Born: 24 October 1891, New York City, N.Y., USA.

Died: 14 February 1970, Agoura Hills, Calif., USA.

Education: City College, New York City.

Career: Edeson was barely making a living as a portrait photographer in 1910 when he decided to try his hand at the movies. 'I went to the old Éclair Studio in Fort Lee, New Jersey, and applied for a job. While I was waiting in the outer office, a man came in and stabbed his finger around the crowded room, saying: "I'll take you - and you - and you. Come with me." I couldn't tell whether I was one of those selected, but I joined the group anyway. Once inside the mysterious recesses of the studio, I found I'd been hired - as an actor.' He never lost his interest in photography, however, and began to shoot portraits of his fellow actors. His photos caught the attention of doph John Van den Broeck, and when a cameraman fell ill, Van den Broeck suggested that Edeson fill in. 'In those times, flat lighting was the rule of the day,' Edeson wrote. 'However, I began to introduce some of the lighting ideas I had learned in my portrait work - a suggestion of modeling here, an artistically placed shadow there - and soon my efforts tended to show a softer, portrait-like quality on the motion-picture screen. This was so completely out of line with what was considered good cinematography in those days that I had to use my best salesmanship to convince everyone it was good camerawork.' When American Éclair was reorganized as the World Film Corporation, Edeson stayed on to become chief cinematographer for the star Clara Kimball Young, and when she left for California in 1917, Edeson followed. In 1920, Douglas Fairbanks saw 'For the Soul of Rafael', one of Edeson's films for Young, and signed the cinematographer for three of his biggest pictures: 'The Three Musketeers', 'Robin Hood' & 'The Thief of Bagdad'. At Fox, he shot the first all-outdoor 100% talkie, 'In Old Arizona' and the first Fox Grandeur 70mm film, 'The Big Trail'. He later worked at Universal and MGM and eventually settled in at Warner Bros., where he would remain until his retirement in 1949. Was charter member and president [1953-54] of the ASC.

Awards: 'Oscar' AA nom [1928/29] for 'In Old Arizona'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1929/30] for 'All Quiet on the Western Front'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1943; b&w] for 'Casablanca'.

'While Edeson's career after 'Casablanca' was really just making programmers, for his overall work through four decades he has few peers. Up to 1930, the keynote is spectacle, from the fantasy worlds of Fairbanks to the corpse-strewn battlegrounds of 'All Quiet on the Western Front'. Progressing into the 30s, however, it becomes more and more difficult to detect an Edeson style, beyond the common denominator of the Warner Brothers 'look', if such a thing really existed. But the number of essential works which came to life in front of his camera is still pretty amazing. We'll never know how much he contributed to such films as 'Frankenstein' and 'The Maltese Falcon', but it's certain that, had it not been for Edeson, we would be viewing vintage American cinema from some different, probably inferior, angle.' [Markku Salmi in 'Film Dope', #14, March 1978.]

*****

'Arthur Edeson's style is a perfect example of the approach and merger of two schools and aesthetics of world cinema. Like Hal Mohr, Arthur Miller, or Charles Rosher, Edeson was one of the master craftsmen of the old American school, whose principal work was on the side of realism, considered by most historians to represent the zenith of Hollywood photography. Edeson built on the influence of German Expressionism, brought to America by German cinematographers during the 1920s.

One of Edeson's great strengths was his ability to capture the spirit of large-scale scenarios: for 'Robin Hood' [1922], for instance, through the use of double exposures and glass shots, and, notably for the scenes in the castle's interior, through the use of natural light. In 'The Thief of Bagdad' [1923] his photography creates an atmosphere almost unreal, and bringing a fascination to Raoul Walsh's film.

In fact, in the late 1920s and early 1930s Walsh was the director to whose work Edeson was most linked. The realism of the photography of 'Me, Gangster' [1928] and 'In Old Arizona' [1929], the first sound film to be shot outside a studio, prepares for that of 'The Big Trail' [1930], the culminating collaboration of the two men. Filmed in the first wide-screen process [70mm], known as Fox Grandeur, this epic reveals Edeson's mastery of composition, using frame enlargement dramatically. 'The Big Trail' is both pictorial and documentary, with a spectacular use of space, sensitive to the archetypical sequences of the western, including a buffalo charge, an Indian attack, and a fantastic river crossing.

