Born: 29 June 1903, Missouri, USA.

Died: 30 April 1963, Los Angeles, Calif., USA, during prod of 'The Greatest Story Ever Told'.

Career: Entered film industry ca. 1925, joining the Paramount laboratory. Became c.op with Victor Milner's crew. Worked as doph on 'B' pictures while continuing to work as c.op on 'A' prod. Left Paramount in 1943 and joined the US Army Photographic Section. During 1944-45, he was part of George Stevens' 'special coverage unit', assigned to record the progress of the US Army in Europe. Most of the footage went into various doc's and newsreels. Following the death of Stevens, about 5 hours of 16mm color film was discovered. This was edited into the tv-doc 'D-Day to Berlin' [1985]. After WWII under contract to MGM [1950-53] and 20th Century Fox [1957-62]. Was member of the ASC.

Awards: 'Oscar' AA [1951; b&w] & Golden Globe nom [1952] for 'A Place in the Sun'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1957] for 'Peyton Place'; 'Oscar' AA [1959; b&w] for 'The Diary of Anne Frank'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1965; color; shared] for 'The Greatest Story Ever Told'.

'WWII was the watershed for Mellor. Before it, during his Paramount studio days, his credits were gradually becoming classier but the results were in no way distinct from the norm. Meeting George Stevens and working for him during 1944-45 changed it all. Possibly because of his war time experience, MGM started assigning Mellor to location work which was just then becoming fashionable. Which brings us to 1951 - Mellor's finest year, the year of 'A Place in the Sun' and 'Westward the Women'. Though both are visually perfect, it seems incredible that the same man could have shot both. 'A Place in the Sun', with its soft diffused lighting, lingering close-ups and romantic angles, the camera absolutely in love with Clift and Taylor, looks now [alongside 'Giant', another Mellor] like Stevens' greatest achievement. 'Westward the Women' on the other hand is all about harshness, nothing is lingered on, certainly not close-ups, people become part of the rugged landscape, angles are just practical and you almost feel the heat and sweat. When you add two other bravura location works from the 50s, 'The Naked Spur' and 'Bad Day at Black Rock', Mellor can be seen along with Paul Vogel and the creators of sundry musicals as the best antidote to the usual 'flat' look of MGM product. 'Bad Day at Black Rock' remains his most accomplished widescreen work; during his subsequent Fox contract Mellor did practically nothing but CinemaScope films; they were perfectly adequate but the spirit of 1951 never came again.' [Markku Salmi in 'Film Dope', #42, October 1989.]

1934        Elmer and Elsie [Gilbert Pratt] b&w; 65m

1934        [Zane Grey's] Wagon Wheels/Caravans West [Charles Barton] b&w; 56m; a 9-minute excerpt was released in 1953

                    on 16mm for the home movie market

1934        Enter Madame! [Elliott Nugent] b&w; cph: Theodor Sparkuhl

1934        [Zane Grey's] Home on the Range [Arthur Jacobson] b&w; 54m

1934        Wings in the Dark [James Flood] b&w; aph: Dewey Wrigley

1935        Car 99 [Charles Barton] b&w; 67m

1935        Without Regret [Harold Young] b&w

1935        Collegiate/Charm School [Ralph Murphy] b&w

1935        Woman Trap [Harold Young] b&w; 63m

1935        Sky Parade [Otho Lovering] b&w; cph: Alfred Gilks

1936        Poppy [A. Edward Sutherland] b&w

1936        A Son Comes Home [E.A. Dupont] b&w

1936        College Holiday [Frank Tuttle] b&w; cph: Theodor Sparkuhl; spec pfx: Farciot Edouart

1936        Champagne Waltz [A. Edward Sutherland] b&w; spec pfx: Gordon Jennings & Art Smith

1937        Make Way for Tomorrow [Leo McCarey] b&w; spec pfx: Gordon Jennings

1937        Exclusive [Alexander Hall] b&w

1937        Thrill of a Lifetime [George Archainbaud] b&w

1937        Romance in the Dark [H.C. Potter] b&w

1937        Bulldog Drummond Comes Back [Louis King] b&w; 64m; ep 8-part 'Bulldog Drummond'-series (Paramount, 1937-39)

1937        Stolen Heaven [Andrew L. Stone] b&w

1938        Bulldog Drummond in Africa [Louis King] b&w; 58m; ep 8-part 'Bulldog Drummond'-series (Paramount, 1937-39)

1938        Ride a Crooked Mile/Escape from Yesterday [Alfred E. Green] b&w; process ph: Farciot Edouart

1938        Ambush [Kurt Neumann] b&w; 60m; uncred cph (?): Harry Fischbeck

1938        Hotel Imperial [Robert Florey] b&w; prod started in 1936 with dir Henry Hathaway; prod was shut down

1938        Undercover Doctor [Louis King] b&w; 67m

1939        The Magnificent Fraud [Robert Florey] b&w

1939        Disputed Passage [Frank Borzage] b&w

1939        $1,000 a Touchdown [James Hogan] b&w

1939        Typhoon/The Big Haircut [Louis King] c; assoc ph: Allen M. Davey; spec pfx: Gordon Jennings; optical ph: Paul K.

