Born: 21 January 1898, Krakow, Austria-Hungary [now Poland], as Rudolf Matheh (or Rudolf Mayer).

Died: 27 October 1964, Hollywood, Calif., USA.

Education: University of Budapest [Philosophy].

Career: Joined Sándor [Alexander] Korda's Corvin Film Company in Budapest as laboratory asst, then moving to cam department. Went to Vienna [in 1921 for Sascha-Film], Berlin [2uc for prod Erich Pommer], Paris [in 1927] and Hollywood [in 1934]. Came under contract to Fox, later to Samuel Goldwyn. Became head of ph for Goldwyn in 1942 after Gregg Toland joined the US Navy. Was member of the ASC. Also active as film and tv director.

Awards: 'Oscar' AA nom [1940; b&w] for 'Foreign Correspondent'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1941; b&w] for 'That Hamilton Woman'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1942; b&w] for 'The Pride of the Yankees'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1943; b&w] for 'Sahara'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1944; color; shared] for 'Cover Girl'.

'As a director of photography, Maté's career was distinguished, and he provided both major and minor directors with the visual style and tone appropriate to their projects. From the heavy lens diffusion of 'Vampyr' [still possibly the film closest to the experience of a dream] to the sharp black and white contrasts of 'Gilda' [in which the carnival is merely one of the film's visual tours-de-forces] his range was considerable and the quality of his work usually consistently high.

As a director, however, his work is much less assured. Whilst there is an offbeat, oddball quality to some of his movies - the Freudian dreams and heavy psychologising of 'The Dark Past', the noir bleakness of 'D.O.A.', the end of the world apocalypse of 'When Worlds Collide' - his films in general have an unevenness which reveals the lack of a strong directorial personality.' [From article by Michael Walker in 'Film Dope', #41, March 1989.]

*****

'Our Relations': 'Rudolph Maté, too, had to be taught that L&H comedies required a unique style of photography. "Stan insisted that the lighting be very flat. And Art Lloyd [their regular doph] put light all around, so it gave their faces that comical, blank look," recounted [Roy] Seawright. "But Rudy Maté was a dramatic cameraman. And they had a hell of a time - Stan would not accept the first week's worth of dailies; Maté had lit it too dramatically, with shadows on their faces, under their chins, and so forth. And Stan did not want the artistic, theatrical type of lighting they were employing in those days." Maté found a way to compromise with Stan; the lighting in 'Our Relations' is markedly different from Art Lloyd's, with subtle textures and a more polished look overall - yet Stan and Ollie still retain their blank, childlike visages. Once Lachman and Maté became accustomed to Laurel and Hardy's working methods, the filming seems to have progressed smoothly.' [From 'Laurel and Hardy - The Magic Behind the Movies' by Randy Skretvedt, 1987.]

'D.O.A.': 'Innovative, influential and nail-shredding tense film noir classic. Edmond O'Brien is the harried insurance clerk with just two days to solve a murder - his own. As opening lines go, "I want to report a murder - mine", is pretty damn arresting. So begins Rudolph Maté's razor-sharp and impressively sophisticated thriller, a film that came late in the heyday of noir but which remains a textbook example in how to maintain tension and atmosphere.

A cinematographer by trade, Maté brings to the film all his characteristic visual flair. It's the anxious, urgent tone, however, that make this so striking, and the nihilistic portrayal of Frank's moral and physical disintegration - a process which, he's forced to admit, he set in motion himself. En route the plot incorporates a bewildering array of bluffs, counter-bluffs and red herrings, but Maté ensures these remain in the service of writer Russell Rouse's ingenious premise. Though remade as 'Color Me Dead' [1969] and again as 'D.O.A.' [1988], it's Maté's film which proves to be not just the definitive version, but one of the most enduring examples of noir.'