The visual drama of 'The Big Trail', based in part on epic realism, is counterpointed admirably in his work as cinematographer for James Whale. In 'Frankenstein' [1931], Edeson was seen to have assimilated and controlled the 'expressionist heritage', synthesizing it into an appropriate style - attaining a fantastic and mysterious realism without losing the mobility of the camera. 'Frankenstein' is a classic 'horror movie', above all owing to its visual conception which suggests the silent German film, due to its paradigmatic opening scene in which Frankenstein and his assistant watch a funeral, and to Edeson's camera angles and camera movement.

In the late 1930s and early 1940s Edeson worked for Warner Brothers within the parameters of the studio style, but utilizing his own below-eye-level shots and strong angular compositions, he was able to produce the sinister and threatening 'The Maltese Falcon' [1941] and the devastatingly romantic 'Casablanca' [1942]. This alone is enough for Edeson to merit a place of honor in American film. Without obsessively darkening the set, without a geometrical lighting leading to remote shadows, obscuring rather than suggesting, 'The Maltese Falcon' can be said to have invented a genre - the film noir - and to have highlighted a visage that Louise Brooks called 'the face of St. Bogart'.' [From article by M. S. Fonseca on the filmreference.com website.]

Click thumbnails for full-size image

1914        The Dollar Mark [Oscar A.C. Lund] b&w; 5 reels; prod William A. Brady Picture Plays, Inc. (WBPP)

1914        A Gentleman From Mississippi [George Sargent] b&w; 5 reels; prod WBPP

1914        The Deep Purple [James Young] b&w; 5 reels; prod World Film Corporation (WFC)

1915        Hearts in Exile [James Young] b&w; 5 reels; re-issued in 1917 as 'Hearts Afire'; prod WFC

1915        The Master Hand [Harley Knoles] b&w; 5 reels; + asst dir; prod Premo Feature Film Corporation (PFFC)

1916        The Devil's Toy [Harley Knoles] b&w; 5 reels; prod PFFC

1916        His Brother's Wife [Harley Knoles] b&w; 5 reels; prod PFFC

1916        Miss Petticoats [Harley Knoles] b&w; 5 reels; prod WFC

1916        The Gilded Cage/The Heart of a Princess [Harley Knoles] b&w; 5 reels; prod WFC

1916        Bought and Paid For/The Faun [Harley Knoles] b&w; 5 reels; prod WBPP

1916        A Woman Alone/Loneliness [Harry Davenport] b&w; 5 reels; prod WFC

1916        A Square Deal [Harley Knoles] b&w; 5 reels; prod WFC

1917        The Social Leper [Harley Knoles] b&w; 5 reels; prod WFC

1917        The Page Mystery [Harley Knoles] b&w; 5 reels; prod WFC

1917        In Again - Out Again [John Emerson] b&w; 5 reels; or ph Victor Fleming; prod Douglas Fairbanks Pictures Corporation

                    (DFPC)

1917        The Stolen Paradise [Harley Knoles] b&w; 5 reels; prod WFC

1917        The Price of Pride [Harley Knoles] b&w; 5 reels; prod WFC

1917        Wild and Woolly [John Emerson] b&w; 5 reels; or ph Victor Fleming (superv) & Harry Thorpe; prod DFPC

1917        Souls Adrift/Chasms [Harley Knoles] b&w; 5 reels; prod WFC

1917        Baby Mine [John S. Robertson & Hugo Ballin] b&w; 6 reels; prod Goldwyn Pictures Corporation (GPC)

1917        Reaching for the Moon [John Emerson] b&w; 5 reels; cph: Victor Fleming; other sources credit Fleming, Sam Landers &

