GERRY FISHER

GREAT CINEMATOGRAPHERS

#1: 2008

#2: With actress Julie Christie [1970]

GERRY FISHER

Born: 23 June 1926, London, UK, as Gerald Fisher.

Died: 2 December 2014, London, UK. [Gerry had suffered a fall and had been admitted to hospital in a semi-coma and the doctor's prognosis was not good. Gerry was unaware that his wife, Jean, had predeceased him 7 days earlier on November 26th. Both of them were living at Glebelands Care Home (Wokingham, Berkshire), the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund nursing home. (From the BSC website)]

Education: Technical College.

Career: Worked for Kodak and De Havilland Aircraft Co., then war service in the Royal Navy. Joined Alliance Riverside Studios as clapper boy in 1946. Became c.asst on doc's for Wessex Films. Worked for 6 years as focus puller for Shepperton Studios. Became c.op in 1957.

Ph commercials dir by Kevin Billington, a.o.

Was a member [later honorary member] of the BSC and the Guild of British Camera Technicians [GBCT]. His son Cary is a c.op & 2uc.

Awards: BSC Award nom [1971] & BAFTA Film Award nom [1972] for 'The Go-Between'; BSC Award nom [1976; shared] & BAFTA Film Award nom [1977; shared] for 'Aces High'; 'César' Award nom [1977] for 'Monsieur Klein'; BSC Lifetime Achievement Award [2008].

Jack Gold [left] presents Gerry Fisher with the "BSC Lifetime Achievement Award"

[Photo from the BSC website]

Gerry Fisher: 'It was during 'Casino Royale', which I was doing with Jack [Hildyard]. I got the offer from Joe Losey to read a script, which was 'Accident', and to let him know within three days if I thought I could photograph it. So I went back to the hotel and locked myself in my room. I was saddled with these enormous decisions, (a) whether I think I can do it, (b) whether I think I dare do it and (c) whether I dare tell them that I would have to leave 'Casino Royale' in order to do it. Anyway, I did do all those things, because I read the script, which was marvelous, and a strange thing happened, I began to read a script for the first time in terms of what I would do with it, of the way I visualized it. So it fell into place, it suggested itself to me in terms of images, of how I felt it should look, although I didn't know how I was going to achieve that look. But I discovered afterwards that it's not important to know how you're going to tackle something so long as you know what you want to do.

I'd done a picture with him [Losey] called 'Modesty Blaise' on which I was the operator, and there were things in it, images, ideas that I had contributed... so much so that recently I walked into a bar and I happened to glance at the picture on the television, and I recognized it instantly as one I'd framed myself. So it wasn't just straight forward operating. And evidently, arising out of that association, Joe Losey figured he saw something in me I didn't know I had. I mean, I wasn't saying to him, "Please let me photograph your next picture." Anyway, I did it, and finished it... probably most of the people in the business were astonished that I was actually able to do it, but nobody was more astonished than me, I can assure you.' [From interview with Bob Baker & Markku Salmi in 'Film Dope', #16, February 1979.]

Gerry Fisher, who has died aged 88, was a cinematographer who worked with some of the most renowned film directors of the second half of the 20th century, including Carol Reed, John Huston and Billy Wilder. However, he will be best remembered for his long collaboration with the cinematic auteur Joseph Losey, for whom he shot eight films, including 'Accident' and 'The Go-Between'.

In 1966 Fisher was working as the cameraman on the James Bond spoof 'Casino Royale' when Losey gave him Harold Pinter's screenplay for 'Accident'. He asked Fisher to tell him within three days if he thought he could step up to join his crew as director of photography.

A confirmed Francophile, Fisher also filmed Losey's French productions, including 'Monsieur Klein', an Alain Delon feature set in the murky art world of wartime Paris. "On the set we invented a secret code," recalled his cameraman, Richard Andry. "When he blinked his right eye, it meant: special development push one stop; the left eye: please bring me a cup of coffee; and both eyes: a glass of champagne."

During the Fifties and Sixties Fisher learnt his trade alongside some of the finest cinematographers of the 20th century, including Christopher Challis, Freddie Francis and Douglas Slocombe.

His big break came in the mid-Sixties when, as he put it, "Joe Losey figured he saw something in me I didn't know I had."

The moody palette of 'Accident' was in stark contrast to his approach four years later on 'The Go-Between'. Shot in rural Norfolk during the summer of 1970, Fisher framed the forbidden romance between two star-crossed Edwardian lovers [played by Alan Bates and Julie Christie] in a series of sunny vistas. The film won the Palme d'Or at Cannes - and a BAFTA nomination for Fisher.

