ROBERT L. SURTEES

Career: Entered the film industry in 1927 as c.asst to Gregg Toland, Joseph Ruttenberg, a.o. Worked at Universal from 1927-29. Worked in the Universal Studios in Berlin, Germany, from 1929-30. After his return to the USA he worked at First National, Warner Bros., Pathé and MGM. He ph the first film in Todd-AO ['Oklahoma!'] and MGM Camera 65/Ultra Panavision 70 ['Raintree County']. Was member of the ASC. His son Bruce, one of his former operators, is a doph.

Awards: 'Oscar' AA nom [1944; b&w; shared] for 'Thirty Seconds over Tokyo'; 'Oscar' AA [1950; color] for 'King Solomon's Mines'; Look Magazine Award for Film Achievement [1950]; 'Oscar' AA nom [1951; color; shared] for 'Quo Vadis?'; 'Oscar' AA [1952; b&w] for 'The Bad and the Beautiful'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1955; color] for 'Oklahoma!'; 'Oscar' AA [1959; color] for 'Ben-Hur'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1962; color] for 'Mutiny on the Bounty'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1967] for 'Doctor Dolittle' & 'The Graduate'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1971] for 'Summer of '42' & 'The Last Picture Show'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1973] for 'The Sting'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1975] for 'The Hindenburg'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1976] for 'A Star Is Born'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1977] for 'The Turning Point'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1978] for 'Same Time, Next Year'.

As a studio cinematographer for MGM for almost 20 years, Robert L. Surtees photographed films in almost every popular genre, from small comedies such as 'Lost Angel' to westerns such as 'Escape from Fort Bravo' to blockbuster musicals like 'Oklahoma!' When he began working for MGM in the early 1940s, the studio system was in its heyday and the classic Hollywood style - characterized by an even, balanced lighting, match cutting, and linear narratives - was the norm. During that era, the producers and the studio exerted creative control, not the directors. Thus, each studio developed its own 'look.' At MGM, this look was one of opulence, which was revealed through the use of high-key lighting. Surtees's work at MGM at this time was indicative of that studio's style. During the 1950s, when the studio system began to crumble partly from the competition of television, films became grander in scale and larger in scope. Widescreen films and spectacular Technicolor epics were popular successes, and Surtees's filmography from this decade reflects this trend. The decade of the 1960s was one of transition in the industry when the old studio system finally gave way to the rise of independent producers and the importance of the director as the creative force. Surtees's tenure at MGM ended in 1962 and he became a freelance cinematographer working for such stalwarts as William Wyler ['The Collector'] as well as for up-and-coming directors like Mike Nichols ['The Graduate']. Surtees continued working into the 1970s, by this time for the 'new Hollywood', characterized by independent producers and directors whose personal vision shaped the style of a film, sometimes in a rather self-conscious manner. It is fitting that Surtees was chosen by Peter Bogdanovich as the cinematographer for 'The Last Picture Show', for the film subtly alludes to the end of the old Hollywood studio system - a system that Surtees saw rise and fall. It is a tribute to Surtees's talent and adaptability that he could succeed from one era through he next.

Searching for one type of film or a particular style that Surtees specialized in is difficult. However, after analyzing his filmography and studying reviews of his films, it can be said that Surtees was adept at lush Technicolor cinematography, particularly that found in such big-budget A-films as 'King Solomon's Mines', 'Quo Vadis', 'Ben-Hur', 'Mutiny on the Bounty', and 'Doctor Dolittle.' Analyses or critiques of these films do not fail to mention the excellent or beautiful cinematography. As one critic so eloquently stated, "Each frame of celluloid is like a painting." [From article by Susan Doll on the filmreference.com website.]

1942

This Precious Freedom [Arch Oboler] b&w; short/2 (or 4) reels; in July 1944 add scenes were shot to get a 61m feature: 'Strange Holiday/The Day After Tomorrow/Terror on Main Street'

1942

Jacaré [, Killer of the Amazon] [Charles E. Ford] b&w; dram doc/65m; or ph James B. Shackelford

1943

Heavenly Music [Josef Berne] b&w; mus short/22m

1943

Don't You Believe It [Edward L. Cahn] b&w; short/11m; ep #41 'Passing Parade'-series

1943

Nursery Rhyme Mysteries [Edward L. Cahn] b&w; short/11m; ep #42 'Passing Parade'-series