                    Harry Thorpe as doph; prod DFPC

1917        Nearly Married [Chester Withey] b&w; 5 reels; prod GPC

1918        Jack Spurlock, Prodigal [Carl Harbaugh] b&w; 6 reels; prod Fox Film Corporation

1918        The Savage Woman [Edmund Mortimer & (uncred - started film) Robert G. Vignola] b&w; 5 reels; prod Clara Kimball

                    Young Film Corporation (CKY)

1918        The Road Through the Dark [Edmund Mortimer] b&w; 5 reels; prod CKY

1918        The Hushed Hour [Edmund Mortimer] b&w; 5 reels; prod Harry Garson Prods (HGP)

1918        Cheating Cheaters [Allan Dwan] b&w; 5 reels; prod CKY

1919        The Better Wife [William Earle] b&w; 5 reels; prod CKY

1919        Eyes of Youth [Albert Parker] b&w; prod Garson Prods

1920        The Forbidden Woman [Harry Garson] b&w; 6 reels; prod Garson Studios, Inc.

1920        For the Soul of Rafael [Harry Garson] b&w; prod Garson Studios, Inc. (GSI)

1920        Mid-Channel [Harry Garson] b&w; 6 reels; prod GSI

1920        Hush [Harry Garson] b&w; 6 reels; prod Equity Pictures

1921        Good Women [Louis J. Gasnier] b&w; prod Robertson-Cole Pictures

1921        The Three Musketeers [Fred Niblo] b&w with color seq; prod Douglas Fairbanks Pictures Corporation (DFPC)

1922        The Worldly Madonna [Harry Garson] b&w; 6 reels; prod HGP

1922        [Douglas Fairbanks in] Robin Hood [Allan Dwan] b&w; uncred cph: Charles Richardson; trick ph: Paul Eagler; prod

                    DFPC

1922        The End of the World [Harvey Matherson] b&w; prod ?

1923        The Thief of Bagdad [Raoul Walsh] b&w; prod DFPC

1924        Inez from Hollywood/The Good Bad Girl [Alfred E. Green] b&w; prod Sam E. Rork Prods

1924        The Lost World [Harry O. Hoyt] b&w + hand-colored & tinted seq; addph: Homer Scott & J. Devereaux Jennings; tech

                    dir: Willis H. O'Brien; sfx ph: Ralph Hammeras, Hans Koenekamp & Vernon L. Walker; prod First National Pictures (FN)

1925        Waking Up the Town [James Cruze] b&w; 6 reels; cph: Paul Perry; prod Mary Pickford Company

1925        One Way Street [John Francis Dillon] b&w; 6 reels; prod FN

1925        The Talker [Alfred E. Green] b&w; prod FN

1925        Her Sister from Paris [Sidney Franklin] b&w; prod Joseph M. Schenck Prods

1925        Stella Dallas [Henry King] b&w; prod Samuel Goldwyn, Inc. (SGI)

1926        Partners Again [Henry King] b&w; 6 reels; prod SGI

1926        The Bat [Roland West] b&w; cph: Gregg Toland; prod Feature Prods

1926        Sweet Daddies [Alfred Santell] b&w; prod FN

1926        Subway Sadie [Alfred Santell] b&w; prod Al Rockett Prods (ARP)

1926        The Blue Eagle [John Ford] b&w; 6 reels; uncred cph; ph: George Schneiderman; prod Fox Film Corporation (FFC)

1926        Just Another Blonde/The Girl from Coney Island [Alfred Santell] b&w; 6 reels; prod ARP

1927        McFadden's Flats [Richard Wallace] b&w; prod FN

1927        The Patent Leather Kid [Alfred Santell] b&w; cph: Alvin Knechtel & Ralph Hammeras; prod FN

1927        The Drop Kick/Glitter [Millard Webb] b&w; 7 reels; cph: Alvin Knechtel; prod FN

1927        The Gorilla [Alfred Santell] b&w; prod FN

1928        A Thief in the Dark [Albert Ray] b&w; 6 reels; prod FFC

1928        Me, Gangster [Raoul Walsh] b&w; silent (with sound seq); prod FFC

1929        In Old Arizona [Irving Cummings (replaced Raoul Walsh)] b&w; cph: Alfred Hansen; prod FFC; the first 'talkie' shot

                    outdoors

1929        Girls Gone Wild [Lewis Seiler] b&w; 6 reels; cph: Irving Rosenberg; silent (with sound seq) & sound versions; prod FFC

