IEC
#2-3: 1966
Born: 26 May 1905, Del Rio, Tennessee, USA.
Died: 29 May 1983, Goleta Valley Community Hospital, Goleta, Calif., USA.
Career: Raised in Etowah, Tennessee. Entered the film industry in 1923 as c.asst with William Fox Corporation. Went to Famous Players-Lasky Studios in 1927 and became c.op in 1928 [until 1943]. Became doph in 1943 with Columbia Pictures shooting 'B' pictures. Retired in 1970.
Ph commercials.
Was a member and president [1957-58] of the ASC.
Awards: Golden Globe nom [1950] for 'All the King's Men'; 'Oscar' AA [1953; b&w] for 'From Here to Eternity'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1956; b&w] for 'The Harder They Fall'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1962; b&w] for 'Birdman of Alcatraz'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1965; b&w] for 'King Rat'; 'Oscar' AA [1967] for 'Bonnie and Clyde'.
Burnett Guffey's reputation and contributions to the art of cinematography rest not so much in what he did with the camera and lights, but in what he chose not to do. The major portion of Guffey's career behind the camera was spent deglamorizing the Hollywood film, a task that takes on mammoth proportions when one realizes that he was most active in the 1940s and 1950s. In a period when CinemaScope, spectacle, and lurid color were the rule, Guffey continued to work in black-and-white, stripping the romance from the world's most romantic form.
Although he was capable of achieving the slick commercial look of the more typical Hollywood film, Guffey's personal style led him to work primarily on rugged action and mystery pictures. For these movies he developed what has been characterized as 'flat' photography, a functional rebuttal to the elaborate deep-focus cinematography of Gregg Toland. Using a simple, often single source of light, little or no fill light, and a minimum of camera movement, Guffey provided directors with a naturalistic, gritty look to complement hardboiled stories of criminals, convicts, and men at war.
Set in the seedy world of boxing, 'The Harder They Fall', for which Guffey received an Academy Award nomination, stands as a typical example of his flat style. Making use of minimal contrast, Guffey emphasizes gray. Blacks flow into grays which flow into whites, giving the film a truly monotonal effect. The gray, monotonal quality of Guffey's work was ideally suited for stories that featured characters of ambiguous morality such as Bogart's gunrunner in 'Sirocco', the mobsters aiming for respectability in Phil Karlson's 'The Brothers Rico', and George Segal's P.O.W. camp racketeer in 'King Rat'.
Guffey's tendency toward flat cinematography could be overridden by the potently baroque visuals of a director like Joseph H. Lewis in 'My Name Is Julia Ross' and 'So Dark the Night'. And there was always the danger of the flat cinematography being coupled with dull direction and the lackluster production design of a studio like Columbia to produce deadening visuals. Still, when combined with the proper story and strong direction, Burnett Guffey's flat cinematography provided an alternative aesthetic to the standard studio product. [From article by Eric Schaefer on the filmreference.com website.]
The genius of this celebrated American director of photography was in his use of lighting which served him well through dozens of dark crime flicks, yet he was also able to demonstrate a great sensitivity and external representation of internal human emotions. Adept at both black-and-white and color photography, Burnett Guffey is particularly remembered for his two Academy Award winning efforts: 'From Here to Eternity' [1953], in which the desires of the characters oozed from their lighted pores; and 'Bonnie and Clyde' [1966-67], in which the lighting offered not just a sense of the period, but a subtle irony as well.
Raised in Etowah, Tennessee, Guffey was already in California at age 18 when he found a job at Fox working as an assistant cameraman, and his resume in that capacity includes such silent films as 'The Courtship of Myles Standish' [1923], and 'The Iron Horse' [1924], for which he also did additional photography and which brought him into contact with John Ford for the first time. By 1928, Guffey was a camera operator for Paramount and seven years later worked under Joseph H. August, on the John Ford-directed 'The Informer'. As such, Guffey learned the Hollywood and American adaptation of expressionistic lighting methods which had been prevalent through the gangster cycle at Warner Bros. in the early 1930s, and which reached greater heights during the film noir period of the 40s.
Guffey was finally elevated to director of photography in 1943 with 'Sailor's Holiday' at Columbia, where he spend the bulk of his career. Guffey was frequently assigned to films of Will Jason, Henry Levin and Joseph H. Lewis, handling all genres, including adventure yarns and musicals, with aplomb. As seen in the film collaboration with Levin in particular, the DP had an intuitive sense for lighting that revealed the psychological levels of the characters - a key goal of expressionism. This was particularly true with 'All the King's Men' [1948-49] for director Robert Rossen, where the lighting reflects the darkening of the Willie Stark [Broderick Crawford] character as he is corrupted. Stark is first seen in dusty, almost pastoral light at his farm, but by film's end, the darkness is almost cloying.
