Using the Frame: PICKUP ALLEY / INTERPOL

Thinking of old black-and-white movies often conjures thoughts of 4:3 ‘square’ framing. But Pickup Alley (also known as Interpol) used then-brand-new CinemaScope to show off its outdoor chases and claustrophobic interior interrogations.

We picked some shots to see how they make the most of the format. Some of these shots wouldn’t work well in a square frame. Others could have, but they ‘dressed out’ the side of the frame to keep it interesting; like this setup, if you imagine the red lines as the 4:3 frame:

Whether outside or inside, deeply shadowed or in full sun, Interpol also uses the format to show off canted angles, foreground objects, and depth within the location.

Wide Outdoors

Most of the exterior shots are interested in scope; getting wide to show the most possible objects in one frame.

For example in the second frame you can see water, train cars, shipping containers, cars driving a winding dirt road which stretches past several buildings, and a few teeeeny tiny people throughout.

Often bridges, train tracks, and telephone wires are used to draw ‘lines’ across the frame, dividing it into sections or drawing our eyes to certain points.

Enclosed Spaces and Group Shots

Inside there’s a heavy use of railings, patterned clothing, textured walls and wallpaper to add contrast through the whole frame.

In the last shot, filling almost the entire width of frame in barrels gives an impressive sense of scale to how many, many, MANY barrels were toppled.

Closeups

Even when the camera is fairly close to someone’s face (and there aren’t many which get close enough to show only someone’s face), props and architectural features fill the sides and background, and often something — or someone — moves through the sides and/or foreground.

Foreground / Background

Shots often group characters with one person or group much closer to the camera than the other(s), so they don’t feel ‘flat’ but help add a sense of how large the frame — and thus, the criminals’ world — really is.

Shot-Reverse-Shot

Interpol takes advantage of its frame width to show more people in medium shots than a 4:3 frame allows.

It also gets creative with what that extra frame space allows in a reverse shot. Charles’s (Victor Mature) reflection is seen on the far Right edge of his own shot, and far Left edge of the reverse. He’s essentially in all three ‘thirds’ of the two shots, which is fitting as he’s the interpol agent who’s meant to see everything and be everywhere.

The red line imagines one option of how 4:3 framing would show Charles and his compatriot.

The yellow line is an option which would show Charles and his reflection, but lose some of its power because the reverse shot would be more limited. Cutting between the two — a wide tableau plus his reflection on the outside, then him hemmed in by his compatriot and himself — better demonstrates his status in the story.

Last But Not Least

This shot cheekily ‘widens’ a 4:3 square by having McNalley — who’s just been introduced via crossfade — push the two side pillars out.

Takeaways

Whether you use it for scope, theme, aesthetics, or fun, aspect ratio matters!