LEON SHAMROY

GREAT CINEMATOGRAPHERS

#1: Photo by Judd Gunderson

LEON SHAMROY

Born: 16 July 1901, New York, N.Y., USA, as Leonard Shamroy.

Died: 7 July 1974, Los Angeles, Calif., USA.

Education: Peter Cooper Institute, New York City [engineering]; Columbia University, New York.

Career: Was asst to Nicholas J. Shamroy, developer of the Lawrence motor. Entered the film industry in 1920 as technician ['hypo shooter'] in the laboratory of Fox Film Corporation. Became asst to doph Andy Miller. Became doph in 1924 working with actor-stuntman Charles 'Hurricane' Hutchison. Worked with dir Robert J. Flaherty on an unfinished doc [1928-29] and served for 2 years [1930-31] as ph for the Huntington Ethnological Expedition in Japan, Siam, Burma, India and Egypt. In 1939 he went under contract to 20th Century Fox and remained with the studio until progressive illness forced his retirement in 1969.

Ph a Technicolor screen-test (6m) with Marilyn Monroe in 1947. Ph 'The Robe', the first CinemaScope film to be released.

He was called 'the cameraman's cameraman'.

Joined the ASC in 1932 and was president [1947-48].

Was married [1953-74] to actress Mary Anderson [1918-2014].

Was immortalized in Hollywood's 'Sidewalk of the Stars'.

Awards: National Board of Review 'Honor Film of 1928' Award [1928] for 'The Last Moment'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1938] for 'The Young in Heart'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1940; color; shared] for 'Down Argentine Way'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1942; b&w] for 'The Gentlemen from West Point'; 'Oscar' AA [1942; color] for 'The Black Swan'; 'Oscar' AA [1944; color] for 'Wilson'; 'Oscar' AA [1945; color] for 'Leave Her to Heaven'; Look Magazine Award [1945] for his contribution to the art of color photography; 'Oscar' AA nom [1949; b&w] for 'Prince of Foxes'; Look Magazine Award [1949] for 'Twelve O'Clock High'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1951; color] for 'David and Bathsheba'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1952; color] for 'The Snows of Kilimanjaro'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1953; color] for 'The Robe'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1954; color] for 'The Egyptian'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1955; color] for 'Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1956; color] for 'The King and I'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1958; color] for 'South Pacific'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1959; color] for 'Porgy and Bess'; 'Oscar' AA [1963; color] for 'Cleopatra'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1963; color] for 'The Cardinal'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1965; color] for 'The Agony and the Ecstasy'.

Leon Shamroy's films of the 1950s demonstrate a mastery of Technicolor. He is a colorist, and he only achieved his best work with the advent of color in the cinema. If another Hollywood cameraman, Lee Garmes, resembles Rembrandt, as many critics feel, then it can be said that Shamroy is the cinema's equivalent to Peter Paul Rubens.

Shamroy's black-and-white films still have some interest because of their strong independent strains. In the late 1920s he participated in the making of experimental films. 'The Last Moment', which he worked on with Paul Fejos, was the first silent film made without intertitles and filmed entirely with subjective, point-of-view shots. In 'Private Worlds' Shamroy was among the first to employ zoom lenses. At 20th Century-Fox, Shamroy's experimental spirit was allowed to blossom under the light and nourishing control of Darryl F. Zanuck.

In the 1940s Shamroy got his great chance to work in Technicolor. It was then too that he earned three Academy Awards. He continued to perfect his color techniques. He evocatively employed studio light to suggest the natural light of Africa in 'The Snows of Kilimanjaro' and 'The Egyptian' - two neglected pieces of cinematic virtuosity. In 'Justine', Shamroy used one major light, with two secondary bulbs, to suggest dawn light. Shamroy was very much at home in the studio.

The peculiar balance of Shamroy's cinematography between actuality and artifice becomes clearest in 'South Pacific', where Shamroy had to use color-filter effects against his will. The shots containing these expressionistic effects, forced on him by the director Joshua Logan, are poorly integrated into the impressionistic reality of the film, done for the most part on location in the South Pacific. Shamroy was a painstaking craftsman when Hollywood was offering its strange studio blend of reality and artistry. He was much more in his element when filming the studio sets of 'The King and I', and this film is a rich and shimmering feast for the eye - one of the finest among the filmed musicals. [From article by Rodney Farnsworth on the Film Reference website.]