                    Lerpae

1939        Road to Singapore [Victor Schertzinger] b&w; process ph: Farciot Edouart

1939        The Great McGinty/Down Went McGinty [Preston Sturges] b&w; filmed December 1939-January 1940 & April 1940

1940        Comin' Round the Mountain [George Archainbaud] b&w; 63m

1940        Moon Over Burma [Louis King] b&w

1940        Reaching for the Sun [William A. Wellman] b&w; 2uc: Dewey Wrigley; process ph: Farciot Edouart

1940        Las Vegas Nights [: The Last Frontier Town]/The Gay City [Ralph Murphy] b&w

1941        The Great Man's Lady [William A. Wellman] b&w; spec pfx: Gordon Jennings

1941        Birth of the Blues [Victor Schertzinger] b&w

1941        Beyond the Blue Horizon [Alfred Santell & (uncred add scenes) William Clemens] c; cph: Charles P. Boyle

1941        The Fleet's In [Victor Schertzinger & (uncred fill-in after V. Schertzinger died) Ralph Murphy] b&w

1941        My Favorite Blonde [Sidney Lanfield] b&w; process ph: Farciot Edouart

1942        Road to Morocco [David Butler] b&w; spec pfx: Gordon Jennings; process ph: Farciot Edouart

1942        Wake Island [John Farrow] b&w; cph: Theodor Sparkuhl; 2uc: Harry Hallenberger; aph: Elmer Dyer & W. Wallace Kelley;

                    spec pfx: Gordon Jennings; process ph: Farciot Edouart

1942        Commandos Strike at Dawn [John Farrow] b&w

1942        Dixie [A. Edward Sutherland] c; 2uc: Loyal Griggs; process ph: Farciot Edouart

1946        Double Rhythm [George B. Templeton] c; mus short/19m; ep of series 'Musical Parade'

1946        Abie's Irish Rose [A. Edward Sutherland] b&w; spec pfx: Roy Seawright

1946        Blaze of Noon [John Farrow] b&w; aph: Tom Tutwiler; spec pfx: Devereaux Jennings & Gordon Jennings; process ph:

                    Farciot Edouart

1947        The Senator Was Indiscreet/Mr. Ashton Was Indiscreet [George S. Kaufman] b&w; spph: David S. Horsley

1947        Man-Eater of Kumaon [Byron Haskin] b&w

1948        Texas, Brooklyn and Heaven/The Girl from Texas [William Castle] b&w

1948        Love Happy/Kleptomaniacs [David Miller & (uncred) Leo McCarey] b&w

1948        Too Late for Tears/Killer Bait [Byron Haskin] b&w

1949        A Place in the Sun [George Stevens] b&w; uncred retakes ph (2 weeks): John F. Seitz; spec pfx: Gordon Jennings;

                    process ph: Farciot Edouart & Loyal Griggs

1950        The Next Voice You Hear... [William A. Wellman] b&w; 2uc: Harold Lipstein

1950        It's a Big Country [: An American Anthology] [Clarence Brown, Don Hartman, John Sturges, Richard Thorpe, Charles

                    Vidor, Don Weis & William A. Wellman] b&w; 8 seg (but seg #3 was cut from the film); other ph: John Alton, Ray June

                    & Joseph Ruttenberg

1950        Across the Wide Missouri [William A. Wellman] c; 2uc: Harold Lipstein

1950        Soldiers Three [Tay Garnett] b&w

1951        The Unknown Man/The Bradley Mason Story [Richard Thorpe & (fill-in) Gerald Mayer] b&w

1951        Westward the Women [William A. Wellman] b&w

1951        Skirts Ahoy! [Sidney Lanfield] c

1951        Carbine Williams [Richard Thorpe] b&w

1952        My Man and I [William A. Wellman] b&w

1952        The Naked Spur [Anthony Mann] c

1952        Give a Girl a Break [Stanley Donen] c

1953        The Affairs of Dobie Gillis [Don Weis] b&w

1953        Big Leaguer [Robert Aldrich] b&w; uncred cph: Harold Lipstein

1953        Alaska Seas [Jerry Hopper] b&w; spec pfx: John P. Fulton; process ph: Farciot Edouart & W. Wallace Kelley

1954        Bad Day at Black Rock [John Sturges] cs/c

1954        Oklahoma! [Fred Zinnemann] tao70 & cs/c; uncred cph (stood in while R. Surtees was ill); ph: Robert Surtees

1955        The Last Frontier/Savage Wilderness [Anthony Mann] cs/c

1955        Giant [George Stevens] c; 2uc: Edwin DuPar; 'Lenser William C. Mellor deserves some sort of award for his work. He has

                    achieved stunning effects and the film benefits immeasurably from his realism. His camera has captured here some of

                    the most impressive vistas seen on the screen to date.' (Variety, 1956)