Click thumbnails for full-size image

1920        Alpentragödie [Emil Leyde] b&w; 55m; prod Tellus-Film, Austria

1921        Lucifer [Ernest Juhn] b&w; as Rudolf Mayer; prod Morgana-Film, Austria

1921        Parema - Das Wesen aus der Sternenwelt [Mano Ziffer von Teschenbruck] b&w; as Rudolf Mayer; prod

                    Cartellieri-Film, Austria

1923        Dunkle Gassen/Der schwarze Boxer [Peter Paul Felner & Jack Worthury] b&w; cph: Stephan Lorant; prod Domo-Film,

                    Germany

1923        Der Kaufmann von Venedig [Peter Paul Felner] b&w; cph: Axel Graatkjaer; prod Peter Paul Felner-Film, Germany

1923        Mikaël/Michael/Chained [: The Story of the Third Sex]/Heart's Desire [Carl Theodor Dreyer] b&w; ext ph; ph:

                    Karl Freund; prod Decla-Bioscop/Universum-Film AG (UFA), Germany; filmed 1923-24

1924        Pietro der Korsar/Peter the Pirate/Sea Wolves [Artur Robison] b&w; cph: Fritz Arno Wagner & George

                    Schneevoigt; prod UFA, Germany

1926        Le roman d'un jeune homme pauvre/Mitgiftjäger [Gaston Ravel] b&w; prod Alga-Film, Germany

1926        Unter Ausschluß der Öffentlichkeit [Conrad Wiene] b&w; prod Internationale Film Exchange, Germany

1926        Die Hochstaplerin [Martin Berger] b&w; prod Hermes-Film, Germany; filmed 1926-27

1927        La passion de Jeanne d'Arc/The Passion of Joan of Arc [Carl Theodor Dreyer] b&w; cph (?): Gustavo Kottula; prod

                    Société générale des films, France; filmed May-November

1929        Le manque de mémoire [Henri Chomette] b&w; short/?m

1929        Prix de beauté/Beauty Prize/Miss Europe [Augusto Genina] b&w; cph: Louis Née

1930        Vampyr - Der Traum des Allan Grey]/L'étrange aventure de David Gray/Adventures of David Gray/Castle of

                    Doom/Not Against the Flesh/The Vampire [Carl Theodor Dreyer] b&w; cph: Louis Née; filmed April-October

1931        Le monsieur de minuit [Harry Lachman] b&w; cph (?): Jacques Montéran & Gérard Perrin; French version of 'Almost a

                    Honeymoon' (1930, Monty Banks; ph: Jack Cox)

1931        La couturière de Lunéville/The Dressmaker of Luneville [Harry Lachman] b&w

1931        Le roi du Camembert [Antoine Mourre] b&w

1931        La vagabonde [Solange Bussi] b&w; cph: Louis Née

1931        For Love of You [Carmine Gallone] b&w; some sources credit doph Willy Goldberger

1931        Service for Ladies/Reserved for Ladies [Alexander Korda] b&w; remake of 'Service for Ladies' (1927)

1932        Monsieur Albert [Karl Anton] b&w; French version of 'Service for Ladies'

1932        Lily Christine [Paul L. Stein] b&w

1932        Aren't We All? [Harry Lachman] b&w; 65m

1932        Insult [Harry Lachman] b&w

1932        La belle marinière [Harry Lachman] b&w

1932        Le petit Babouin [Jean Grémillon] b&w; short/?m; cph: Louis Née; was originally feature length

1932        Paprika [Jean de Limur] b&w; cph: Louis Née; French version of 'Paprika' (1932, Carl Boese; ph: Reimar Kuntze)

1933        Dans les rues/Song of the Streets [Victor Trivas] b&w; cph: Louis Née

1933        Une femme au volant/A Woman at the Wheel [Kurt Gerron & Pierre Billon] b&w; cph: Louis Née

1933        Les aventures du roi Pausole [Alexis Granowsky] b&w

1933        Die Abenteuer des Königs Pausole/The Adventures of King Pausole [Alexis Granowsky] b&w; German version of

                    'Les aventures du roi Pausole'

1933        The Merry Monarch [Alexis Granowsky] b&w; 58m; English version of 'Les aventures du roi Pausole'

1933        La mille-et-deuxième nuit [Alexandre Volkoff] b&w; cph: René Gaveau

1933        Liliom [Fritz Lang] b&w; filmed 1933-34

1934        Le dernier milliardaire/The Last [Millionaire] [Billionaire] [René Clair] b&w; cph: Louis Née

1934        Nada más que una mujer/Nothing More Than a Woman [Harry Lachman] b&w; Spanish version of 'Pursued' (1934,

                    Louis King; ph: L.W. O'Connell)