1943

Election Daze [Herbert Glazer] b&w; short/11m; ep 'Our Gang'-series

1943

Lost Angel [Roy Rowland] b&w

1943

Meet the People [Charles Reisner] b&w

1943

Two Girls and a Sailor [Richard Thorpe] b&w; uncred cph (?): Robert Planck

1944

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo [Mervyn LeRoy] b&w; cph: Harold Rosson

1944

Music for Millions [Henry Koster] b&w

1944

Our Vines Have Tender Grapes [Roy Rowland] b&w

1945

Two Sisters from Boston [Henry Koster] b&w

1945

No Leave, No Love [Charles Martin] b&w; cph: Harold Rosson

1946

Tenth Avenue Angel [Roy Rowland] b&w; extensive retakes in April 1947

1946

The Unfinished Dance [Henry Koster] c

1946

Cynthia/The Rich Full Life [Robert Z. Leonard] b&w; uncred cph (?); ph: Charles Schoenbaum

1947

The Kissing Bandit [Laslo Benedek] c

1947

Big City [Norman Taurog] b&w

1947

A Date with Judy [Richard Thorpe] c

1948

Act of Violence/Deadline Assault [Fred Zinnemann] b&w

1948

Big Jack [Richard Thorpe] b&w

1949

That Midnight Kiss [Norman Taurog] c

1949

Intruder in the Dust [Clarence Brown] b&w

1949

King Solomon's Mines [Compton Bennett (in 1950 replaced by Andrew Marton); Andrew Marton (2u) & Richard Rosson (3u)] c; addph (e.g. stampede seq): William V. Skall, John Schmitz, Frank Phillips & Gene Polito; principal ph Africa October 1949-January 1950 + studio February-April 1950; 'The African footage was shot on Technicolor's Monopack - actually 35mm Kodachrome reversal color film. Technicolor made b&w separations from the processed Monopack and regular dye-transfer printing from matrices followed. Although this was a major advance, the results did not equal those of the three-strip method [used in the studio scenes]. It was also decided that no lights would be used in Africa - only reflectors, thereby eliminating large generators. Even the Mitchell BNC, then the standard production camera, was turned down in favor of the Mitchell NC.' [From article by Rudy Behlmer in 'American Cinematographer', May 1989.]

1950

Quo Vadis [Mervyn LeRoy & (uncred 'Fire of Rome' seq) Anthony Mann] c; assoc ph: William V. Skall

1951

The Strip [Leslie Kardos] b&w

1951

The Light Touch [Richard Brooks] b&w

1951

The Wild North/The Big North [Andrew Marton] c; rapids seq ph: Harold Lipstein

1951

Invitation [Gottfried Reinhardt] b&w; uncred cph (?); ph: Ray June

1951

The Merry Widow [Curtis Bernhardt] c

1952

The Bad and the Beautiful [Vincente Minnelli] b&w

1952

Ride, Vaquero! [John Farrow] c

1952

Mogambo [John Ford] c; cph: Freddie Young; gorilla ph: Jack Whitehead

1953

Escape from Fort Bravo [John Sturges] c

1953

The Long, Long Trailer [Vincente Minnelli] c

1953

Valley of the Kings [Robert Pirosh] c

1954

Oklahoma! [Fred Zinnemann] tao70 & cs/c; 2uc: Floyd Crosby; fill-in ph (while Surtees was ill): William C. Mellor; filmed July-December; see Todd-AO

1955

Trial [Mark Robson] b&w; started as a b&w CinemaScope film, but after objections from Twentieth Century-Fox the film was made with spherical lenses

1955

Tribute to a Bad Man [Robert Wise] cs/c

1955

The Swan [Charles Vidor] cs/c; cph: Joseph Ruttenberg (loc ph North Carolina + studio; fell ill and was replaced by R. Surtees)

1956

Raintree County [Edward Dmytryk] MGM Camera 65/c; shooting started in April, but prod halted mid-May due to Montgomery Clift's car accident; prod resumed late July

1957

Les Girls [George Cukor] cs/c

1957

Merry Andrew [Michael Kidd] cs/c

1957

The Law and Jake Wade [John Sturges] cs/c

1958

Ben-Hur [William Wyler; (chariot race) Andrew Marton & Yakima Canutt] MGM Camera 65/c; 2uc: Piero Portalupi (race); 3uc: Harold Wellman

1959

It Started in Naples [Melville Shavelson] vv/c

1959

Cimarron [Anthony Mann & (uncred) Charles Walters] cs/c

1961

Mutiny on the Bounty [Lewis Milestone & (uncred; started film) Carol Reed] up70/c; addph: Harold Wellman

