JOSEPH F. BIROC

GREAT CINEMATOGRAPHERS

#2: [Top right] - "Airplane!" [1979]

JOSEPH F. BIROC

Born: 12 February 1903, New York City, N.Y., USA, as Joseph 'Joe' Francis Biroc.

Died: 7 September 1996, Woodland Hills, Calif., USA.

Education: Emerson High School, Union City, N.J., USA.

Career: In 1918 got a job working in the film lab at the Paragon Studios, Fort Lee. N.J. For about 6 years he worked in various labs in Fort Lee, Long Island and Los Angeles. Became c.asst at Paramount's Long Island Studios in 1925. Moved to Hollywood in 1927. Became c.op at RKO in 1929. During WW2, he served as a cameraman [US Army Signal Corps] in the European campaign He filmed the liberation of Paris in 1944. Retired in 1986.

Was a member of the ASC since 1948.

Was a member of the Masons, Malta Lodge No. 224, Union City, New Jersey.

Awards: 'Oscar' AA nom [1946; b&w; shared] for 'It's a Wonderful Life'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1964; b&w] for 'Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte'; 'Emmy' Award [1971/2] for 'Brian's Song'; 'Oscar' AA [1974; shared] for 'The Towering Inferno'; 'Emmy' Award nom [1976/7] for 'The Moneychangers' [Part 1]; 'Emmy' Award nom [1977/8] for 'Washington: Behind Closed Doors' [Part 1] & 'A Family Upside Down'; 'Emmy' Award nom [1978/9] for 'Little Women' [Part 2]; 'Emmy' Award nom [1979/80] for 'Kenny Rogers as the Gambler'; 'Emmy' Award [1983] for 'Casablanca' [ep 'The Master Builder's Woman']; ASC Lifetime Achievement Award [1988].

'Attempting to pin down a representative Joseph Biroc style would be like trying to confine a kaleidoscope to a single pattern. For just as the particles of that instrument manage every time to form a perfect composition, so Biroc produces for each film a photographic texture which looks exactly right. His range is broad and takes in (among others) the grainy shadow-play of 'Down Three Dark Streets', the documentary realism of 'Attack' and the radiant vistas of 'Ice Palace'. Two extended collaborations, with Fuller (4 films) and Aldrich (16 films), stand out in his work.' [David Badder in 'Film Dope', #3, August 1973.]

Joseph Biroc's cinematography has a no-nonsense competence that does not draw attention to itself. His images are always at the service of the story. It is easy to dismiss Biroc as a modest talent or [worse yet] to ignore him altogether; but a look at his filmography reveals a body of work of impressive skill, variety, vitality, and innovation.

Biroc's long association with Robert Aldrich - beginning with 'World for Ransom' [1953] and continuing until the director's untimely death in 1982 - gave the cinematographer some of his most challenging assignments. Aldrich's work is strongly individualistic [eccentric, even] and Biroc was a trusted ally for translating that maverick vision into powerful and telling images. If the Aldrich films were all that survived of Biroc's work his career would still strike one as unusually provocative. Biroc and Aldrich worked together with a sympathy of purpose as productive as Griffith and Bitzer, Capra and Walker, and Bergman and Nykvist.

Though he has become one of cinematography's Grand Old Men, his work retains the muscle and clarity that has always distinguished it from that of his more prosaic peers. For that work, the American Society of Cinematographers bestowed on him its prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in 1988. [From article by Frank Thompson, updated by John McCarty.]

