ERNEST LASZLO

GREAT CINEMATOGRAPHERS

#2: [Left] with dir Stanley Kramer - photo Thys Ockersen Archive

ERNEST LASZLO

Born: 23 April 1898, Budapest, Austria-Hungary [now Hungary], as Ernö László.

Died: 6 January 1984, Motion Picture & Television Hospital, Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, Calif., USA.

Career: Emigrating to the USA from Budapest, Laszlo became a c.asst on 'Tongues of Scandal' in 1926. Four years later he was promoted to operative cameraman at Paramount, where he seconded many of the studio's top directors of photography. At the same time he worked on several independent productions as a director of photography. His 'poverty row' efforts included 'The Pace That Kills', 'The White Outlaw' and 'The Primrose Path'. He also helped film the Technicolor sequence of Howard Hughes' 'Hell's Angels'. In 1943 he received his first major screen credit as director of photography of Paramount's 'The Hitler Gang' [1943-44]. Before hooking up with dir Stanley Kramer, his most notable collaboration was with dir Robert Aldrich.

Was a member [and president, 1972-74] of the ASC.

Awards: 'Oscar' AA nom [1961; b&w] for 'Inherit the Wind'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1962; b&w] for 'Judgment at Nuremberg'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1964; color] for 'It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World'; 'Oscar' AA [1966; b&w] for 'Ship of Fools'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1967; color] for 'Fantastic Voyage'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1969] for 'Star!'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1971] for 'Airport'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1977] for 'Logan's Run'; Society of Camera Operators [SOC] 'Governors' Award' [1983].

A superior craftsman and technician, Ernest Laszlo belonged to a generation of cameramen trained by the master cinematographers of the silent era. He became a director of photography towards the end of the traditional Hollywood studio system, and tended to work with strong directors who brought a new realism to the commercial American cinema. Robert Aldrich, Otto Preminger, Billy Wilder, Fritz Lang, and Stanley Kramer generally functioned as their own bosses, on the set if not in the final edit, and they dealt with reality in their films rather than Hollywood fantasy. Laszlo painted their naturalistic visions on celluloid with dramatic lighting and a detached eye. He possessed an almost Germanic style, influenced in part by the German cinema of the 1920s, and throughout his career was rarely required to shoot romantically pretty pictures.

Laszlo photographed a few low-budget B-movies, and some comedy shorts, then joined Paramount as a camera operator. He was finally promoted to director of photography by director John Farrow on 'The Hitler Gang' [1943-44] and 'Two Years Before the Mast' [1944]. They are dark, brooding, atmospheric films, and earned Laszlo recognition for his mastery of low-key lighting. He introduced a new style of cinematography at Paramount. By eliminating most of the fill light, he achieved a more realistic look instead of the usual soft, glossy Paramount visuals.

Laszlo carried his style over to some of the most memorable films noirs. 'D.O.A.', directed by former cameraman Rudolph Maté, is a fine example, the seedy underworld perfectly captured by Laszlo's chiaroscuro lighting and fluid camera.

Billy Wilder's 'Stalag 17' was treated in a realistic manner, its story of a German prison camp during the Second World War evoked with stark Laszlo cinematography. The low-key lighting and the documentary style were uncommon in major studio Hollywood at the time, and the film's success proved that movies did not have to be candy-coated to work with audiences.

Laszlo had a productive relationship with Robert Aldrich. 'Apache' and 'Vera Cruz' used beautiful locations and reveal a strong sense of landscape. 'Kiss Me Deadly' and 'The Big Knife' are brilliantly photographed, cynical, latter-day noir. Laszlo cited 'Kiss Me Deadly' as his best black-and-white work, with its reliance on actual locations.

Laszlo also contributed outstanding black-and-white photography to Stanley Kramer's 'Inherit the Wind', 'Judgment at Nuremberg', and 'Ship of Fools'. Each has a claustrophobic setting [courtrooms and an ocean liner], and Laszlo was called upon to make great use of close-ups to accentuate the drama. The Kramer films are presented in a documentary-like fashion, with Laszlo utilizing deep grays and blacks in keeping with the somber dramatics.