The French cinematographer Pierre-William Glenn maintained that Fisher was "quite simply brilliant when it came to interpreting the scenery, whether it was in a studio or a natural décor." Losey had him working in both, "sculpting" light and plotting complicated shots. "His electrical installations were diabolically accurate," recalled Glenn. "He imposed camera movements that were as precise as his lighting. I often had to manoeuvre around spotlights touching every edge of the frame during a sequence shot."

One colleague described Fisher as "almost a caricature of an Englishman." He dressed with elegance, sported a neat clipped ivory-white beard, demanded the best from his team and remained optimistic on even the most difficult shoots.

"He was confident of his talent," said Glenn, "tough against pain and very tenacious. 'We are not giving up,' he would often tell me."

He was made a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1997 and in 2008 received a lifetime achievement award from the British Society of Cinematographers.

He shot his last film, the French romantic drama 'Furia', in 1998 after which he retired to East Molesey on the banks of the Thames.

He married Jean Hawkins in 1951. His wife died a few days before him and the couple had a joint funeral. They are survived by their son, the cameraman Cary Fisher. [From the obituary in 'The Telegraph', 6 January 2015.]

FILMS
1966	Accident [Joseph Losey] c
1966	The Mikado [Stuart Burge] scope/c
1967	Interlude [Kevin Billington] c
1967	Sebastian/Mr. Sebastian [David Greene] c
1968	Amsterdam Affair [Gerry O'Hara] c
1968	Secret Ceremony [Joseph Losey] c
1968	[Chekhov's] The Sea Gull [Sidney Lumet] c
1969	[Shakespeare's] Hamlet [Tony Richardson] c
1969	Ned Kelly [, Outlaw] [Tony Richardson] c
1969	All the Right Noises [Gerry O'Hara] c
*196?*	The Ski Bum/Point Zero [scheduled as doph with dir Anatole Litvak; film was dir by Bruce D. Clark and ph by Vilmos Zsigmond in 1969
1970	Macho Callahan [Bernard Kowalski] p/c
1970	The Go-Between [Joseph Losey] c
1971	Blind Terror/See No Evil [Richard Fleischer] c
1971	Man in the Wilderness [Richard Sarafian] p/c; 2uc: John Cabrera
1971	Malpertuis: Histoire d'une maison maudiste/Malpertuis: The Legend of Doom House [Harry Kümel] c
1972	The Man and the Snake [Sture Rydman] c; short/26m
1972	The Amazing Mr. Blunden [Lionel Jeffries] c
1972	The Offence/The Offense/Something Like the Truth [Sidney Lumet] c
1972	A Bequest to the Nation/The Nelson Affair [James Cellan Jones] p/c
1972	A Doll's House [Joseph Losey] c
1973	Butley [Harold Pinter] c

With dir Irvin Kershner [right] - "S*P*Y*S"

1973	*SPYS** [Irvin Kershner] c
1974	Juggernaut/Terror On the Britannic [Richard Lester] c; 2uc: Paul Wilson; aph: Peter Allwork
1974	Dogpound Shuffle/Spot [Jeffrey Bloom] c
1974	Brannigan/Joe Battle [Douglas Hickox] p/c
1975	The Romantic Englishwoman [Joseph Losey] c
1975	The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother [Gene Wilder] c
1975	Aces High [Jack Gold] c; aph: Peter Allwork
1976	Mr. Klein/Monsieur Klein [Joseph Losey] p/c

"Comme un boomerang..."