FILMS
1928	The Rescue [Herbert Brenon] b&w; 9 reels; cph: George Barnes & James Wong Howe; silent & sound (mus score + sound efx) versions; prod Samuel Goldwyn, Inc.
1936	Shall We Dance [Mark Sandrich] b&w; doph David Abel started the picture, but J. Biroc was the (uncred) ph for the remaining 5 weeks
*1942*	It's All True [Orson Welles] unfinished; ph (with William Howard Greene & Harry J. Wild) 'Carnaval' seq; 'My Friend Bonito' seq (dir by Norman Foster) ph by Floyd Crosby & Joe Noreigo; 'Four Men on a Raft' seq ph by George Fanto; footage used in doc 'It's All True' (1993, Richard Wilson, Myron Meisel & Bill Krohn)
1942	Bombardier [Richard Wallace & (uncred aerial action seq) Lambert Hillyer] b&w; ph Nicholas Musuraca started the picture, but J. Biroc was the (uncred) replacement
1946	It's a Wonderful Life [Frank Capra] b&w; finished prod (+ c.op); cph: Victor Milner (uncred) & Joseph Walker; spec pfx: Russell A. Cully
1946	Magic Town [William A. Wellman] b&w
1947	On Our Merry Way/A Miracle Can Happen [King Vidor (Charles Laughton seq, filmed July 1946, cut from film & Burgess Meredith/Paulette Goddard seq, filmed August 1946) & Leslie Fenton (Fred MacMurray seq, filmed September 1946 & Dorothy Lamour/Victor Moore seq, filmed October 1947); (uncred James Stewart/Henry Fonda seq, filmed February 1947) George Stevens & John Huston] b&w; ph James Stewart/Henry Fonda seq; other ph: Edward Cronjager (Charles Laughton seq - cut from film), Gordon Avil (Fred MacMurray seq), John F. Seitz & (uncred) Ernest Laszlo (Dorothy Lamour/Victor Moore seq)
1947	Roughshod [Mark Robson] b&w; released in 1949
1948	My Dear Secretary [Charles Martin] b&w
1948	Johnny Allegro/Hounded [Ted Tetzlaff] b&w
1949	Tokyo Joe [Stuart Heisler] b&w; co-2uc (Tokyo background ph); ph: Charles Lawton Jr.
1949	Mrs. Mike [Louis King] b&w
1949	The Killer That Stalked New York/Frightened City [Earl McEvoy] b&w

1950	Cry Danger [Robert Parrish] b&w
1950	All That I Have [William the Lutheran Church
1951	The Bushwackers/The Rebel
1951	Without Warning!/The Story Without
1951	Red Planet Mars [Harry Horner] b&w
1951	The Twonky [Arch Oboler]
1952	Loan Shark [Seymour Friedman] b&w
1952	The Glass Wall [Maxwell Shane] b&w
1952	Bwana the first feature to use responsible for the development press materials credit process, while others list names Gunzburg and his producer Sid Pink described stating that two cameras, emulating the eyeline positioning, provides a separate two-dimensional are run simultaneously superimposed on the screen. picture through Polaroid Although 3-D-like processes several decades, Natural marked a great improvement praised for being relatively Reviewers, however, still the Hollywood Reporter [From the TCM website.]
1952	The
1952	Vice Squad/The Girl in Room 17
1953	The Steel Cage [Walter Doniger] unaired ep of tv-series 'Duffy
1953	Donovan's Brain [Felix Feist
1953	Charade [Roy Kellino] b&w; at Dawn' & 'The Midas
1953	World for Ransom [Robert
1953	Appointment in Honduras/Jungle
1954	Down Three Dark Streets/Case
1955	Bengazi [John Brahm] Superscope/b&w
1955	Quincannon - Frontier Scout/Frontier
1955	Ghost Town [Allen H. Miner] b&w
1955	Nightmare [Maxwell Shane] b&w

F. Claxton] b&w; 55m; prod Family Film for [Rod Amateau] b&w a Name [Arnold Laven] b&w b&w; released in 1953 Devil [Arch Oboler] 3-D/c; 'Bwana Devil' was the 3-D process. Sources conflict as to who was of the Natural Vision 3-D format. Some Milton Gunzburg and Friend Baker with creating the Baker and the film's technician, O. S. Bryhn. A 1952 Time article brother Julian as the developers. Associate the 3-D process in a November 1990 FilmFax article, placed next to each other at a distance are used to shoot each scene. Each lens image, but in theaters, the two prints from two separate projectors, with the two images Then, the audience views the superimposed glasses, whose lenses separate the images again. had been around in various incarnations for Vision, the culmination of intensive research, in the process. 'Bwana Devil' was inexpensive to shoot and easy to project. criticized the 3-D process as problematic, and reviewer referred to it as 'a novelty...which has a long way to go.' Tall Texan [Elmo Williams] b&w [Arnold Laven] b&w b&w; cph: John Alton; comp of 3 of San Quentin' (replaced Curt Siodmak)] b&w 3 seg: 'Portrait of a Murderer', 'Duel Touch'; cph: ?; see Television (1952) Aldrich] b&w; shot in 9 days Fury [Jacques Tourneur] c File: FBI [Arnold Laven] b&w Scout [Lesley Selander] c

1956

Attack [Robert Aldrich] b&w

1956

Tension at Table Rock [Charles Marquis Warren] c

[Right] with Sam Fuller - "Run of the Arrow"