1934        Dante's Inferno [Harry Lachman] b&w; filmed 1934-35

1935        Dressed to Thrill [Harry Lachman] b&w; 68m

1935        Navy Wife/Beauty's Daughter [Allan Dwan] b&w; 69m; cph: John F. Seitz

1935        Metropolitan [Richard Boleslawski] b&w; uncred cph (was replaced by R. Maté after 1 day): George Schneiderman

1935        Charlie Chan's Secret [Gordon Wiles] b&w; 11th film in 28-part 'Charlie Chan'-series (Fox/20thCF, 1929-42)

1935        Professional Soldier [Tay Garnett] b&w

1935        A Message to Garcia [George Marshall] b&w

1936        Our Relations/Double Trouble/Sailors' Downfall [Harry Lachman] b&w; pfx: Roy Seawright

1936        Dodsworth [William Wyler] b&w

1936        Come and Get It/Roaring Timbers [Howard Hawks, Richard Rosson (logging scenes) & William Wyler (completed film)]

                    b&w; cph: Gregg Toland; spec pfx: Ray Binger & (uncred) Paul Eagler

1936        Outcast [Robert Florey] b&w

1937        The Girl from Scotland Yard/End of Adventure [Robert G. Vignola] b&w; 62m; uncred fill-in ph while R. Pittack was

                    ill; ph: Robert Pittack

1937        Stella Dallas [King Vidor] b&w

1937        The Adventures of Marco Polo [Archie Mayo (replaced John Cromwell after a few days); (uncred action seq) John Ford]

                    b&w (tinted & toned); cph: Archie Stout; 2uc (+ co-2ud): Bert Glennon

1938        Blockade [William Dieterle] b&w

1938        Youth Takes a Fling [Archie Mayo] b&w

1938        Trade Winds [Tay Garnett] b&w; foreign ext ph: James B. Shackelford; process ph: Ray Binger

1938        Love Affair [Leo McCarey] b&w

1939        The Real Glory [Henry Hathaway] b&w; spec pfx: Ray Binger & Paul Eagler

1939        My Favorite Wife [Garson Kanin] b&w; filmed 1939-40

1940        The Westerner [William Wyler] b&w; ph 3 days add scenes with dir Lewis Milestone in February; ph: Gregg Toland

1940        Foreign Correspondent [Alfred Hitchcock] b&w; Europe ph: Osmond Borradaile; addph: Roy F. Overbaugh; spec pfx:

                    Paul Eagler; process ph: Ray Binger

1940        Seven Sinners [Tay Garnett] b&w

1940        That Hamilton Woman/Lady Hamilton [Alexander Korda] b&w; spec seq ph: Edward Linden; spec pfx: Lawrence

                    W. Butler

1941        The Flame of New Orleans [René Clair] b&w

1941        It Started with Eve [Henry Koster] b&w

1941        To Be or Not to Be [Ernst Lubitsch] b&w; spec pfx: Lawrence W. Butler

1942        The Pride of the Yankees [Sam Wood] b&w; spec pfx: Ray Binger & Jack Cosgrove

1942        They Got Me Covered [David Butler] b&w; spec pfx: Ray Binger

1943        Sahara [Zoltan Korda] b&w

1943        Cover Girl [Charles Vidor] c; cph: Allen M. Davey

1943        Address Unknown [William Cameron Menzies] b&w; filmed 1943-44

1944        Tonight and Every Night [Victor Saville] c

1945        Over 21 [Charles Vidor] b&w; process ph: Ray Cory

1945        Gilda [Charles Vidor] b&w

1946        Down to Earth [Alexander Hall] c; uncred inserts ph: Larry Butler

1946        The Lady from Shanghai [Orson Welles] b&w; uncred fill-in ph when C. Lawton Jr. fell ill; ph: Charles Lawton Jr.