1976	Comme un boomerang.../Boomerang [José Giovanni] c; cred as tech adv; c.op Pierre-William Glenn was cred as doph
1976	The Last Remake of Beau Geste [Marty Feldman] c
1976	The Island of Dr. Moreau [Don Taylor] c; 2uc: Ronnie Taylor
1977	Fedora [Billy Wilder] c
1977	Les routes du sud/Roads to the South [Joseph Losey] c
1978	The Ninth Configuration/Twinkle, Twinkle, Killer Kane [William Peter Blatty] p/c
1978	[Mozart's] Don Giovanni/Don Juan [Joseph Losey] p/c; cph: Angelo Filippini
1979	Wise Blood [John Huston] c
1979	Wolfen [Michael Wadleigh] p/c; ph New York: Fred Abeles; insert ph: Robert Bailin & Don Stern
1980	Rends-moi la clé! [Gérard Pirès] c
1980	Victory/Escape to Victory [John Huston] p/c; 2uc: Eric van Haren Noman
1981	Un matin rouge [Jean-Jacques Aublanc] c
1982	Lovesick [Marshall Brickman] c
1982	Better Late Than Never/Whose Little Girl Are You? [Bryan Forbes] c; addph; ph: Claude Lecomte
1982	Yellowbeard [Mel Damski] c
1983	Les mots pour le dire [José Pinheiro] c
1985	The Holcroft Covenant [John Frankenheimer] c; process ph: Charles Staffell
1985	Highlander [Russell Mulcahy] c; ph New York: Tony Mitchell; addph: Denis Crossan, Arthur Smith, a.o.; 2uc: John Harris; aph: Peter Warrilow
1986	Man on Fire/Absinthe [Elie Chouraqui] c
*1986*	Le dernier des templiers [Yvan Chiffre] scheduled to start shooting in August 1986; status unknown
*1987*	Orn [Frédéric de Foucaud (= Fred de Fooko)] in preparation is Fred de Fooko's full-length anim '(H)orn - la nuit du roi'; status unknown
1987	Running on Empty [Sidney Lumet] c
1988	Dead-Bang [John Frankenheimer] c
1988	Black Rainbow [Mike Hodges] c
1989	The Fourth War [John Frankenheimer] scope/c; 2uc: J. Barry Herron
1989	[William Peter Blatty's] The Exorcist III [: Legion] [William Peter Blatty] c; uncred 2uc: Peter Suschitzky; ph Los Angeles: Jacek Laskus
1990	Company Business [Nicholas Meyer] c; 2uc: John Ward; aph: Peter Allwork
1991	Diggstown/Midnight Sting [Michael Ritchie] c
1992	The Audiovisual Encyclopedia of Scientists: Einstein/They Changed the World: Einstein [Michael Ritchie] c; educational doc/52m
1993	Cops and Robbersons [Michael Ritchie] c
1995	When Saturday Comes [Maria Giese] c; cph: Grant Cameron
1996	K [Alexandre Arcady] c
1998	Furia [Alexandre Aja] c

TELEVISION
1973	Catholics [: The Eye of the Storm] [: A Fable of the Future]/The Conflict [Jack Gold] tvm; ep 'ITV Saturday Night Theatre'
1976	Once Upon a Time Is Now... The Story of Princess Grace [Kevin Billington] doc/74m; addph; ph: Ousama Rawi; ep NBC-tv series 'The Big Event'
1983	Samson and Delilah [Lee Philips] tvm
1992	The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom [Michael Ritchie] tvm; 2uc: Paul Varrieur
1993	Dandelion Dead [Mike Hodges] 2-part tvm