1956

Run of the Arrow/Hot Lead [Samuel Fuller] RKO-Scope/c

1956

The Black Whip/The Man with a Whip [Charles Marquis Warren] Regalscope/b&w

1956

The Ride Back [Allen H. Miner] b&w

1956

The Garment Jungle [Vincent Sherman & (uncred; started the film, but fell ill) Robert Aldrich] b&w

1957

China Gate [Samuel Fuller] cs/b&w; spec pfx: Linwood G. Dunn

1957

The Unknown Terror [Charles Marquis Warren] Regalscope/b&w

1957

Forty Guns [Samuel Fuller] cs/b&w; optical efx: Linwood Dunn; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott

1957

The Amazing Colossal Man [Bert I. Gordon] b&w

1957

Underwater Warrior [Andrew Marton] cs/b&w; uwph: Lamar Boren

1957

Born Reckless [Howard W. Koch] b&w; replaced scheduled ph Carl Guthrie

1958

Home Before Dark [Mervyn LeRoy] b&w

1958

Verboten! [Samuel Fuller] b&w

[Center/white shirt] with Mervyn LeRoy [center/sitting] - "The FBI Story"

1958

The FBI Story [Mervyn LeRoy] c

1959

The Bat [Crane Wilbur] b&w

[Hat/light meter] with dir Vincent Sherman [standing] and actors Ray Danton & Diane McBain - "Ice Palace"

1959

Ice Palace [Vincent Sherman] c

1960

13 Ghosts [William Castle] b&w-c; originally filmed in 'Illusion-O' (As with most of his productions, William Castle, 'The King of Ballyhoo', used a gimmick to promote the movie. For '13 Ghosts', audience members were given a choice: the 'brave' ones could watch the film and see the ghosts, while the apprehensive among them would be able to opt out of the horror and watch without the stress of having to see the ghosts. The choice came via the special viewer. In the theatres, scenes involving ghosts were shown in a 'process' dubbed 'Illusion-O': the filmed elements of the actors and the sets - everything except the ghosts - were displayed in regular b&w, while the ghost elements were tinted a pale blue and superimposed over the frame. Audiences received viewers with red and blue cellophane filters. Choosing to look through the red filter intensified the images of the ghosts, while the blue filter 'removed' them. Although the blue filter did screen out the ghostly images, the ghosts were visible with the naked eye, without the red filter. [From Wikipedia])

1960

Gold of the Seven Saints [Gordon Douglas] WarnerScope/b&w

1961

Operation Eichmann [R.G. Springsteen] b&w

1961

The Devil at 4 O'Clock [Mervyn LeRoy] c

1961

Sail a Crooked Ship [Irving Brecher] b&w

1961

Hitler/Women of Nazi Germany [Stuart Heisler] b&w

1962

Convicts 4/Reprieve [Millard Kaufman] b&w

1962

Confessions of an Opium Eater/Evils of Chinatown/Souls for Sale [Albert Zugsmith] b&w

1962

Bye Bye Birdie [George Sidney] p/c

1963

Toys in the Attic [George Roy Hill] p/b&w

1963

Promises! Promises! [King Donovan] b&w

1963

Under the Yum Yum Tree [David Swift] c

1963

4 for Texas/Four for Texas [Robert Aldrich] c; co-2uc; ph: Ernest Laszlo

1963

Viva Las Vegas/Love in Las Vegas [George Sidney] p/c

1963

Gunfight at Comanche Creek [Frank McDonald] p/c

1963

To Trap a Spy [Don Medford] c; expanded pilot ('The Vulcan Affair') of 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'-series; filmed November 1963 & March/April 1964; see Television (1963); released in 1966

1963

Bullet for a Badman/Renegade Posse [R.G. Springsteen] c

1964

Ride the Wild Surf [Don Taylor] c

1964

Kitten with a Whip [Douglas Heyes] b&w

1964

The Young Lovers/Chance Meeting [Samuel Goldwyn Jr.] b&w; cph: Ellsworth Fredericks

1964

Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte/What Ever Happened to Cousin Charlotte? [Robert Aldrich] b&w

1965

I Saw What You Did [and I Know Who You Are!] [William Castle] b&w

1965

The Flight of the Phoenix [Robert Aldrich] c; aph: Paul Mantz; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott & Howard Lydecker

1965

The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming [Norman Jewison] p/c

1966

The Swinger [George Sidney] c; spec pfx: Paul K. Lerpae; process ph: Farciot Edouart

