War Illusionist


60m 2001

Brief Synopsis

During World War II, British magician Jasper Maskelyne turned the North African desert into a stage on which he outfoxed the infamous Desert Fox, Nazi Field Marshal Rommel. Maskelyne may have never fired a bullet, but he helped win a war through trickery. Using the basic concepts of magic, such as m

Film Details

Also Known As
History's Mysteries (06/19/01)
Genre
Documentary
Historical
War
Release Date
2001

Technical Specs

Duration
60m

Synopsis

During World War II, British magician Jasper Maskelyne turned the North African desert into a stage on which he outfoxed the infamous Desert Fox, Nazi Field Marshal Rommel. Maskelyne may have never fired a bullet, but he helped win a war through trickery. Using the basic concepts of magic, such as misdirection, Maskelyne made British tanks appear out of nowhere and made landmarks vanish without a trace. He devised a way to hide Alexandria Harbor, a vital British supply port, from Luftwaffe. Flashing refelective lights into the night sky, he made the Suez Canal disappear into an ocean of light and shadows. His greatest deception was creating the illusion that the British were massing troops from the south to strike the Germans at El Alamein. His decoys were so effective that the main German army was poised against this dummy force, even as the real British troops moved north unnoticed.

Crew

Hisham Abed

Camera

Michael Andreas

Music

Tudor Applen

Graphics

Nancy Barney

Assistant

William Breuer

Consultant

Kelly Butler

Audio

Scott Bynum

Audio

Andrew Ciancia

Editor

Marc Cohen

Camera

Michael Corbett

Rights & Clearances

Doug Cragoe

Grip

Alberto Dal Pino

Music

Andy Di Mino

Post-Production Coordinator

Lydia Dubuisson

Production Assistant

Will Ehbrecht

Editor

Angie Ernst

Other

Tom Feldman

Gaffer

Shelia Garrison

Other

Nancy Gimbrone

Writer

Nancy Gimbrone

Producer

Harlan Glenn

Consultant

Gary H. Grossman

Executive Producer

Josh Gwilt

Assistant Editor

Dave Hayes

Audio

Natalie Hewson

Production Assistant

Robin Hirsch

Camera

Anthony Hulijey

Grip

Vanessa Johnston

Grip

Sam Jones

Assistant Editor

Margaret Kim

Producer

Peter Koury

Field Producer

Gerrard Lambkin

Audio

Dave Lang

Audio

Steve Lange

Co-Executive Producer

Steve Lange

Writer

Aida Mangstu-muluneh

Production Assistant

Steve Markowitz

Production Manager

Eric Marquis

Camera

Ralph Marshall

Camera

Stephanie Mcdonald

Accountant

Andrew Miller

Post-Production Coordinator

Teresa Modnick

Segment Producer

Mark Montgomery

Producer

Kelly Moreland

Assistant

Nathalie Neurath

Researcher

Ralph Puccillo

Audio

Stephanie Rose

Production Coordinator

Steve Sabellico

Rights & Clearances

Shawn Sanbar

Post-Production Supervisor

Dave Shikiar

Graphics

Bryan Shukoff

Rights & Clearances

Doug Snowden

Camera

Bobby Stone

Camera

Trymaine Thomas

Production Accountant

Errin Vasquez

Assistant Editor

Robb Weller

Executive Producer

Susan Werbe

Executive Producer

Film Details

Also Known As
History's Mysteries (06/19/01)
Genre
Documentary
Historical
War
Release Date
2001

Technical Specs

Duration
60m

Quotes

Trivia