Kathy should know roster there's got to go that right. Is what is present now. They manoeuvre in front and about in there. Now even though she said I'll be filming. Now they were filming. Well, to hear camera Trump though. on electric bagno platform got motor their electric bagno. And platform it brought me carry was about 12 by six with the engine on the front burner courtesy around the studio space. Not amazing. Yeah. So I'm going to put chubu around that wire inside a on an aperture neighbours a sliding door. And a man standing there. And cable coming up the top there to back there. So if anything, was the aperture for the camera, so drop it down. On No, there's mobile. There's about there was a director in their continuity stage rigo operated there and a camera operator camera that's always in there. And that could go anywhere you like,

Unknown Speaker  3:01  
just current shape.

Unknown Speaker  3:02  
You were really a very ingenious person. I mean, what you weren't just doing what they sent you down to build. I mean, they were the designers often come and say how can we do this? Or how can we do that? And that was skill you'd built up over the years working?

Unknown Speaker  3:17  
So when we

Ernie Diamond  3:18  
say common sense, it's common sense. If you want to panic, panic attacks, now I'm going to finish up good

Unknown Speaker  3:27  
now. He wants something done is really clever. You go to any doctor and I know I see that. You did build up a tremendous amount of skill.

Unknown Speaker  3:37  
That is true. I think the common sense thing which is called doesn't always happen as frequently as one would wish and I'm sure often you know a designer or someone connected with the film would have sounded like a marvellous idea but have listened to it. No, no idea whatever how to exactly how to do it, which was your great strength, wasn't it? Yeah. And people like to run jobs.

Ernie Diamond  4:01  
They are a viable team. That was true about a team spirit we will resolve Well, you know,

Unknown Speaker  4:07  
yeah. But that was being together for so long. I mean, how long altogether who you are leaving. When you really settled there apart from the dodging offer to do a bit of bond with their

Ernie Diamond  4:20  
23 years old I was 20

Unknown Speaker  4:26  
and I was there continuously for the last 11 years. You know and a lot of people live that and we all grew up together in particular as far as I was concerned. People like Robert Homer and Charles Creighton and so deadness will grew up together.

Ernie Diamond  4:46  
Now living in a day is Friday line. car charger, Solaris and remember still counts It used to go with a unit on the locations. Yeah, never worried about money if you want to solve you can see so you No, no no. No, because there's no way to spend that amount of power.

Unknown Speaker  5:18  
Ealing to choose places where

Unknown Speaker  5:19  
there's by

Ernie Diamond  5:27  
a union that was so risky

Unknown Speaker  5:32  
to offer you a drug

Ernie Diamond  5:34  
that is risky randos for crying out for come up but the bow just come and he's coming to that advance a fortnight jumar and we've had a few drinks and we couldn't get any whiskey. I used to put two bottles up at five o'clock and when we got there it was gone and because of that, yeah, because he's working we were over there whether you say is good and we carry on working because I think it ruins a sec figure there's no overtime it's just the same figure. Anyway, yeah. So when you got the risk return our members drinking rum and the bo kamoun Jim is just he had a few drinks noticed that the both games are going down I think that skip or remember Jim? I'm gonna see that's give us and get get some games and whiskey off. Anyway, I remember coming up the gangway. Oh, that'd be sniffers with no chick walks in with us. Okay. Jake was with SCP read them myself. And there we spent several hours to voice and so another number camera mal for our somebody ended up

Unknown Speaker  6:46  
how

Unknown Speaker  6:49  
our Oh yes, I know I remember him Yeah, would

Ernie Diamond  6:50  
it come up No, no, it wasn't he come up there second unit was out there anyway so we go down to the boat Jim's time's up the he said I want to see the captain know Jim years ago was the the cacti This is blooming always said we're gonna want some scotch as we call navigation. We're going to send it via the boat stationary so that anyone can go out there I'm extending down the bottom and the pier master comes out with a crane is risky and looked risky. So he said to Jason Mr. Dennis gsps That's Mr. delish asking for his Crikey they've got this crazy dude. I see with Danny says he says this camera forgot to on the back of the is an annex built with his bedroom built on the back corrugated for me to cardboard inside the cavity balls. So only I'll tell you that later on. Because anyway, we get these cases I'll go down or go down the road and get a crowbar open the case because so badly got the case open down rapidly. Anyway. So when it's all over? I said, I did that because I don't drink enough whiskey. But you know, I said I'm gonna deal with this risk analysis. So I thought about it. So I went to the ball. Tips of marble guff. Got the crowbar for Dr. Bordeaux. Still remains that the bottles, put them in Dr. Molina forward to put them back. So I said what about unboxing I'll say YouTube again for in a season. Don't forget to put some stones down for that. I run I go. We go back. On the way out. We had to build your own bedroom. By the way when we got out there. It was just a staircase roommates on the back room. And staircases out gunner era. And there's the first floor. Well we cooked and freebie two out there and flush doors and around bedrooms. We knew we had to do this because you couldn't get that combination out there. And then rise above it. So I've covered on this particular not just the telephones on the staircase. I remember Jim next door using that telephone it was in bits especially fell down. That was that so caught long story show next morning. By the way, we're on the seashore. We look out and there was fishing this jetty is you know close. All small capitals about 15 foot long j now, and there'll be always a box out there bobbing up and down You see? through my eyes. Look at this, it was an acid. It's a blobby proccessing. Anyway, I said, guys asked me about the game. You got to take measures you're not gonna measure but you want to do it today. See, because already I was listening See, I had to get there getting away what was talking about? Anyway, oh, my God, Dan, I mentioned, get all these books as a string in the pocket tied to a box underneath so you couldn't see. And there are a unit when the word and I went to work and got much to do that though. I was getting getting the boys busy, came back. To retrieve the box. dried out as best I could run back to the to the next row, just this whiskey was talking about without a grind drive as much as possible. Going back went down other paths if I guess I counted about there's lemon of bottles left. level and output was with me. drop off and thought Oh, so we must have had a few before. Anyway. So anyway, I gotta go see if I'm getting Scott. Now he says, Barry, we got a quote for our loan quiz. You can't have any. I see. That's always risky. Now this release, and anyway. So I've been around pretty bad wrote a letter. Dear dannic afraid last night, there's four parts in the week, please forgive us. And we also