FILMS [1 reel = c. 10m]
1926	Lightning Hutch [Charles Hutchison] b&w; 10-part serial/20 reels; prod Hurricane Film Corporation (HFC)
1926	Tongues of Scandal [Roy Clements] b&w; 6 reels; prod Sterling Pictures
1927	Pirates of the Sky [Charles Andrews] b&w; 5 reels; prod HFC
1927	The Trunk Mystery [Frank Hall Crane] b&w; 5 reels; prod Pathé Exchange, Inc.
1927	Catch-As-Catch-Can [Charles Hutchison] b&w; 5 reels; or ph James S. Brown Jr.; prod Gotham Prods
1927	Hidden Aces [Howard Mitchell] b&w; 5 reels; prod Lewis T. Rogers
1927	Land of the Lawless [Thomas Buckingham] b&w; 5 reels; prod Liberty Pictures Corporation
1928	The Telltale Heart [Leon Shamroy] b&w; short/24m; prod Klein & Shamroy
1928	The Last Moment [Paul Fejos] b&w; 6 reels
1928	Out with the Tide/Silent Evidence [Charles Hutchison] b&w; 6 reels; prod Peerless Pictures Corporation (PPC)
1928	Bitter Sweets [Charles Hutchison] b&w; 6 reels; prod PPC
*1928*	Acoma the Sky City [Robert Flaherty] unfinished; 2nd cam: Floyd Crosby
1930	Alma de Gaucho [Henry Otto] b&w; 59m
1931	Women Men Marry [Charles Hutchison] b&w; 60m
1932	Stowaway/Tricked [Phil Whitman] b&w; 54m
1932	Man's Paradise [Leon Shamroy] b&w; doc/3 reels; ethnographic film about Bali; prod by The (Grace Goodhue) Huntington Expedition; released in 1938
1932	A Strange Adventure/The Wayne Murder Case [Phil Whitman & (uncred) Hampton Del Ruth] b&w; 60m
1933	Jennie Gerhardt [Marion Gering] b&w
1933	Her Bodyguard [William Beaudine] b&w; uncred cph; ph: Harry Fischbeck
1933	Three-Cornered Moon [Elliott Nugent] b&w
1933	Ever in My Heart [Archie Mayo] b&w; 68m; uncred 1st cam; ph: Arthur Todd
1934	Good Dame/Good Girl [Marion Gering] b&w
1934	Are We Civilized? [Edwin Carewe] b&w; cph: Al M. Green
1934	Thirty Day Princess [Marion Gering] b&w
1934	Kiss and Make-Up [Harlan Thompson & (assoc) Jean Negulesco] b&w
1934	Ready for Love [Marion Gering] b&w; 65m
1934	Behold My Wife! [Mitchell Leisen] b&w

Charles Boyer - Claudette Colbert - Joan Bennett - Gregory La Cava [seated] - LS [right]

"Private Worlds"

1935	Private Worlds [Gregory La Cava] b&w; spec pfx: George J. Teague
1935	Accent on Youth [Wesley Ruggles] b&w
1935	She Married Her Boss [Gregory La Cava] b&w
1935	She Couldn't Take It/Woman Tamer [Tay Garnett] b&w
1935	Mary Burns, Fugitive [William K. Howard] b&w
1935	Soak the Rich [Ben Hecht & Charles MacArthur] b&w
1936	Fatal Lady [Edward Ludwig] b&w
1936	Spendthrift [Raoul Walsh] b&w
1936	Wedding Present [Richard Wallace] b&w

With dir Fritz Lang [right] - "You Only Live Once"

1936	You Only Live Once [Fritz Lang] b&w
1937	Her Husband Lies [Edward Ludwig] b&w
1937	The Great Gambini [Charles Vidor] b&w
1937	She Asked for It [Erle C. Kenton] b&w; 68m
1937	Blossoms on Broadway [Richard Wallace] b&w
1938	The Young in Heart [Richard Wallace] b&w
1938	Made for Each Other [John Cromwell] b&w
1939	The Story of Alexander Graham Bell/The Modern Miracle [Irving Cummings] b&w
1939	Second Fiddle [Sidney Lanfield (replaced William A. Seiter)] b&w; uncred fill-in ph (while L. Shamroy was hospitalized): George Barnes; uncred ph add scenes: Bert Glennon

[Right] with actors Basil Rathbone, Ida Lupino & Nigel Bruce

"The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes"

1939	The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes/Sherlock Holmes [Alfred L. Werker] b&w
1939	Little Old New York [Henry King] b&w; New York backgrounds ph: Edward Snyder
1939	I Was an Adventuress [Gregory Ratoff] b&w; cph: Edward Cronjager
1940	Lillian Russell [Irving Cummings] b&w
1940	Four Sons [Archie Mayo] b&w
1940	Down Argentine Way [Irving Cummings] c; cph: Ray Rennahan; uncred 2uc: Bert Glennon
1940	Tin Pan Alley [Walter Lang] b&w