Ernest Laszlo helped bring realism to the American cinema through his naturalistic cinematography, breaking down the barriers imposed by the glamour-conscious studios of the 1940s. He was fortunate to work with directors willing to suspend the usual high-key lighting effects in order to create genuine settings, and fused a new and practical form of photography for motion pictures. [From an article by John A. Gallagher on the filmreference.com website.]

FILMS
1927	Hell's Angels [Howard Hughes (replaced Luther Reed); (uncred) Edmund Goulding & James Whale] b&w-tinted-c; uncred 2uc (worked on the Technicolor footage); ph: Elmer Dyer, Antonio Gaudio, Harry Perry, a.o.; filmed April 1927-July 1928 (silent version) and September-December 1929 (sound version)
1928	Here Comes a Sailor [Les Goodwins] b&w; short/20m; prod Weiss Brothers Artclass Pictures (WBAP)
1928	The Pace That Kills [Norton Parker & William O'Connor] b&w; 64m; prod True-Life Photoplays
1928	The White Outlaw [Robert J. Horner] b&w; 56m; prod J. Charles Davis Productions
1928	Linda [Mrs. Wallace Reid (= Dorothy Davenport)] b&w; cph: Henry Cronjager & Bert Baldridge
1929	The King of the Kongo [Richard Thorpe] b&w; 10-part serial; cph: Ray Ries; silent & sound (part talking) version; prod Mascot Pictures
1929	Street Corners/Street Corner [Russell J. Birdwell] b&w; a ?-part (x 12m) 'actuality' film series
1929	Sock and Run [Les Goodwins] b&w; short/2 reels; prod WBAP
1930	The Primrose Path [William O'Connor] b&w; cph: Henry Cronjager
1943	The Hitler Gang [John Farrow] b&w; filmed 1943-44

1944	Two Years Before the Mast [John Farrow] b&w; spec pfx: Dev Jennings & Gordon Jennings; process ph: Farciot Edouart; released in 1946
1946	Dear Ruth [William D. Russell] b&w; process ph: Farciot Edouart
1947	Road to Rio [Norman Z. McLeod] b&w; spec pfx: Gordon Jennings & Paul Lerpae; process ph: Farciot Edouart; film #5 in 7-part 'Road to...'-series (Paramount, 1940-52 & United Artists, 1962)
1947	On Our Merry Way/A Miracle Can Happen [King Vidor (Charles Laughton seq, filmed July 1946, but cut from film and destroyed & Burgess Meredith/Paulette Goddard seq, filmed August 1946) & Leslie Fenton (Fred MacMurray seq, filmed September 1946 & Dorothy Lamour/Victor Moore seq, filmed October 1947); (uncred James Stewart/Henry Fonda seq, filmed February 1947) George Stevens & John Huston] b&w; uncred ph Dorothy Lamour/Victor Moore seq; other ph: Edward Cronjager (Charles Laughton seq - cut from film), Gordon Avil (Fred MacMurray seq), John F. Seitz (? seq) & Joseph Biroc (James Stewart/Henry Fonda seq)
1947	Lulu Belle [Leslie Fenton] b&w
1948	Let's Live a Little/Hell Breaks Loose [Richard Wallace] b&w; pfx: George J. Teague
1948	The Girl from Manhattan [Alfred E. Green] b&w; based on the Charles Laughton seq of 'On Our Merry Way'
1948	Cover Up/The Intruder [Alfred E. Green] b&w
1948	The Lucky Stiff [Lewis R. Foster] b&w
1948	Impact [Arthur Lubin] b&w
1948	Manhandled/Betrayal [Lewis R. Foster] b&w
1949	Riding High [Frank Capra] b&w; cph: George Barnes; process ph: Farciot Edouart
1949	The Big Wheel/Thundering Wheels [Edward Ludwig] b&w
1949	D.O.A. [Rudolph Maté] b&w

Jackie Robinson - EL - dir Alfred E. Green

"The Jackie Robinson Story"