got that info put in put in there. Grant, let's see LAN ad and put it on your dressing table. Right? Right. In fact, let's stick it out. Anyway, so next, next next morning, for now, later on in the day, when he's come back from London. That's true. If there's a London for something. And I was doing a glass shop. I remember doing a glass shop where the boat getting that ready. And bringing it out the glass. And they come across the field. And I said at that tournament I told you I told him to put his arm around me see what it is me because of that left me live an hour or so. Face down here is getting our feet our total on there. Do you see when we get time off because we worked a lot of hours. First time we have you come and start over me in recruiting however alpha Bravo. So eventually. So eventually, we're good at it. And wherever that is raised, remember that lovely. You're not last day was I would remember, pieces of lobster giveaway like filmmaking

Unknown Speaker  13:05  
faster. In those days, there have been a bit more agreeable than it's

Ernie Diamond  13:10  
and and they say they I said good that the voice gives the butterscotch now about the scarf. And that was the end of that. But as that is a true story, and let's

Unknown Speaker  13:25  
call it a new one. And

Unknown Speaker  13:27  
I haven't really

Unknown Speaker  13:27  
the only thing I'd like to ask me is if I could have another look at those photographs. Because in doing what I'm now doing. Yeah, because I didn't The point is that that castle suddenly I realise I'm an idiot not to ask if I can copy that because it's the kind of thing that precise the ratio and understand exactly what we're looking for is buildings sets out in the fields in

Ernie Diamond  13:51  
is it going to be 20s? photographs as well. But Oh,

Unknown Speaker  13:56  
yes. No, no, no, no, no, I'm working on an exhibition for 1996 which will be about filmmaking in London over the last 100 years. So these are not specifically Ealing or specifically anywhere. But it's about the how London has been recorded by people making movies, and also about the way in which the film industry has grown up inside

Unknown Speaker  14:15  
London. And it's got a wider approach. NBC only which is particularly interested in in the in people's experience. Now I'm going to finishing, saying thank you very much for you in such an interesting interview. We normally ask this question which to which we usually do we know what the answer is, which is if you were starting over again, was there anything you would really prefer to have done other than do what you did in films?

Ernie Diamond  14:49  
Not ending think I would never been to holiday. I was at it on the firm and we've been very frightened out to Stanford as I'm clearing away my time away. I used to say to George George Barry used to get me out of car and it was done the right way through to, for it to come out and stay here and clear. No, I'm

Unknown Speaker  15:17  
very I didn't realise that good because we were the main unit, we're just gone back to the studio, wherever, wherever they were going. Well, fine, thank you and akshat

Unknown Speaker  15:29  
Thank you very much indeed learning through once again, a sense that if we knew how to unscrew what screw a hole in the barrel, there be even more to come up but it's actually way

Ernie Diamond  15:42  
up the finish, you know, when that the parent knows when that was finished,

Unknown Speaker  15:49  
we were going to get that photo of it.

Ernie Diamond  15:53  
I took that said, Every time we do another film management comes soon. You'll have to go back on the bench, the virtual. So I write down so Frodo, he should garden if ever fortnight's in this this is I'm not gonna give you a job easy. That's been telling the farmers what I do. Now you're gonna work with him. He says that's unfair management. You know? I couldn't give him a retainer like that, but I didn't pay him on time. So because very fed never understand why I never left darling talented. Kidding me your money medical department and where the other house paid for our crappier that alien

Unknown Speaker  16:45  
was there a lot of poaching. Were there a lot of people poached draw

Ernie Diamond  16:48  
the arrows down? I couldn't, I couldn't, could have been the first contraction manager. That's the BBC studios. I was offered a job. I was getting 16 cameras, Grenada. With Granada with Ian. And I've gone to BBC for nine pounds a week. And talented and thanks.

Unknown Speaker  17:10  
So you're getting 16 pounds of earrings. And the BBC offered you nine nine. Yeah, that's good reasons why you didn't go that's

Ernie Diamond  17:20  
the only guys. That particular pro in a year was getting 100 pound away and two secretaries say that's what I started. This is why the other companies took it.

Unknown Speaker  17:33  
Bless you and thank you very, very much.