According to documentary producer,
David L. Wolper, this was photographer,
James Wong Howe's first U.S. documentary (as well as their first and last collaboration): "He was impossible to work with. He drove everyone crazy with his demands. Fortunately, he brought with him a young assistant, a Latvian named
Vilis Lapenieks. Vilis did everything from loading the camera to shooting second-unit. Howe didn't even know how to load the camera, and he was always screaming at Lapenieks, 'You never get in guild, you lazy...' Meanwhile, Vilis was a blur. We never saw him standing anywhere for longer than a few seconds. The footage James Wong Howe shot was static; he'd set up his camera so far from the field that it was barely possible to see the players, while Vilis was practically in
Willie Davis' pocket. We ended up using more footage shot by Vilis than the Academy Award-winning Howe."