1966

Warning Shot [Buzz Kulik] c

1966

Enter Laughing [Carl Reiner] c

1966

Who's Minding the Mint? [Howard Morris] c; hph: Nelson Tyler

1966

Fitzwilly [Strikes Back] [Delbert Mann] p/c

1967

Tony Rome [Gordon Douglas] p/c

1967

The Legend of Lylah Clare [Robert Aldrich] c

1968

The Detective [Gordon Douglas] p/c; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott & Art Cruickshank

1968

Lady in Cement [Gordon Douglas] p/c

1968

The Killing of Sister George [Robert Aldrich] c; London ph: Brian West

1968

Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice? [Lee H. Katzin] c

1969

Too Late the Hero/Suicide Run [Robert Aldrich] Metroscope (+ 70bu)/c; 2uc: Nonong Rasca

1969

The Greatest Mother of 'em All [Robert Aldrich & (dir ext) Tom Buchanan] c; short/20m; int ph; ext ph: Verne Carlson; promo reel for an un-produced feature

1969

Mrs. Pollifax - Spy [Leslie H. Martinson] c; 2uc: Mark H. Davis

1970

Escape from the Planet of the Apes [Don Taylor] p/c; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott & Howard A. Anderson

1971

The Organization [Don Medford] c

1971

The Grissom Gang [Robert Aldrich] c

1972

Ulzana's Raid [Robert Aldrich] c

1972

Emperor of the North Pole/Emperor of the North [Robert Aldrich] c; 2uc: Joe Jackman; spec vfx: L.B. Abbott

1972

Cahill [- U.S. Marshall] [- United States Marshal] [Andrew V. McLaglen] p/c; spec pfx: Albert Whitlock

1973

Superman [George Blair, Harry Gerstad & Lew Landers] c; comp of 4 ep (1957: #80 'Tin Hero' & #81 'The Town That Wasn't'; 1958: #95 'The Mysterious Cube' & #100 'Superman's Wife') of tv-series 'Adventures of Superman'; cph: Harold Wellman

1973

Blazing Saddles [Mel Brooks] p/c

1973

The Longest Yard/The Mean Machine [Robert Aldrich & (car chase) Hal Needham] c

1974

Shanks [William Castle] c

[Right] with prod/action seq dir Irwin Allen - "The Towering Inferno"

1974

The Towering Inferno [John Guillermin] p (+ 70bu)/c; ph action seq (dir by Irwin Allen); ph 1st unit: Fred J. Koenekamp

1974

Hustle [Robert Aldrich] c

1975

The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox [Melvin Frank] p/c; 2uc: Joe Jackman

1977

The Choirboys [Robert Aldrich] c

1978

Beyond the Poseidon Adventure [Irwin Allen] p/c; uwph: Jack Cooperman; spec pfx: Harold Wellman

1979

Airplane!/Flying High [Jim Abrahams, David & Jerry Zucker] c; sfx ph: Bruce Logan; miniatures ph: Paul Gentry

1980

Hammett [Wim Wenders] c; cph: Philip Lathrop (reshoots in 1981)

1980

...All the Marbles/The California Dolls [Robert Aldrich] c; 2uc: William Birch

1982

Airplane II: The Sequel/Flying High II [Ken Finkleman] c

TELEVISION

Ph ep of 'Four Star Playhouse/Star Performance' (129-part series, 1952-56), 'TV Reader's Digest' (1955-56), 'Alcoa-Goodyear Theatre' (1957-60), 'Checkmate' (71-part series, 1960-62) & 'Grindl' (32-part series, 1963-64).

1951

The Honeymoon Is Over [?] ?

1952

The Midas Touch [Roy Kellino] tvm/b&w/30m; also seg of feature 'Charade' (1953); see Films

1952

I'm the Law [ep #3 'The Model Agency Story' dir by George Archainbaud, #7 'The South American Money and the Generals Coffin' dir by Jean Yarbrough (JY), #8 'Who Killed Evelyn?' dir by JY, #9 'The Stool Pigeon Story' dir by JY, #10 'The Juvenile Murder Story' dir by JY, #11 'The Mad Cartoonist' dir by JY, #12 'The Wish and the Shoplifter' dir by Robert Walker (RW), #14 'O sole mio' dir by RW, #15 'The Trucking Story' dir by RW, #18 'The Countess Bobo Story' dir by RW, #21 'The Killer' dir by RW, #24 'Falling Star' dir by RW, #? 'The Waterfront Story' dir by RW & #? 'Train to Auburn' dir by JY] 26-part (syndicated) police series/b&w, 1952-53

