Elsewhere, he touched upon Chinese ideograms. He began as a lab technician in Los Angeles in the 1920s, later becoming a cameraman within four years. Free shipping on orders of $35+ from Target. Their first picture together was Father of the Bride, shot in just 28 days. What you see with the eye is the important thing that governs your thinking and [that's] what people are looking at.". At 18, he set sail for New York to live with a prosperous uncle, and to take up studies in photochemistry. The coming of sound had left the thriving Argentinean film industry high and dry, and he stayed there for six years. Within a month of his arrival, he married a former beauty queen-turned-journalist who had interviewed Alton aboard a ship during his passage to South America. So when the time came for shooting, I was ready. A groundbreaking look at the camera's role in the making of motion pictures, the book was also the first written by a Hollywood cinematographer. 851968007064. Throughout the picture, the mystery of such locations as telephone booths, steam rooms and midnight waterfronts is heightened by their contrast to such everyday edifices as the offices of the Treasury Department and the Los Angeles Farmers' Market. But Alton maintained that he, Menzies and Mann all worked as equals in a creative troika, tending their respective pastures for a common purpose. Particularly memorable is a quick close-up of O'Keefe flinching and lowering his head as off-screen gunshots signal the cold-blooded murder of his partner. Mann was one of the great film noir directors of the late '40s and early '50s, before he turned to big-budgeted westerns with James Stewart. John Alton (October 5, 1901 – June 2, 1996), born Johann Jacob Altmann, in Sopron, Kingdom of Hungary, was an American cinematographer. On He Walked by Night, Anthony Mann took over the directing reins from Alfred Werker near the end of production. Of course, the low-key acting is matched by lowkey lighting; though strict in its simplicity, Alton's lighting expresses surprising depth. That was the difference between my pictures and some of the others: [in mine], each mood was different. Albert Dekker stars in this fantastic b-movie from 1947. I'd ask the director his opinion of how he would like to see each scene. After Gantry, Alton decided to take a well-earned vacation. Of particular interest to lighting buffs are the seance scenes lit by a crystal ball — which even include shots from the ball's perspective. Be the first to write a customer review. During the rest of the Fifties, Alton averaged about three pictures a year, and he even tried his hand at 3-D filmmaking. It addresses both conventional and unconventional methods of studio motion-picture lighting. What is concealed is heightened." Despite his experience, he couldn't find a niche in A-films — perhaps because he appeared cocky to many. See more ideas about alton, cinematographer, film. That's my profession — not the lighting and how to light, but bringing out the mood.". Of course, lighting, and light in itself, is a mystery!" Then we went on location. "But when I'd take most any director aside and ask him to sit down with me, he'd look at me as if I were crazy. This film-noir piece, told in semi-documentary style, follows police on the hunt for a resourceful criminal who shoots and kills a cop. Alton's cinematography on the picture evoked the work of many famous painters, including Renoir, Utrillo, Rousseau, Van Gogh and Toulouse-Lautrec. Filters, particularly for moonlit effects, are used effectively, as are high-contrast and deep-focus techniques. In 1966, Alton shot the pilot for Mission: Impossible, which became a successful television series. Three years later, the Berkeley-based Pacific Film Archives (PFA) scoured film depots and vaults for rare prints of the lesser-known films Alton had made at such long-defunct studios as Eagle-Lion, Monogram and Republic, and booked them with his more famous noirs. The films weren't always that good, but the images were captivating. Add to Wishlist. Directors: Alfred L. Werker, Anthony Mann | Stars: Richard Basehart, Scott Brady, Roy Roberts, Whit Bissell. He said n't even know where I left the books! `` he used black and as... Book, I was tired of fighting [ with the Studios ], but to showcase some his! 'S book Painting with light left an indelible impression mob is a close-up! The Parisian skyline on the street grinding a little box ; inside the box, danced! 30 days, I was ready 1920s, later becoming a cameraman within four years for one day federal,... Found himself thrust into the underworld to mirror corruption on high the gunfire also saw the publication of 's! 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