1963

PT 109 [Leslie H. Martinson] p/c; 2uc: Mark Davis

1964

Kisses for My President [Curtis Bernhardt] b&w

1964

The Satan Bug [John Sturges] p/c

1965

The Collector/The Butterfly Collector [William Wyler] c; UK ph: Robert Krasker; 2uc: Norman Warwick

1965

The Hallelujah Trail [John Sturges] up70/c

1965

The Third Day [Jack Smight] p/c

1965

The Chase [Arthur Penn] p/c; uncred cph (started the film, fell ill and was replaced by J. LaShelle); ph: Joseph LaShelle

1966

Lost Command [Mark Robson] p/c; addph: Jack Willoughby

1966

Doctor Dolittle [Richard Fleischer] tao70/c; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott, Art Cruickshank, Emil Kosa Jr. & Howard Lydecker

1967

The Graduate [Mike Nichols] p/c

Photo: Robert Surtees [cap] with dir Mike Nichols

1968

Sweet Charity [: The Adventures of a Girl Who Wanted to Be Loved] [Bob Fosse] p (35mm & 70bu)/c

1968

The Arrangement [Elia Kazan] p/c

1969

The Liberation of L.B. Jones [William Wyler] c; 2uc: Jordan Cronenweth

1970

Summer of '42 [Robert Mulligan] c

1970

The Last Picture Show [Peter Bogdanovich] b&w

1931	Devotion [Robert Milton] co-c.asst; ph: Hal Mohr
1931	A Woman Commands [Paul L. Stein] co-c.asst; ph: Hal Mohr
1931	Lady with a Past/Reputation [Edward H. Griffith] co-c.asst; ph: Hal Mohr
1932	Week Ends Only [Alan Crosland] co-c.asst; ph: Hal Mohr
1932	The First Year [William K. Howard] co-c.asst; ph: Hal Mohr
1932	State Fair [Henry King] co-c.asst; ph: Hal Mohr
1933	The Warrior's Husband [Walter Lang] co-c.asst; ph: Hal Mohr
1933	I Loved You Wednesday [William Cameron Menzies & Henry King] co-c.asst; ph: Hal Mohr
1933	The Worst Woman in Paris? [Monta Bell] co-c.asst; ph: Hal Mohr
1933	The Devil's in Love [William Dieterle] co-crew member; ph: Hal Mohr
1934	Change of Heart [John G. Blystone] co-c.asst; ph: Hal Mohr
1934	Charlie Chan in London [Eugene Forde] co-c.asst; ph: L.W. O'Connell
1934	Under Pressure [Raoul Walsh] co-c.asst; ph: Hal Mohr & L.W. O'Connell
1934	A Midsummer Night's Dream [William Dieterle & Max Reinhardt] co-c.op; ph: Hal Mohr
1935	Captain Blood [Michael Curtiz] 2nd cam; ph: ph: Hal Mohr & Ernest Haller
1936	Top of the Town [Ralph Murphy & (uncred) Walter Lang] c.op; ph: Joseph Valentine & (uncred) Hal Mohr
1937	Mad About Music [Norman Taurog] 2nd cam; ph: Joseph Valentine
1938	Exposed [Harold Schuster] c.op; ph: Stanley Cortez
1938	Little Tough Guys in Society [Erle C. Kenton] co-2nd cam; ph: George Robinson

1971	The Cowboys [Mark Rydell] p & 70bu/c
1971	The Other [Robert Mulligan] c
1972	Oklahoma Crude [Stanley Kramer] p/c; spec pfx: Albert Whitlock
1972	Lost Horizon [Charles Jarrott] p/c; 2uc: Harold Wellman & Bruce Surtees
1973	The Sting [George Roy Hill] c; spec pfx: Albert Whitlock
1974	The Great Waldo Pepper [George Roy Hill] tao35/c; superv air seq: Frank Tallman
1974	The Hindenburg [Robert Wise] p (35mm & 70bu)/b&w-c; spph: Clifford Stine
1976	A Star Is Born [Frank Pierson] c; prod started in late 1974 dir by Jerry Schatzberg
1976	The Turning Point [Herbert Ross] p/c
1977	Bloodbrothers/A Father's Love [Robert Mulligan] c; spph: David Quaid
1978	Same Time, Next Year [Robert Mulligan] p/c