FILMS AS CAMERA ASSISTANT/OPERATOR
1947	They Made Me a Fugitive/I Became a Criminal [Alberto Cavalcanti] c.asst; ph: Otto Heller
1947	The Brass Monkey/Lucky Mascot [Thornton Freeland] focus puller; ph: Basil Emmott
1947	Daughter of Darkness [Lance Comfort] c.asst; ph: Stanley Pavey
1949	No Way Back [Stefan Osiecki] c.asst; ph: Robert Navarro
1949	Old Mother Riley's New Venture/A Wild Irish Night [John Harlow] focus puller; ph: James Wilson
1949	Miss Pilgrim's Progress [Val Guest] focus puller; ph: Bert Mason
1950	State Secret/The Great Manhunt [Sidney Gilliat] c.asst; ph: Robert Krasker
1950	The Wooden Horse [Jack Lee] focus puller; ph: C.M. Pennington-Richards
1950	Maria Chapdelaine/The Naked Heart [Marc Allégret] c.asst; ph: Armand Thirard
1950	The Changing Face of Europe/The Grand Design [seg #5 'Clearing the Lines' dir by Kay Mander; doc] focus puller; ph: Jonah Jones
1951	Mr. Denning Drives North [Anthony Kimmins] c.asst; ph: John Wilcox
1951	Lady Godiva Rides Again/Beauty Queen [Frank Launder] 2u c.asst; 2uc: Bill Allan; ph: Wilkie Cooper
1951	Outcast of the Islands [Carol Reed] c.asst studio scenes; ph: John Wilcox & Ted Scaife
1951	Home at Seven/Murder on Monday [Ralph Richardson] c.asst; ph: Jack Hildyard & Ted Scaife
1951	Cry, the Beloved Country/African Fury [Zoltan Korda] c.asst (studio scenes); ph: Robert Krasker
1952	The Tall Headlines/The Frightened Bride [Terence Young] c.asst; ph: C.M. Pennington-Richards
1952	Who Goes There!/The Passionate Sentry [Anthony Kimmins] c.asst; ph: John Wilcox & Ted Scaife
1952	The Holly and the Ivy [George More O'Ferrall] c.asst; ph: Ted Scaife
1952	The Ringer [Guy Hamilton] c.asst; ph: Ted Scaife
1952	Appointment in London [Philip Leacock] focus puller; ph: Stephen Dade
1953	The Intruder [Guy Hamilton] c.asst; ph: Ted Scaife
1953	The Captain's Paradise [Anthony Kimmins] focus puller; ph: Ted Scaife
1953	The Heart of the Matter [George More O'Ferrall] c.asst; ph: Jack Hildyard
1953	Beautiful Stranger/Twist of Fat/Lifeline [David Miller] c.asst; ph: Ted Scaife
1954	An Inspector Calls [Guy Hamilton] focus puller; ph: Ted Scaife
1954	The Constant Husband [Sidney Gilliat] focus puller; ph: Ted Scaife
1954	A Kid for Two Farthings [Carol Reed] focus puller; ph: Ted Scaife
1955	The Deep Blue Sea [Anatole Litvak] focus puller; ph: Jack Hildyard
1955	The March Hare [George More O'Ferrall] c.op (for 1 day); ph: Jack Hildyard
1955	My Teenage Daughter/Teenage Bad Girl [Herbert Wilcox] c.asst; ph: Max Greene
1956	Sailor Beware!/Panic in the Parlor [Gordon Parry] focus puller; ph: Douglas Slocombe
1956	Anastasia [Anatole Litvak] focus puller; ph: Jack Hildyard
1956	The Bridge on the River Kwai [David Lean] c.asst (+ c.op [last 6 weeks of shooting]); ph: Jack Hildyard; filmed 1956-57
1957	The Key [Carol Reed] c.asst; ph: Oswald Morris
1958	The Journey [Anatole Litvak] c.op; ph: Jack Hildyard
1958	The Devil's Disciple [Guy Hamilton (replaced Alexander Mackendrick after 2 weeks)] c.op; ph: Jack Hildyard
1959	Tarzan's Greatest Adventure [John Guillermin] c.op; ph: Ted Scaife
1959	Suddenly, Last Summer [Joseph Mankiewicz] c.op; ph: Jack Hildyard
1959	The Sundowners [Fred Zinnemann] co-c.op; ph: Jack Hildyard
1960	The Millionairess [Anthony Asquith] c.op; ph: Jack Hildyard
1960	Cleopatra [Rouben Mamoulian] c.op; ph: Jack Hildyard; abandoned; some footage used in final version (1963)
1961	What a Carve Up!/No Place Like Homicide! [Pat Jackson] c.op; ph: Monty Berman
1961	The Road to Hong Kong [Norman Panama] c.op; ph: Jack Hildyard
1962	Guns of Darkness [Anthony Asquith] c.op; ph: Robert Krasker
1962	Live Now - Pay Later [Jay Lewis] c.op; ph: Jack Hildyard
1962	55 Days at Peking [Nicholas Ray; Guy Green & Andrew Marton (uncred; finished film)] c.op; ph: Jack Hildyard
1963	The V.I.P.s/International Hotel [Anthony Asquith] c.op; ph: Jack Hildyard
1963	An Evening with the Royal Ballet [Anthony Havelock-Allan & Anthony Asquith] co-c.op; ph: Geoffrey Unsworth & Christopher Challis
1963	Night Must Fall [Karel Reisz] c.op; ph: Freddie Francis
1963	Circus World/The Magnificent Showman [Henry Hathaway] c.op; ph: Jack Hildyard
1964	Guns at Batasi [John Guillermin] c.op; ph: Douglas Slocombe
1964	The Yellow Rolls-Royce [Anthony Asquith] co-c.op; ph: Jack Hildyard
1965	Bunny Lake Is Missing [Otto Preminger] c.op; ph: Denys Coop
1965	Modesty Blaise [Joseph Losey] c.op; ph: Jack Hildyard
1966	Casino Royale [John Huston, Val Guest, Kenneth Hughes, Robert Parrish & Joseph McGrath] c.op on Huston, Parrish & McGrath seq; ph: Jack Hildyard