1952

China Smith [various] 52-part (syndicated) adventure series/b&w, 1952 & 1954-55 ('The New Adventures of China Smith'); other ph: Don Flagg

1952

The Child [James Mason] tvm/b&w/28m

1953

Your Readers [e.g. 'About War', 'John Keats', 'The Birth of Christ', 'Robinson Crusoe' & 'Julius Caesar' dir by James Mason] 29 (?) -part series/b&w; cph: Hal Mohr; each ep (20m) is a reading of excerpts from a literary work

1954

The Lone Wolf/Streets of Danger [prod #2 'The Blue Lantern Story/Copper Mountain Lodge' dir by Bernard Girard, prod #3 'The Art Story/The Painting' dir by BG, prod #4 'The San Francisco Story' dir by BG, prod #5 'The Emerald Ring' dir by BG, prod #6 'The Avalanche Story/The Reno Story/Time Bomb' dir by Bernard Girard & prod #7 'The Chinese Story/Intrigue' dir by BG] 39-part (syndicated) adventure series/b&w; other ph: Frederick Gately, Nicholas Musuraca & Charles Van Enger

1954

The Mickey Rooney Show "Hey Mulligan" [ep #2 'The Moon or Bust' dir by Leslie H. Martinson (LHM), #3 'Disc Jockey' dir by LHM, #4 'Double Trouble' dir by LHM, #6 'The Grunion Hunt Mystery' dir by LHM & #10 'Tiger Mulligan' dir by LHM] 39-part sitcom series/b&w, 1954-55 (NBC-tv); other ph: James Van Trees

1954

Police Call/International Police [ep 'Montreal' dir by Arthur Singer] 26-part crime anthology series/b&w (syndication)

1954

Treasury Men in Action/Federal Men/T-Men in Action [ep #5-01 'The Case of the Lonely People' dir by Gerald Mayer (GM), #5-03 'The Case of the Gentleman Cheat' dir by William Beaudine (WB), #5-05 'The Case of the Man Outside' dir by Will Jason (WJ), # 5-08 'The Case of the Green Feathers' dir by GM, #5-11 'The Case of the Losing Gamble' dir by GM, #5-12 'The Case of the Bad Bargain' dir by WB, #5-13 'The Case of the Broken Bond' dir by WB, #5-36 'The Case of the Shot in the Dark' dir by WJ, #5-38 'The Case of the Frightened Man' dir by Leigh Jason & #5-39 'The Case of the Slippery Eel' dir by WJ] 192-part crime series/b&w, 1950 (ABC-tv), 1951-54 (NBC-tv) & 1954-55 (ABC-tv); 5th season, 1954-55

[Left] with 'Superman' George Reeves [1955]

1955

Adventures of Superman [13 ep dir by various] 104-part series, 1952-58; 4th season, 1956; this series followed the theatrical feature 'Superman and the Mole Men' dir by Lee Sholem and ph by Clark Ramsey in July-August 1951 (the 1st season, 1952-53 - 24 ep - was ph by William Whitley in 1951 and was sold to Kellogg's Cereal Company, who delayed airing by a year)

1955

Screen Directors Playhouse [ep #7 'The Final Tribute' dir by Andrew L. Stone] 35-part anthology series/b&w, 1955-56

195?

Warden Duffy of San Quentin [pilot 'Hostages' dir by Walter Doniger] unsold pilot/b&w

1955

My Friend Flicka [ep #7 'The Stranger' dir by Robert Gordon] 39-part adventure series, 1956-57 (CBS-tv; filmed in color, aired in b&w) & 1957-58 (NBC-tv; reruns in color); cph: Lloyd Ahern; first filmed series from 20th Century-Fox

1955

The Wanderer [ep 'A Place of Plenty' dir by Harry Horner] series/b&w

1956

Sheriffs of the U.S.A. [ep 'Dandy Man' dir by Gerald Mayer] series/b&w

1956

Cavalry Patrol [Charles Marquis Warren] pilot/b&w/30m

1956

General Electric Summer Originals [ep #1 'It's Sunny Again' dir by Don Weis] dramatic anthology series/b&w

1956

Arabian Nights [ep 'The Princess and the Beggar' dir by Gilbert Kay] series/b&w

1957

Hey, Jeannie!/The Jeannie Carson Show (1958) [ep #27 'The Landlord' dir by Rod Amateau] 32-part sitcom series/b&w, 1956-57 (26 ep; CBS-tv) & 1958 (6 ep; syndication); other ph: William Margulies (5 ep; syndication)