1950	The Jackie Robinson Story [Alfred E. Green] b&w & computer colorized version
1950	M [Joseph Losey] b&w; replaced ph J. Roy Hunt
1950	The Well [Leo Popkin & Russell Rouse] b&w
1950	When I Grow Up [Michael Kanin] b&w
1951	The First Time [Frank Tashlin] b&w
1951	Mutiny [Edward Dmytryk] c; spec pfx: Jack Cosgrove
1951	Three for Bedroom C [Milton Bren] c
1951	Lady in the Iron Mask [Ralph Murphy] c
1952	Stalag 17 [Billy Wilder] b&w; spec pfx: Gordon Jennings
1952	The Steel Trap [Andrew L. Stone] b&w
1952	Scared Stiff [George Marshall] b&w; spec pfx: Gordon Jennings & Paul Lerpae; process ph: Farciot Edouart

1952	The Star [Stuart Heisler] b&w
1952	Houdini [George Marshall] c; spec pfx: Gordon Jennings
1953	The Moon Is Blue [Otto Preminger] b&w
1953	Die Jungfrau auf dem Dach/The Girl on the Roof [Otto Preminger] b&w; German-language version of 'The Moon Is Blue'
1953	The Naked Jungle [Byron Haskin (replaced Joseph H. Lewis)] c; 2uc: Loyal Griggs; spec pfx: John P. Fulton; process ph: Farciot Edouart
1953	About Mrs. Leslie [Daniel Mann] b&w; spec pfx: John P. Fulton; process ph: Farciot Edouart
1953	Apache [Robert Aldrich] c; uncred cph (fired after a week and replaced): Stanley Cortez; filmed 1953-54
1954	Vera Cruz [Robert Aldrich] sus/c
1954	The Kentuckian [Burt Lancaster] cs/c

1954	Kiss Me Deadly [Robert Aldrich] b&w
1955	The Big Knife [Robert Aldrich] b&w
1955	While the City Sleeps [Fritz Lang] sus/b&w
1955	Bandido! [Richard Fleischer] cs/c; ph Mexico: Manuel Urqueza Gómez
1956	Omar Khayyam/The Loves of Omar Khayyam [William Dieterle] vv/c; spec pfx: John P. Fulton; process ph: Farciot Edouart
1956	Valerie [Gerd Oswald] b&w
1957	Gunsight Ridge [Francis D. Lyon] b&w
1957	The Restless Years/The Wonderful Years [Helmut Käutner] cs/b&w; spph: Clifford Stine
1957	Attack of the Puppet People/The Fantastic Puppet People/Six Inches Tall [Bert I. Gordon] b&w
1957	The Space Children [Jack Arnold] b&w; 69m; spec pfx: John P. Fulton; process ph: Farciot Edouart
1958	Ten Seconds to Hell/The Phoenix [Robert Aldrich] b&w
1959	On the Beach [Stanley Kramer] b&w; uncred addph (deserted San Francisco seq); ph: Giuseppe Rotunno
1959	Tormented/Eye of the Dead [Bert I. Gordon] b&w; spec vfx: Bert I. Gordon & Flora M. Gordon
1959	Inherit the Wind [Stanley Kramer] b&w
1960	The Last Sunset [Robert Aldrich] c

EL - Marlene Dietrich - Spencer Tracy - Stanley Kramer

"Judgment at Nuremberg"

1961	Judgment at Nuremberg [Stanley Kramer] b&w
1962	It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World [Stanley Kramer] up70/c; addph: Irmin Roberts & Hal McAlpin; uncred aph: Jack Woolf; pfx: Linwood G. Dunn & James B. Gordon; uncred vfx: Willis H. O'Brien; process ph: Farciot Edouart
1963	4 for Texas/Four for Texas [Robert Aldrich] c; 2uc: Joseph Biroc, Burnett Guffey & Carl Guthrie
1963	One Man's Way [Denis Sanders] b&w
1963	Baby the Rain Must Fall [Robert Mulligan] b&w
1964	Ship of Fools [Stanley Kramer] b&w; spec pfx: Albert Whitlock; process ph: Farciot Edouart

EL - Richard Fleischer - "Fantastic Voyage"

1965	Fantastic Voyage [Richard Fleischer] cs/c; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott, Art Cruickshank & Emil Kosa Jr.; uncred miniatures: Marcel Delgado
1966	Luv [Clive Donner] p/c
1966	The Big Mouth [Jerry Lewis] c; uncred cph (took over after Wallace Kelley had fallen ill); ph: W. Wallace Kelley; filmed 1966-67

EL - Robert Wise - "Star!"