1929        The Cock-Eyed World [Raoul Walsh] b&w; sound & silent versions; prod FFC

1929        Romance of the Rio Grande [Alfred Santell] b&w; sound & silent versions; prod FFC

1929        All Quiet on the Western Front [Lewis Milestone & (dial dir) George Cukor] b&w; 14 reels (re-issue 1939: 10 reels);

                    uncred ph final 'Butterfly' seq: Karl Freund; sfx ph: Frank H. Booth; sound & silent (with synchronized music) versions;

                    prod Universal Pictures Corporation

1930        The Big Trail [Raoul Walsh] Fox Grandeur (70mm) & 35mm/b&w; ph Grandeur version; ph 35mm version: Lucien

                    Andriot; also German version 'Die große Fahrt/Der große Treck'

1930        The Man Who Came Back [Raoul Walsh] b&w

1930        Doctors' Wives [Frank Borzage] b&w

1931        Always Goodbye [Kenneth MacKenna & William Cameron Menzies] b&w; 60m

1931        Waterloo Bridge [James Whale] b&w

1931        Frankenstein [James Whale] b&w; uncred cph: Paul Ivano; originally scheduled with dir Robert Florey and doph Karl

                    Freund

1932        The Impatient Maiden [James Whale] b&w

1932        Strangers of the Evening/The Hidden Corpse/Case of the Missing Corpse [H. Bruce Humberstone] b&w

1932        Fast Companions [Kurt Neumann] b&w

1932        The Old Dark House [James Whale] b&w

1932        The Last Mile [Sam Bischoff] b&w

1932        Those We Love [Robert Florey] b&w

1932        Red Dust [Victor Fleming] b&w; uncred cph (?); ph: Harold Rosson

1932        Flesh [John Ford] b&w

1933        The Constant Woman/Auction in Souls/Hell in a Circus [Victor Schertzinger] b&w

1933        A Study in Scarlet [Edwin L. Marin] b&w

1933        The Life of Jimmy Dolan/The Kid's Last Fight [Archie Mayo] b&w

1933        The Big Brain/Enemies of Society [George Archainbaud] b&w

1933        The Invisible Man [James Whale] b&w; miniature & addph: John J. Mescall; sfx ph: John P. Fulton

1933        His Double Life [Arthur Hopkins; (assoc dir) William C. de Mille & Joe Nadel] b&w; 63m

1933        Palooka/The Great Schnozzle [Benjamin Stoloff] b&w

1934        The Merry Frinks/Happy Family [Alfred E. Green] b&w

1934        Here Comes the Navy [Lloyd Bacon] b&w

1934        Maybe It's Love [William McGann] b&w; 63m

1934        Devil Dogs of the Air [Lloyd Bacon] b&w

1934        While the Patient Slept [Ray Enright] b&w

1935        Dinky [D. Ross Lederman & Howard Bretherton] b&w; 65m

1935        Going Highbrow [Robert Florey] b&w; 68m; cph: William Rees

1935        Mutiny on the Bounty [Frank Lloyd] b&w; uncred cph: Charles G. Clarke (Tahiti loc) & Sidney Wagner

1935        Ceiling Zero [Howard Hawks] b&w

1935        Satan Met a Lady [William Dieterle] b&w

1936        The Golden Arrow [Alfred E. Green] b&w

1936        Hot Money [William McGann] b&w; 68m

1936        China Clipper [Ray Enright] b&w; aph: Elmer Dyer & Hans F. Koenekamp; spec pfx: Fred Jackman

1936        Gold Diggers of 1937 [Lloyd Bacon & Busby Berkeley (mus numbers)] b&w

1936        The Kid Comes Back/Don't Pull Your Punches [B. Reeves Eason] b&w; 60m

1936        The Go Getter [Busby Berkeley] b&w