1940	that night in Rio [Irving Cummings] c; cph: Ray Rennahan
1941	The Great American Broadcast [Archie Mayo] b&w; cph: J. Peverell Marley
1941	Moon Over Miami [Walter Lang] c; cph: J. Peverell Marley & Allen M. Davey
1941	A Yank in the R.A.F. [Henry King] b&w; there were 2 consecutive English crews filming Spitfires in the air and on the ground: 1st crew: Ronald Neame, Jack Hildyard & Guy Green - 2nd crew: Otto Kanturek (died during filming in June 1941) & Jack Parry
1941	Confirm or Deny [Archie Mayo (replaced Fritz Lang after 6 days)] b&w
1941	Roxie Hart [William A. Wellman] b&w
1942	Ten Gentlemen from West Point [Henry Hathaway] b&w
1942	[Rafael Sabatini's] The Black Swan [Henry King] c; uncred loc ph (dir by Robert Webb): John Hamilton, Ray Rennahan, Irving Rosenberg, Al Thayer & Paul Uhl; spec pfx: Fred Sersen
1942	Crash Dive [Archie Mayo & (uncred fill-in) Edward Ludwig] c; spec pfx: Fred Sersen
1943	Stormy Weather [Andrew L. Stone] b&w
1943	Claudia [Edmund Goulding] b&w; spec pfx: Fred Sersen
1943	Buffalo Bill [William A. Wellman] c; spec pfx: Fred Sersen
1943	Greenwich Village [Walter Lang] c; left prod to ph 'Wilson'; cph: Harry Jackson; uncred fill-in ph: Charles G. Clarke; spec pfx: Fred Sersen
1944	Wilson [Henry King] b&w-c; replaced Ernest Palmer, who fell ill
1944	A Tree Grows in Brooklyn [Elia Kazan] b&w
1944	Where Do We Go from Here? [Gregory Ratoff & (uncred retakes/add scenes) George Seaton] c; spec pfx: Fred Sersen
1945	State Fair/It Happened One Summer [Walter Lang] c; spec pfx: Fred Sersen
1945	Leave Her to Heaven [John M. Stahl] c; spec pfx: Fred Sersen
1945	The Shocking Miss Pilgrim [George Seaton & (uncred; replaced G. Seaton) Edmund Goulding] c; spec pfx: Fred Sersen
1946	Forever Amber [Otto Preminger (replaced John M. Stahl)] c; spec pfx: Fred Sersen
1947	Daisy Kenyon [Otto Preminger] b&w
1947	That Lady in Ermine [Ernst Lubitsch & (uncred; took over from E. Lubitsch, who died early in prod) Otto Preminger] c; spec pfx: Fred Sersen
1948	Prince of Foxes [Henry King] b&w; spec pfx: Fred Sersen
1949	Twelve O'Clock High [Henry King] b&w; spec pfx: Fred Sersen
1949	Cheaper by the Dozen [Walter Lang] c; spec pfx: Fred Sersen
1950	Two Flags West [Robert Wise] b&w; spec pfx: Fred Sersen
1950	On the Riviera [Walter Lang] c; uncred French Riviera loc ph: Charles G. Clarke; spec pfx: Fred Sersen
1950	David and Bathsheba [Henry King] c; spec pfx: Fred Sersen
1951	Down Among the Sheltering Palms/Friendly Island [Edmund Goulding] c; spec pfx: Fred Sersen; add filming in April & October
1951	With a Song in My Heart [Walter Lang] c; spec pfx: Ray Kellogg & Fred Sersen
1951	Wait 'Til the Sun Shines, Nellie [Henry King] c
1951	The Girl Next Door [Richard Sale] c; spec pfx: Ray Kellogg; add filming February, August-September & October 1952
1952	The Snows of Kilimanjaro [Henry King] c; uncred 2uc (French Riviera, Cairo & Kenya loc): Charles G. Clarke; spec pfx: Ray Kellogg
1952	Tonight We Sing [Mitchell Leisen] c; spec pfx: Ray Kellogg
1952	Call Me Madam [Walter Lang] c; spec pfx: Ray Kellogg
1952	White Witch Doctor [Henry Hathaway & (loc dir) Roy Baker] c; fill-in ph (while L. Shamroy was ill): Joe MacDonald; uncred loc ph: Charles G. Clarke & Harry Jackson; spec pfx: Ray Kellogg

