It is now about 57 years since Bob admitted to me that he had “taken a swing” at the guy [John Morris], so I am really hazy about this. Bob never went into details and although this loss [of his D-Day film] was obviously an event he would never forget, his philosophy was that “Life is too short to hate anyone or bear a grudge.” […]
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[My late husband Bob Landry made no published] comment … about the Normandy invasion. He did tell me that his film had been lost through the incompetence of a guy in the London office who was supposed to make secure arrangements for its delivery to London. [This would have been John Morris, then assistant picture editor in LIFE’s London darkroom. — A. D. C.] […] We agreed to meet Morris for lunch once, him and his “bodyguards.” His issue was in fact our lack of “tact” in the way we cast light on the “Falling Soldier” story. He listened to our arguments. I must say I got a little frustrated, saying that we would fight to the end … my producer was wiser, and conceded. […] Cornell Capa’s intervention, as well as that of ICP’s lawyers, was rather brutal. They sent us threatening injunctions. We soon understood they would do whatever it took to stop us from making the movie. […] Capa’s account of his landing in his book “Slightly Out of Focus” clearly had been “pumped up” for sales. Capa apparently lifted the carnage that occurred elsewhere on Omaha Beach and superimposed it on his own much less deadly experiences. One only has to take a fresh, unbiased look at his photos for proof. […] |
 SPJ Research Award 2014 |