1947        It Had to Be You [Don Hartman & Rudolph Maté] b&w; cph: Vincent J. Farrar

1919        Kutato Samuel/Seeking Samuel [Martin Garras] c.asst; ph: ?

1935        Charlie Chan in Shanghai [James Tinling] c.op; ph: Barney McGill; 10th film in 28-part 'Charlie Chan'-series

                    (Fox/20thCF, 1929-42)

1939        The Flying Deuces/Flying Aces [A. Edward Sutherland] prod adv; ph: Art Lloyd

1947        The Return of October/A Date with Destiny [Joseph H. Lewis] prod; ph: William E. Snyder

1931        Le costaud des P.T.T./P.T.T./Le roi des facteurs [co-d: Jean Bertin] ph: Nikolai (Nicolas) Toporkoff

1947        It Had to Be You [co-d: Don Hartman] cph: Vincent Farrar; see Films

1948        The Dark Past [ph: Joseph Walker]

1949        D.O.A. [ph: Ernest Laszlo]

1949        No Sad Songs for Me [ph: Joseph Walker]

1950        Union Station [ph: Daniel L. Fapp]

1950        Branded [ph: Charles Lang Jr.]

1950        The Prince Who Was a Thief [ph: Irving Glassberg]

1950        When Worlds Collide [ph: John F. Seitz & W. Howard Greene] filmed 1950-51

1951        The Green Glove/The Gauntlet/The White Road [ph: Claude Renoir]

1951        Paula/The Silent Voice [ph: Charles Lawton Jr.]

1952        Sally and Saint Anne [ph: Irving Glassberg]

1952        The Mississippi Gambler [ph: Irving Glassberg]

1953        Forbidden [ph: William H. Daniels]

1953        Second Chance [ph: William E. Snyder]

1953        Siege at Red River/Gatling Gun [ph: Edward Cronjager]

1953        The Black Shield of Falworth [ph: Irving Glassberg] filmed 1953-54

1954        The Violent Men/The Bandits/Rough Company [ph: Burnett Guffey & W. Howard Greene]

1954        The Far Horizons [: The Story of the Lewis and Clark Expedition]/Untamed West [ph: Daniel L. Fapp]

1955        The Rawhide Years [ph: Irving Glassberg]

1955        Miracle in the Rain [ph: Russell Metty]

1955        Port Afrique [ph: Wilkie Cooper]

1956        Three Violent People [ph: Loyal Griggs]

1957        General Electric Theater/G.E. Theatre/Your Star Showcase [ep #6-16 'Silent Ambush'] 200-part tv-series/b&w,

                    1953-62; 6th season, 1957-58; ph: ?

1957        The Deep Six [ph: John F. Seitz]

1958        For the First Time/Come prima/Serenade einer großen Liebe [ph: Aldo Tonti]

1959        Letter to Loretta/The Loretta Young Show/The Loretta Young Theatre [c. 20 half-hour + 3 one-hour shows, e.g.

                    ep #196 'The Road', #199 'Mask of Violence', #200 'The Circles of Panic', #201 'The Red Dress' #207 'Alien Love' &

                    #209 'The Grenade'] 256-part tv-series/b&w, 1953-61; 7th season, 1959-60; ph: ?

1959        [Dick Powell's] Zane Grey Theatre/Frontier Justice/The Westerners [ep #107 'Man in the Middle'] 147-part

                    tv-series/b&w, 1956-61; 4th season, 1959-60; ph: Eugene Polito

1960        Letter to Loretta/The Loretta Young Show/The Loretta Young Theatre [ep #227 'At the Edge of the Desert'] 8th

                    season, 1960-61; ph: ?; see 1959

1960        The Barbarians/Rivak, the Barbarian/Revak the Rebel [ph: Carl E. Guthrie] originally a tv-pilot

1960        The 300 Spartans/Lion of Sparta [+ co-prod] ph: Geoffrey Unsworth

1962        Il dominatore dei sette mari/I re dei sette mari/Seven Seas to Calais [superv dir; co-d: Primo Zeglio] ph: Giulio

                    Giannini

1962        Aliki My Love [+ co-prod] ph: Aristidis Karides Fuchs