1937        Mr. Dodd Takes the Air [Alfred E. Green] b&w

1937        The Footloose Heiress [William Clemens] b&w; 59m

1937        They Won't Forget [Mervyn LeRoy] b&w

1937        Submarine D-1 [Lloyd Bacon] b&w

1937        Swing Your Lady [Ray Enright & Bobby Connolly (mus numbers)] b&w

1938        Cowboy from Brooklyn/Romance and Rhythm [Lloyd Bacon] b&w

1938        Mr. Chump/Mister Chump [William Clemens] b&w; 60m

1938        Racket Busters [Lloyd Bacon] b&w

1938        Wings of the Navy [Lloyd Bacon] b&w; aph: Elmer Dyer & Paul Mantz; sfx ph: H.F. Koenekamp & Byron Haskin

1938        Nancy Drew - Reporter [William Clemens] b&w; 65m

1938        Secret Service of the Air [Noel Smith] b&w; 61m; uncred cph; ph: Ted McCord

1938        Sweepstakes Winner [William McGann] b&w; 59m

1939        Each Dawn I Die/Killer Meets Killer [William Keighley] b&w

1939        No Place to Go [Terry O. Morse] b&w; 56m

1939        Kid Nightingale [George Amy] b&w; 57m

1939        Castle on the Hudson/Years Without Days [Anatole Litvak] b&w; sfx ph: Byron Haskin & Edwin DuPar

1940        They Drive by Night/The Road to Frisco [Raoul Walsh] b&w

1940        Tugboat Annie Sails Again [Lewis Seiler] b&w

1940        Lady with Red Hair [Kurt (Curtis) Bernhardt] b&w

1940        [May We Suggest] Kisses for Breakfast [Lewis Seiler] b&w

1941        [The Heroic Story of] Sergeant York [Howard Hawks & (uncred add) Vincent Sherman] b&w; ph battle seq (dir by B.

                    Reeves Eason); ph: Sol Polito

1941        The Maltese Falcon [John Huston] b&w

1941        The Male Animal [Elliott Nugent] b&w

1941        Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra [Jean Negulesco] b&w; mus short/9m; ep series 'Melody Masters'

1942        Across the Pacific [John Huston, (final scenes) Vincent Sherman & (retakes) Jo Graham] b&w; sfx ph: Byron Haskin &

                    Willard Van Enger; montages: Don Siegel

1942        Casablanca [Michael Curtiz] b&w; sfx ph: Lawrence Butler (dir) & Willard Van Enger; montages: Don Siegel & James

                    Leicester

1942        Thank Your Lucky Stars [David Butler] b&w; sfx ph: H.F. Koenekamp

1943        Old Acquaintance [Vincent Sherman] b&w; uncred cph (last 3 days of shooting); ph: Sol Polito

1943        Shine On, Harvest Moon [David Butler] b&w-c; sfx ph: Edwin DuPar

1943        The Mask of Dimitrios [Jean Negulesco] b&w

1944        The Conspirators [Jean Negulesco] b&w

1944        Nobody Lives FOREVER [Jean Negulesco] b&w; sfx ph: William McGann & Willard Van Enger

1945        Three Strangers [Jean Negulesco] b&w; sfx ph: Edwin DuPar

1945        The Time, the Place and the Girl [David Butler] c; cph: William V. Skall

1945        Never Say Goodbye [James V. Kern] b&w

1945        Two Guys from Milwaukee/Royal Flush [David Butler] b&w; sfx ph: Harry Barndollar & Edwin DuPar

1946        Stallion Road [James V. Kern & (uncred) Raoul Walsh] b&w

1946        My Wild Irish Rose [David Butler] c; cph: William V. Skall; sfx ph: Robert Burks

1947        Two Guys from Texas/Two Texas Knights [David Butler] c; cph: William V. Skall

1948        The Fighting O'Flynn/The O'Flynn [Arthur Pierson] b&w; spph: David S. Horsley