1953	The Robe [Henry Koster] cs (2.55:1) (+ 1.37:1 & 70bu)/c; spec pfx: Ray Kellogg; second film in CinemaScope, but the first to be released
1953	King of the Khyber Rifles [Henry King] cs/c; spec pfx: Ray Kellogg
1954	The Egyptian [Michael Curtiz] cs/c; uncred 2uc: Leo Tover; spec pfx: Ray Kellogg
1954	There's No Business Like Show Business [Walter Lang] cs/c; spec pfx: Ray Kellogg
1954	Daddy Long Legs [Jean Negulesco] cs/c; fill-in ph (for 2 days): Milton Krasner; spec pfx: Ray Kellogg; filmed 1954-55
1955	The Virgin Queen [Henry Koster] cs/c; uncred fill-in ph (started film waiting for C.G. Clarke to return from another assignment); ph: Charles G. Clarke

1955	Love is a Many-Splendored Thing [Henry King] cs/c; uncred 2uc (Hong Kong loc): Charles G. Clarke; spec pfx: Ray Kellogg
1955	Good Morning, Miss Dove [Henry Koster] cs/c; spec pfx: Ray Kellogg
1955	The Bottom of the Bottle/Beyond the River [Henry Hathaway] cs/c; ph flood scene; ph: Lee Garmes
1955	The King and I [Walter Lang] cs55/c; spec pfx: Ray Kellogg
1956	The Best Things in Life Are Free [Michael Curtiz] cs/c
1956	Three Brave Men [Philip Dunne] cs/b&w; uncred cph (?); ph: Charles G. Clarke
1956	The Girl Can't Help It [Frank Tashlin] cs/c
1957	Desk Set/His Other Woman [Walter Lang] cs/c
1957	South Pacific [Joshua Logan] tao70 & cs/c; uncred 2uc: Stanley Cortez; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott
1958	The Bravados [Henry King] cs/c
1958	Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! [Leo McCarey] cs/c; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott
1958	Porgy and Bess [Otto Preminger (replaced Rouben Mamoulian)] tao70/c
1959	The Blue Angel [Edward Dmytryk] cs/c; 2uc: Arthur Ibbetson; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott & James B. Gordon
1959	Beloved Infidel [Henry King] cs/c
1959	Wake Me When It's Over [Mervyn LeRoy] cs/c; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott
1960	North to Alaska [Henry Hathaway] cs/c; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott & Emil Kosa Jr.
1960	Snow White and the Three Stooges/Snow White and the Three Clowns [Walter Lang & (uncred) Frank Tashlin] cs/c; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott & Emil Kosa Jr.
1961	Tender Is the Night [Henry King] cs/c; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott & Emil Kosa Jr.
1962	Cleopatra [Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Rouben Mamoulian (uncred; replaced by J.L. Mankiewicz) & Darryl F. Zanuck] tao70/c; cph: Jack Hildyard (uncred; started prod with dir R. Mamoulian in 1960; prod abandoned; some footage used in final version); 2uc: Piero Portalupi & Claude Renoir; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott & Emil Kosa Jr.
1963	The Cardinal [Otto Preminger] p (+ 70bu)/c; 2uc: Piero Portalupi
1964	What a Way to Go! [J. Lee Thompson] cs/b&w-c; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott & Emil Kosa Jr.
1964	Fate Is the Hunter [Ralph Nelson] cs/b&w; addph; ph: Milton Krasner
1964	John Goldfarb, Please Come Home [J. Lee Thompson] cs/c; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott & Emil Kosa Jr.
1965	[Irving Stone's] The Agony and the Ecstasy [Carol Reed] tao/c; 2uc: Piero Portalupi; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott, Art Cruickshank & Emil Kosa Jr.
1965	Do Not Disturb [Ralph Levy] cs/c; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott & Emil Kosa Jr.
1966	The Glass Bottom Boat/The Spy in Lace Panties [Frank Tashlin] p/c; uncred cph + 2uc (Catalina seq): Charles G. Clarke; spec vfx: J. McMillan Johnson & Carroll L. Shepphird
1967	Caprice [Frank Tashlin] cs/c; aph: Nelson Tyler; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott & Emil Kosa Jr.; + small part

With Roddy McDowall - "Planet of the Apes"

1967	Planet of the Apes/Monkey Planet [Franklin J. Schaffner] p/c; uncred ph opening scenes: Charles G. Clarke; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott, Art Cruickshank & Emil Kosa Jr.
1968	The Secret Life of an American Wife [George Axelrod] c; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott & Art Cruickshank
1968	Skidoo [Otto Preminger] p/c
1968	Justine [George Cukor (replaced Joseph Strick)] p/c; uncred cph: Charles G. Clarke; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott & Art Cruickshank

TELEVISION
1970	Prudence and the Chief [Marc Daniels] unsold pilot; for ABC-tv

FILMS AS DIRECTOR
1928	The Telltale Heart [+ ph; short] see Films
1932	Man's Paradise [+ ph; doc] see Films