1955        Johnny Concho [Don McGuire] b&w

1956        The Miracle of Todd-AO [Juan C. Hutchison] tao (65mm/5perf/30fps-to-70mm)/c; doc/11m; cph: Haskell Boggs, Ray

                    Fernstrom & Gayne Rescher

1956        Back from Eternity [John Farrow] RKO-Scope/b&w

1956        Love in the Afternoon [Billy Wilder] b&w

1957        Peyton Place [Mark Robson] cs/c; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott

1957        Sing Boy Sing [Henry Ephron] cs/b&w; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott

1958        The Diary of Anne Frank [George Stevens] cs/b&w; ph loc scenes (dir by George Stevens Jr.): Jack Cardiff; spec pfx:

                    L.B. Abbott

1958        Compulsion [Richard Fleischer] cs/b&w

1959        Woman Obsessed [Henry Hathaway] cs/c

1959        The Best of Everything [Jean Negulesco] cs/c

1959        Crack in the Mirror [Richard Fleischer] cs/b&w

1959        Let's Make Love [George Cukor] cs/c; uncred cph (stood in while D.L. Fapp was ill); ph: Daniel L. Fapp

1960        One Foot in Hell/The Last Man [James B. Clark] cs/c

1960        The Big Gamble [Richard Fleischer] cs/c; ph African action seq (dir by Elmo Williams): Henri Persin

1960        Wild in the Country [Philip Dunne] cs/c

1961        State Fair [José Ferrer] cs/c; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott & Emil Kosa Jr.

1961        Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation [Henry Koster] cs/c; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott

1962        The Greatest Story Ever Told [George Stevens; (uncred) David Lean & Jean Negulesco] up70/c; 141, 199 & 225m; cph:

                    Loyal Griggs; spec pfx: A. Arnold Gillespie, Robert R. Hoag, J. McMillan Johnson & Clarence Slifer; started as a 3-strip

                    Cinerama prod; filmed 1962-64

1952        The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet [ep #13 'Late Christmas Gift' dir by Ozzie Nelson (ON) & #39 'Oscillating Ozzie' dir

                    by ON] 435-part series, 1952-66; 1st season, 1952-53

1953        The Bing Crosby Show [Fred De Cordova] BC's first variety special for CBS-tv (3 January 1954)

1953        The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet [ep #46 'No Noise', #65 'Ricky's Lost Letter', #69 'Overprotection', #70 'Be on

                    Time', #71 'An Evening with Hamlet', #72 'The New Neighbor' & #73 'The Bird's Nest' dir by Ozzie Nelson] 2nd season,

                    1953-54; see above

1954        The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet [ep #87 'A Matter of Inches', #88 'The Lost Christmas Gift', #89 'The Fruitcake',

                    #97 'The Sports Car' & #98 'Ricky's Blind Date' dir by Ozzie Nelson] 3rd season, 1954-55; see 1953

1985        D-Day to Berlin [prod: Paul Woolwich (BBC-tv)] doc/c; made from footage shot by W. Mellor, George Stevens, a.o. under

                    dir George Stevens during 1944-45; footage was also used in the doc (46m) 'George Stevens: D-Day to Berlin' (1994,

                    George Stevens Jr.; ph 1994 seg: Erich Roland)

1931        Tarnished Lady [George Cukor] co-c.op; ph: Larry Williams

1931        I Take This Woman [Marion Gering] ph: Victor Milner

1931        Broken Lullaby [Ernst Lubitsch] co-2nd cam; ph: Victor Milner

1931        One Hour with You [Ernst Lubitsch & (dialogue dir) George Cukor] co-c.op; ph: Victor Milner; also French language

                    version 'Une heure près de toi'

1932        This Is the Night [Frank Tuttle] co-c.op; ph: Victor Milner

1932        Love Me Tonight [Rouben Mamoulian] ph: Victor Milner

1932        Luxury Liner [Lothar Mendes] ph: Victor Milner

1933        The Song of Songs [Rouben Mamoulian] ph: Victor Milner

1933        This Day and Age [Cecil B. DeMille] co-c.op; ph: J. Peverell Marley

1933        One Sunday Afternoon [Stephen Roberts] co-c.op; ph: Victor Milner & (uncred) Karl Struss

1933        Design for Living [Ernst Lubitsch] ph: Victor Milner

1933        Bolero [Wesley Ruggles] co-c.op; ph: Leo Tover

1934        Wharf Angel [William Cameron Menzies & George Somnes] ph: Victor Milner

1934        Cleopatra [Cecil B. DeMille] co-c.op; ph: Victor Milner

1935        The Crusades [Cecil B. DeMille] co-c.op; ph: Victor Milner