Footage of atomic testing sought for another documentary

Nisson, who was mayor of the southwestern Utah community of Washington in the 1950s, traveled to the Nevada Test Site in 1956 to witness the explosion of an atomic bomb. His home movie of the explosion has been used in many documentaries over the years.

In early fall, French filmmakers who in 1991 produced a half-hour documentary about the Nevada nuclear tests will return to St. George and they want to use more of Nisson's footage.

Residents in the downwind region of southeastern Nevada, northwestern Arizona and southwestern Utah have long contended that the open-air tests in Nevada in the 1950s and 1960s resulted in higher incidents of cancer in their areas. Some studies supported the claims; others didn't.

Cancer victims and their families sued and a federal judge in Salt Lake ruled in their behalf, but he was overturned by an appeals court on the ground of government immunity. However, Congress later passed a bill to compensate the alleged victims.

Vincent Kelner, the producer of the French documentary, said his film will revisit the issue, but he's taking a different approach.

Of Nisson's hundreds of reels of film, the one Kelner said he is most interested in is about 50 feet of footage that Nisson never thought was very important. The film shows horses tramping about during the filming of the John Wayne movie, "The Conqueror," in 1954 in the desert just north of Hurricane.

Many members of the cast and crew may have been exposed to fallout during the three months of filming.

Kelner said he has spoken with the families of several of the actors including Pedro Armendariz Jr., son of the veteran actor who played Jamuga, and an actor himself. Armendariz recently appeared in "The Mask of Zorro."

Armendariz also visited St. George to speak with some of the alleged downwind victims and to gain more insight into his father's condition. Armendariz Sr. died of cancer in 1963. His son didn't realize his father's condition could have been caused by the fallout until he met St. George residents.

In France, nuclear testing remains a politically charged issue, even though the government has stopped tests in the South Pacific. Kelner said citizens want to know what their government has gotten into. Coming to St. George is the best way to see what others have experienced.

Kelner said he hopes his crews will arrive in St. George in the early fall. He's hoping people will come forward with their experiences with the film or with the cast.

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