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Theatre, Film, and Television Biographies
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Willie Aames to Steven Anderson
John Alton Biography (1901-1996)
Born October 5, 1901, in Sopron, Hungary; immigrated to the United States, 1919; died June 2, 1996, in Santa Monica, CA. Career: Cinematographer, director, and screenwriter. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, lab technician, 1924-28; assistant to Clyde De Vinna and Woody Van Dyke (film directors); Paramount, cameraman, 1928-early 1930s; also worked in Argentina in the early 1930s, directing more than 20 films and helping create the country's first sound stage. Awards, Honors: Academy Award, best cinematography--color, 1951, for AnAmerican in Paris(with Alfred Gilks); Career Achievement Award, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, 1993; tributes at the Telluride Film Festival and the American Museum of the Moving Image.
- Nationality
- American
- Gender
- Male
- Occupation
- Cinematographer, director, screenwriter
- Birth Details
- October 5, 1901
- Sopron, Hungary
- Death Details
- June 2, 1996
- Santa Monica, California, United States
Famous Works
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CREDITS
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Film Work
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Cinematographer, Except Where Indicated
- Location photography, The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (also known as The Student Prince and Old Heidelberg), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1927
- Assistant cameraman, Spoilers of the West, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1928
- Assistant cameraman, Wyoming (also known as The Rock of Friendship), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1928
- Paris photography, The Song of the Flame, Warner Bros., 1930
- Paris photography, Better to Laugh, 1931
- Constantinople photography, Der Mann, der Den Mord Beging, 1931
- And director, El Hijo de papa, 1932
- (Uncredited) And director, Los Tres Berretines, Lumiton, 1933
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Big Calibre, Sinister Cinema, 1935
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Madreselva, Argentina Sono Film, 1938
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La Vida Bohemia, 1938
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Puerta Cerrada, 1939
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Caminito de Gloria, Argentina Sono Film, 1939
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Remedy for Riches, RKO Radio Pictures, 1940
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The Courageous Dr. Christian, RKO Radio Pictures, 1940
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Three Faces West (also known as The Refugees), Republic Pictures, 1940
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Dr. Christian Meets the Women, RKO Radio Pictures, 1940
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Power Dive, Paramount, 1941
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Melody for Three, RKO Radio Pictures, 1941
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Forced Landing, Paramount, 1941
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The Devil Pays Off, Republic Pictures, 1941
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Pardon My Strips, Republic Pictures, 1942
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Mr. District Attorney in the Carter Case, Republic Pictures, 1942
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Moonlight Masquerade, Republic Pictures, 1942
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Johnny Doughboy, Republic Pictures, 1942
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Ice-Capades Revue (also known as Ice-Capades and RhythmHits the Ice), Republic Pictures, 1942
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The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine (also known as Unforgotten Crime), Republic Pictures, 1942
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The Sultan's Daughter, Monogram Pictures, 1944
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Storm Over Lisbon, Republic Pictures, 1944
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Lake Placid Serenade, Republic Pictures, 1944
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The Lady and the Monster (also known as The Lady and the Doctor and Tiger Man), Republic Pictures, 1944
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Atlantic City, Republic Pictures, 1944
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Enemy of Women (also known as Dr. Paul Joseph Gobbels,
Mad Lover, and The Private Life of Paul Joseph Gobbels), Monogram Pictures, 1944
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Song of Mexico, Republic Pictures, 1945
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Girls of the Big House, 1945
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Love, Honor and Goodbye, Republic Pictures, 1945
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One Exciting Week, Republic Pictures, 1946
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Murder in the Music Hall (also known as Midnight Melody), Republic Pictures, 1946
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The Magnificent Rouge, Republic Pictures, 1946
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The Madonna's Secret, Republic Pictures, 1946
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A Guy Could Change, Republic Pictures, 1946
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Affairs of Geraldine, Republic Pictures, 1946
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Wyoming, Republic Pictures, 1947
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Winter Wonderland, Republic Pictures, 1947
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The Trespasser, Republic Pictures, 1947
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T-Men, Kino on Video, 1947
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Hit Parade of 1947, Republic Pictures, 1947
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The Ghost Goes Wild, Republic Pictures, 1947
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Driftwood, Republic Pictures, 1947
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The Carter Case, Republic Pictures, 1947
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The Pretender, Republic Pictures, 1947
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Bury Me Dead (also known as Back Home from the Dead), EagleLion, 1947
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Raw Deal, Kino on Video, 1948
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Hollow Triumph (also known as The Scar), Eagle Lion, 1948
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He Walked by Night, Kino on Video, 1948
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Canon City, 1948
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The Spiritualist (also known as The Amazing Mr. X), Eagle Lion, 1948
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Reign of Terror (also known as Black Book), Eagle Lion, 1949
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The Crooked Way, United Artists, 1949
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Captain China, Paramount, 1949
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Red Stallion in the Rockies, Eagle Lion, 1949
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Border Incident, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1949
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Mystery Street (also known as Murder at Harvard), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1950
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Grounds for Marriage, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1950
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Devil's Doorway, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1950
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Father of the Bride, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1950
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Father's Little Dividend, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1951
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The People Against O'Hara, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1951
- (Ballet photography) An American in Paris, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1951
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It's a Big Country, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1951
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Washington Story (also known as Target for Scandal), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1952
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Talk About a Stranger, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1952
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Apache War Smoke, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1952
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Take the High Ground!, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1953
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I, the Jury, United Artists, 1953
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Count the Hours (also known as Every Minute Counts), RKO Radio Pictures, 1953
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Battle Circus, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1953
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Cattle Queen of Montana, RKO Radio Pictures, 1954
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Silver Lode, RKO Radio Pictures, 1954
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Witness to Murder, United Artists, 1954
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Passion, RKO Radio Pictures, 1954
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Duffy of San Quentin (also known as Men Behind Bars), Warner Bros., 1954
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Pearl of the South Pacific, RKO Radio Pictures, 1955
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The Big Combo, Allied Artists, 1955
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Tennessee's Partner, RKO Radio Pictures, 1955
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Escape to Burma, RKO Radio Pictures, 1955
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The Teahouse of the August Moon, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1956
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Tea and Sympathy, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1956
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Slightly Scarlet, RKO Radio Pictures, 1956
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The Catered Affair (also known as Wedding Breakfast), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1956
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Designing Women, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1957
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Lonelyhearts, United Artists, 1958
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The Brothers Karamazov (also known as Karamazov and TheMurderer Dmitri Karamazov), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1958
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Twelve to the Moon (also known as 12 to the Moon), Columbia, 1960
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Elmer Gantry, United Artists, 1960
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Television Work
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Cinematographer; Pilots
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Mission: Impossible, CBS, 1966
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Television Appearances
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Specials
- Interviewee, Glorious Technicolor, TCM, 1998
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WRITINGS
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Screenplays
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El Hijo de pap , 1934
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Nonfiction
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Painting with Light, 1949, reprinted, University of California Press, 1995
Further Reference
OTHER SOURCES
Periodicals:
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Cineaste, Fall 1998, p. 54.
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New York Times, June 12, 1996, .*
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