1967	Star!/Those Were the Happy Times [Robert Wise] tao/c; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott, Art Cruickshank & Emil Kosa Jr.
1968	The First Time/You Don't Need Pajamas at Rosie's/The Beginners [James Neilson (replaced Alex Grasshoff)] c
1968	Daddy's Gone A-Hunting [Mark Robson] p/c
1969	Airport [George Seaton & (uncred winter outdoor scenes) Henry Hathaway] tao/c; uncred 2nd cinematographer: Loyal Griggs; spec pfx: James B. Gordon, Don Weed, (uncred) Linwood G. Dunn & (uncred) Cecil Love
1972	Showdown [George Seaton] tao35/c; spec pfx: Albert Whitlock
1973	That's Entertainment! [Jack Haley Jr.] 35mm (+70bu)/b&w-c; mus comp film + doc/134m; co-addph: Gene Polito, Russell Metty, Ennio Guarnieri & Allan Green
1974	Funny Lady [Herbert Ross] p (+ 70bu)/c; fill-in ph (worked for 10 days while James Wong Howe was ill); ph: James Wong Howe
1975	Logan's Run [Michael Anderson] tao35 (+ 70bu)/c; uncred 2uc: Robert C. Jessup; spec vfx: L.B. Abbott
1976	The Domino Principle/The Domino Killings [Stanley Kramer] c; fill-in ph (temporarily replaced Koenekamp due to an accident during shooting); ph: Fred Koenekamp; aph: Donald M. Morgan

TELEVISION
1952	The Trio [Rubinstein, Heifetz, and Piatigorsky]/Million Dollar Trio [Jules Dassin] mus short/b&w/1 reel; ep mus series 'Meet the Masters' for WGN Chicago (NBC-tv)
1958	Now Is Tomorrow [pilot 'Thy Will Be Done' dir by Irvin Kershner] unaired pilot (of un-produced sci-fi series)/b&w/30m
1959	The Rebel [ep #1 'Johnny Yuma' dir by Irvin Kershner] 76-part series/b&w, 1959-61; 1st season, 1959-60 (36 ep)

MISCELLANEOUS
1926	Tongues of Scandal [Roy Clements] c.asst; ph: Leon Shamroy
1927	Wings [William A. Wellman & Harry D'Arrast] uncred co-c.op Akeley camera; ph: Harry Perry
1930	The Right to Love [Richard Wallace] co-2nd c.op; ph: Charles Lang
1931	The Secret Call [Stuart Walker & (assoc) Robert Lee] co-2nd cam; ph: David Abel
1931	Huckleberry Finn [Norman Taurog] co-2nd cam; ph: David Abel
1931	Ladies of the Big House [Marion Gering] co-2nd cam; ph: David Abel
1931	Rich Man's Folly [John Cromwell] co-c.op; ph: David Abel
1931	The Miracle Man [Norman Z. McLeod] co- c.op; ph: David Abel; filmed 1931-32
1932	Sky Bride [Stephen Roberts] co-c.op; ph: David Abel & Charles Marshall
1932	The Phantom President [Norman Taurog] c.op; ph: David Abel
1932	Madame Butterfly [Marion Gering] c.op; ph: David Abel
1932	The Crime of the Century/On Probation [William Beaudine] 2nd cam; ph: David Abel
1933	Mama Loves Papa [Norman Z. McLeod] c.op; ph: Gilbert Warrenton
1934	Lost in the Stratosphere [Melville Brown] 2nd cam; ph: Ira Morgan
1935	The Case of the Curious Bride [Michael Curtiz] c.op; ph: David Abel

c.op EL & dir Lewis Milestone - "The Night of Nights"

1939	The Night of Nights/Heaven on a Shoestring [Lewis Milestone] c.op; ph: Leo Tover
1940	I Wanted Wings [Mitchell Leisen] co-2nd cam; ph: Leo Tover
1941	Hold Back the Dawn [Mitchell Leisen] 2nd c.op; ph: Leo Tover
1942	The Major and the Minor [Billy Wilder] c.op; ph: Leo Tover
1942	China [John Farrow] 2nd cam; ph: Leo Tover; filmed 1942-43