As the studio system crumbled in the 50s, directors of photography scrambled to become freelancers, and genre-typing almost disappeared. Because of his flexibility, Guffey was well-suited to handle such efforts as the sweet, light comedy Danny Kaye vehicle 'Me and the Colonel' [1957-58], the playful 'Gidget' [1958], and a return to the camera-as-analyst with 'Birdman of Alcatraz' [1962]. Guffey worked with first-time feature director Gordon Parks in 1968 on 'The Learning Tree', blending the stunning framing for which the director had been celebrated as LIFE magazine photographer with the enveloping, telling lighting for which the DP was heralded. Guffey's last working years were full of triumphs such as 'The Great White Hope' [1970], and transcended even in the silliest of vehicles such as 'Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came' [1969] and 'The Steagle' [1970]. [From the TCM website.]
FILMS | |
---|---|
1924 |
The Iron Horse/The Iron Trail [John Ford] b&w; 12 reels; uncred addph (+ c.asst); ph: George Schneiderman; prod Fox Film Corporation; later released in an 11 reels sound version |
1929 |
Fairways and Foul [John J. Mescall] b&w; short/20m |
1943 |
Sailor's Holiday [William Berke] b&w; 60m |
1944 |
U-Boat Prisoner/Dangerous Mists [Lew Landers & (uncred) Budd Boetticher] b&w; 66m |
1944 |
The Impatient Years [Irving Cummings] b&w; uncred cph; ph: Joseph Walker |
1944 |
Kansas City Kitty [Del Lord] b&w |
1944 |
The Soul of a Monster [Will Jason] b&w; 61m |
1944 |
The Unwritten Code [Herman Rotsten (replaced Robert Wilmot after 2 weeks)] b&w; 61m |
1944 |
Eve Knew Her Apples [Will Jason] b&w; 64m |
1944 |
Tahiti Nights [Will Jason] b&w; 63m; cph: Benjamin Kline |
1944 |
Eadie Was a Lady [Arthur Dreifuss] b&w; 67m |
1944 |
I Love a Mystery [Henry Levin] b&w; 69m |
1944 |
The Fighting Guardsman [Henry Levin] b&w |
1945 |
The Blonde from Brooklyn [Del Lord] b&w, 65m |
1945 |
The Gay Senorita [Arthur Dreifuss] b&w; 69m |
1945 |
The Girl of the Limberlost [Melchor Ferrer] b&w; 60m |
1945 |
My Name Is Julia Ross [Joseph H. Lewis] b&w; 65m |
1945 |
Meet Me on Broadway/Song of Broadway [Leigh Jason] b&w |
1945 |
A Close Call for Boston Blackie/Lady of Mystery [Lew Landers] b&w; 60m; 9th film in 13-part 'Boston Blackie'-series (Columbia, 1941-49) |
1945 |
The Notorious Lone Wolf [D. Ross Lederman] b&w; 64m; 11th film in 14-part 'The Lone Wolf'-series (Columbia, 1935-49) |
1945 |
So Dark the Night [Joseph H. Lewis] b&w |
1945 |
Night Editor/The Trespasser [Henry Levin] b&w; 65m; cph: Philip Tannura |
1946 |
A Bird in the Head [Edward Bernds] b&w; 'The Three Stooges' short/16m |
1946 |
Gallant Journey [William A. Wellman] b&w; 2uc: George B. Meehan; aph: Elmer Dyer |
1946 |
Johnny O'Clock [Robert Rossen] b&w |
1946 |
Framed/Paula [Richard Wallace] b&w |
1946 |
To the Ends of the Earth [Robert Stevenson & (uncred; finished film) Sidney Buchman] b&w |
1947 |
The Sign of the Ram [John Sturges] b&w |
1947 |
The Gallant Blade [Henry Levin] c; cph: Charles Lawton Jr. |
1948 |
Photoplay Gold Medal Awards [Ralph Staub] b&w; doc/10m; ep series 'Screen Snapshots' |
1948 |
Smiles and Styles [Ralph Staub] b&w; doc/10m; ep series 'Screen Snapshots' |
1948 |
The Undercover Man/Chicago Story [Joseph H. Lewis] b&w |
1948 |
Knock on Any Door [Nicholas Ray] b&w |
1948 |
