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John (Ferno) Fernhout
John (Ferno) Fernhout | Robert Capa dolt als stierenvechter met Polly Korchien,
echtgenote van John Fernhout, in hun appartement in New York (ca. 1940-1942)
New York
After the premiere of The 400 Million, Fernhout and Ivens return to Europe for six weeks. Eva Besnyö is there to meet them in Paris. Back in Amsterdam, the three of them, together with photographer Carel Blazer, make the rounds of the bars and cafés, documented by Fernhout in a series of photographs that marks the end of his time with Eva Besnyö for him. At the end of the six weeks, Fernhout leaves again for New York and settles there under the name John Ferno.
Polly Korchien and son Douwes
John Fernhout and Eva Besnyö had ended their relationship in late 1937. Their marriage had not survived Fernhout's prolonged absences. For the duration of the German occupation of the Netherlands, however, they remain officially married to protect Besnyö, who has a Jewish background. In the USA, Fernhout becomes romantically involved with the dancer Polly Korchien, who gives birth to their son Douwes in 1943.
John (Ferno) Fernhout
When the Second World War ends, Fernhout’s divorce can be finalised and he then marries Polly Korchien.
Documentaries in the USA
The Second World War makes returning to the Netherlands impossible. Fernhout starts working on two films for the Educational Film Institute of New York University: And So They Live and A Child went Forth.
Like Joris Ivens, he also works for the newly established National Film Board of Canada to help young filmmakers get started. In this setting, he makes the documentaries High over the Borders and Youth gets a Break.
John (Ferno) Fernhout
Netherlands Information Bureau
In 1942 Fernhout joins the Netherlands Information Bureau in New York and in 1943 he is appointed head of their new Film Department. In this capacity he films the baptism of Dutch Princess Margriet in Canada and Princess Juliana’s visits to the Netherlands Antilles and Suriname. Combined with archive footage, these recordings also find their way into two essayistic documentaries: Dutch Traditions and Buiten de grenzen (Beyond the Borders, 1944). Both films are primarily aimed at an American audience and link Dutch traditions to Allied ideals.
John (Ferno) Fernhout
War Correspondent
In 1944, when the liberation of the Netherlands seems only a matter of weeks, the idea crops up of making a film about it. In October, Fernhout, as head of the Film Department, leaves for Europe with the allied forces and on 20 November he starts filming the liberation of the Netherlands.
Dutch Government Information Service
The Dutch Government Information Service (RVD) has prepared Fernhout’s trip poorly, however. The recording equipment is of inferior quality and there is no means of transport. Also, there is not much of a plan. Fernhout nevertheless gets to work, filming primarily on the southeastern Dutch island of Walcheren. In January 1945, he presents his material to the film section of the RVD in London, who don’t think the footage is suitable for a film.
Fernhout then shows the material to the British Ministry of Information (MOI), who do see its potential and finance a small film to run as a short in British cinemas.
Working Conditions during the Liberation
Upon his return to the Netherlands, Fernhout concentrates on the activities of the Allied Forces. In March 1945, a reorganisation within the RVD catches him unawares and he loses quite a lot of his freedom. Because of the limitations imposed upon him by the bureaucracy, Fernhout is forced to film under difficult circumstances right up to the actual liberation. After the German surrender, all restrictions to filming disappear, resulting in priceless footage about the liberation that is still being used today.
After the war, Fernhout returns to New York, and his liberation films Gebroken dijken (Broken Dykes) and Het laatste schot (The Last Shot) are released, reaching an audience of millions in Great Britain.
John (Ferno) Fernhout
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