All the King's Men [Robert Rossen] b&w |
1949 |
The Reckless Moment [Max Ophüls] b&w |
1949 |
And Baby Makes Three [Henry Levin] b&w |
1949 |
Father Is a Bachelor [Norman Foster & Abby Berlin] b&w |
1949 |
In a Lonely Place [Nicholas Ray] b&w |
1949 |
Convicted [Henry Levin] b&w |
1950 |
Emergency Wedding/Jealousy [Edward Buzzell] b&w |
1950 |
Two of a Kind [Henry Levin] b&w |
1950 |
Sirocco [Curtis Bernhardt] b&w |
1951 |
The Family Secret [Henry Levin] b&w |
1951 |
Scandal Sheet/The Dark Page [Phil Karlson] b&w |
1951 |
Boots Malone [William Dieterle] b&w; 2uc; ph: Charles Lawton Jr. |
1951 |
The Sniper [Edward Dmytryk] b&w |
1952 |
Assignment - Paris/European Edition [Robert Parrish & Phil Karlson] b&w; cph: Ray Cory |
1952 |
The Last Posse [Alfred L. Werker] b&w |
1953 |
From Here to Eternity [Fred Zinnemann] b&w; uncred cph: Floyd Crosby |
1953 |
Human Desire [Fritz Lang] b&w |
1954 |
The Bamboo Prison [Lewis Seiler] b&w |
1954 |
The Violent Men/Rough Company/The Bandits [Rudolph Maté] cs/c; cph: W. Howard Greene |
1954 |
Private Hell 36 [Don Siegel] b&w |
1954 |
Tight Spot [Phil Karlson] b&w |
1955 |
Count Three and Pray/The Calico Pony [George Sherman] cs/c |
1955 |
Three Stripes in the Sun/The Gentle Sergeant [Richard Murphy] b&w |
1955 |
Battle Stations [Lewis Seiler] b&w |
1955 |
Storm Center [Daniel Taradash] b&w; originally scheduled for a 1952 start |
1955 |
The Harder They Fall [Mark Robson] b&w |
1956 |
Nightfall [Jacques Tourneur] b&w |
1956 |
The Strange One/End as a Man [Jack Garfein] b&w; addph: Clifford Poland |
1956 |
The Brothers Rico [Phil Karlson] b&w |
1957 |
Not One Shall Die [David Rich] b&w; comm short/29m; for United Jewish Appeal (fundraising) |
1957 |
Decision at Sundown [Budd Boetticher] c |
1957 |
The True Story of Lynn Stuart [Lewis Seiler] b&w |
1957 |
Screaming Mimi [Gerd Oswald] b&w |
1957 |
Me and the Colonel [Peter Glenville] b&w; 2uc: Ghislain Cloquet |
1958 |
Gidget [Paul Wendkos] cs/c |
1958 |
They Came to Cordura [Robert Rossen] cs/c; 2uc: Frank G. Carson |
1959 |
Edge of Eternity [Don Siegel] cs/c; uncred 2uc: Wilfred Cline |
1959 |
The Mountain Road [Daniel Mann] b&w |
1959 |
Let No Man Write My Epitaph [Philip Leacock] b&w |
1960 |
Hell to Eternity [Phil Karlson] b&w |
1960 |
Cry for Happy [George Marshall] p/c |
1961 |
Homicidal [William Castle] b&w |
1961 |
Mr. Sardonicus/Sardonicus [William Castle] b&w |
1961 |
Kid Galahad [Phil Karlson] c |
1962 |
Birdman of Alcatraz [John Frankenheimer (replaced Charles Crichton)] b&w; replaced John Alton after 16 days |
1963 |
4 for Texas/Four for Texas [Robert Aldrich] c; co-2uc; ph: Ernest Laszlo |
1963 |
Flight from Ashiya [Michael Anderson] p/c; cph: Joseph MacDonald |
1964 |
Good Neighbor Sam [David Swift] c |
[Right] with dir Bryan Forbes - "King Rat"
1965 |
King Rat [Bryan Forbes] b&w |
1965 |
The Silencers [Phil Karlson] c |
1966 |
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying [David Swift] p/c |
1966 |
Bonnie and Clyde/Bonnie and Clyde... Were Killers! [Arthur Penn] c |
1967 |
The Ambushers [Henry Levin] c; cph: Edward Colman; 2uc: Tony Braun & Jack A. Marta |
1968 |
The Split [Gordon Flemyng] p/c |
1968 |
The Madwoman of Chaillot [Bryan Forbes] p/c; cph: Claude Renoir |
1968 |
Where It's at [Garson Kanin] c |
1968 |
The Learning Tree [Gordon Parks] p/c; spec pfx: Albert Whitlock |
1969 |
Some Kind of a Nut [Garson Kanin] c; cph: Gerald Hirschfeld (1968 shooting period); spec pfx: Jerome Rosenfeld |
1969 |
Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came?/War Games [Hy Averback] c |
1970 |
Halls of Anger [Paul Bogart] c |
1970 |
The Great White Hope [Martin Ritt] p/c; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott & Art Cruickshank |
1970 |
The Steagle [Paul Sylbert] c |
TELEVISION | |
---|---|
1953 |
Ford Theatre/Ford Theater [ep #54 'The Fugitives' dir by Phil Karlson & #60 'For Value Received' dir by Arnold Laven] 195-part anthology series/b&w, 1952-57; 2nd season, 1953-54; for NBC-tv & ABC-tv (5th season, 1956-57); also on CBS-tv ('The Ford Television Theater' - live) from 1948-51 |
1954 |
Ford Theatre/Ford Theater [ep #101 'The Lilac Bush' dir by Arnold Laven] 3rd season, 1954-55; see 1953 |
1956 |
Ford Theatre/Ford Theater [ep #174 'Mrs. Wane Comes to Call' dir by Oscar Rudolph] 5th season, 1956-57; see 1953 |
1958 |
The Donna Reed Show [ep #1 'Weekend Trip' dir by Andrew McCullough] 275-part sitcom series/b&w, 1958-66 |
1958 |
Alcoa Theatre [ep 'Eddie' dir by Jack Smight] anthology series/b&w, 1957-60 (started as 'The Alcoa Hour', 1955-57; alternated with 'Goodyear Theatre' during its five-season run); 2nd season, 1958-59 |
1959 |
The Law and Mr. Jones [unaired pilot 'Lincoln' dir by Jack Smight] 45-part crime series/b&w, 1960-61 (32 ep) & 1962 (13 ep); other ph: Howard Schwartz |
1959 |
Goodyear Theatre [ep 'All in the Family' dir by Oscar Rudolph] anthology series/b&w, 1957-60 (started as the 'Goodyear TV Playhouse', 1951-57 - live; alternated with 'Alcoa Theatre'); 3rd season, 1959-60 |
1965 |
Gidget [ep #24 'Ring-a-Ding-Dingbat' dir by Hal Cooper & #28 'One More for the Road' dir by Jerrold Bernstein] 32-part sitcom series, 1965-66; other ph: Gert Andersen, Fred Gately, a.o. |
1966 |
Somewhere in Italy... Company B! [Danny Arnold] unsold pilot; aired in August as ep #2 of ABC-tv series 'Preview Tonight' |
1968 |
The Outcasts [pilot dir by Robert Butler] 26-part western series, 1968-69 |
FILMS AS CAMERA ASSISTANT/OPERATOR | |
---|---|
1923 |
The Courtship of Myles Standish [Frederick Sullivan] c.asst; ph: George Rizard |
1924 |
The Iron Horse/The Iron Trail [John Ford] c.asst (+ uncred addph); ph: George Schneiderman |
1926 |
The Yankee Clipper/White Wings [Rupert Julian] c.asst; ph: John J. Mescall |
1928 |
Love Over Night [Edward H. Griffith] c.asst; ph: John J. Mescall |
1928 |
The Leatherneck [Howard Higgin] ?; ph: John J. Mescall |
1930 |
Danger Lights [George B. Seitz] co-c.op; ph: Karl Struss & John W. Boyle |
1932 |
The Conquerors/Pioneer Builders [William A. Wellman] co-c.op; ph: Edward Cronjager |
1934 |
The Night Life of the Gods [Lowell Sherman] co-2nd cam; ph: John J. Mescall |
1934 |
Clive of India [Richard Boleslawski] c.op; ph: J. Peverell Marley |
1935 |
The Informer [John Ford] c.op; ph: Joseph H. August |
1936 |
You Only Live Once [Fritz Lang] c.asst; ph: Leon Shamroy |
1938 |
Letter of Introduction [John M. Stahl] c.op; ph: Karl Freund |
1939 |
Framed [Harold Schuster] c.op; ph: Jerome Ash |
1940 |
Foreign Correspondent [Alfred Hitchcock] c.op; ph: Rudolph Maté |
1940 |
That Hamilton Woman/Lady Hamilton [Alexander Korda] c.op; ph: Rudolph Maté |
1943 |
Cover Girl [Charles Vidor] c.op; ph: Rudolph Maté & Allen M. Davey |