With George Reeves [1957]

1957

Adventures of Superman [13 ep dir by various] 6th season, 1958; see Television (1955) & Films (1973)

1957

Playhouse 90 [ep #36 'Without Incident' dir by Charles Marquis Warren] 134-part anthology series/b&w, 1956-60 (1961: reruns); 1st season, 1956-57; started as a live series

1957

Alfred Hitchcock Presents/The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962-65) [ep #83 'Silent Witness' dir by Paul Henreid] 268-part suspense anthology series/b&w, 1955-60 (CBS-tv), 1960-62 (NBC-tv), 1962-64 (CBS-tv) & 1964-65 (NBC-tv); 3rd season, 1957-58

1957

Richard Diamond, Private Detective/Calling Mr. 'D' [ep #13 'The Space Society' dir by Stuart Rosenberg] 77-part detective series/b&w, 1957-59 (CBS-tv) & 1959-60 (NBC-tv); 2nd season, 1958

1958

The Adventures of Super Pup [Cal Howard] pilot/b&w/22m for unsold series; spec pfx: Jack Rabin & Louis DeWitt

1959

[Dick Powell's] Zane Grey Theater/The Westerners [ep #87 'Checkmate' dir by John English] 146-part western anthology series/b&w, 1956-61 & 1962 (reruns); 3rd season, 1958-59

1959

Hotel de Paree [ep #1 'Sundance Comes Home/Sundance Returns' dir by Robert Aldrich] 33-part western series/b&w, 1959-60

1959

The Detectives [Starring Robert Taylor] [ep #1 'The Streger Affair' dir by Arnold Laven] 97-part police series/b&w, 1959-61 (ABC-tv) & 1961-62 (NBC-tv); 1st season, 1959-60

1962

This Rugged Land [Arthur Hiller] tvm; originally ep #1 'The Day the Empire Stood Still' of western series 'Empire/The Big G' (1962-63 & 1964 reruns) + add footage

1963

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. [pilot 'The Vulcan Affair' dir by Don Medford] 105-part spy spoof series, 1964-68; 1st season/b&w, 1964-65; other ph: Fred Koenekamp; see Films (1963)

1967

The Hardy Boys [?] pilot

1971

Brian's Song [Buzz Kulik] tvm; also released theatrically

1971

Gidget Gets Married [E.W. Swackhamer] pilot

1971

Thursday's Game/The Berk [Robert Moore] tvm; shown in 1974

1971

Ghost Story/Circle of Fear (1973) [pilot/ep #0 'The New House' dir by John Llewellyn Moxey] pilot + 22-part supernatural anthology series, 1972-73; other ph: Bill Butler & Emmett Bergholtz

1972

Playmates [Theodore J. Flicker] tvm

1972

The Crooked Hearts [Jay Sandrich] tvm

1973

Wonder Woman [Vincent McEveety] tvm; originally the first pilot for the 'Wonder Woman'-series, 1976-79

1973

Honky-Tonk [Don Taylor] tvm

1976

[Arthur Hailey's] The Moneychangers [Boris Sagal] 4-part miniseries

1976

SST - Death Flight/SST - Disaster in the Sky/Death Flight/Flight of the Maiden [David Lowell Rich] tvm

1977

Washington: Behind Closed Doors [Gary Nelson] 6-part miniseries; cph: Jack Swain; 2uc: Andrew Laszlo

1977

A Family Upside Down [David Lowell Rich] tvm

1978

The Clone Master [Don Medford] pilot

1978

Little Women [David Lowell Rich] 2-part tvm; followed by short-lived series in February-March 1979

1979

Scruples [Alan J. Levi (replaced Hy Averback)] 3-part miniseries; followed by sequel in 1981

1979

[Kenny Rogers as] The Gambler [Dick Lowry] tvm; addph: John Hora

1981

Desperate Lives [Robert M. Lewis] tvm

1982

Casablanca [ep #1 'Who Am I Killing?' dir by Ralph Senensky (RS), #2 'The Master Builder's Woman' dir by Robert M. Lewis (RML), #3 'Jenny' dir by Mel Stuart, #4 'The Cashier and the Belly Dancer' dir by RS & #5 'Divorce, Casablanca Style' dir by RML] 5-part series, 1983

1983

The Jerk, Too [Michael Schultz] pilot

1984

Hell Town/Father of Hell Town [Don Medford] pilot

1984

A Death in California/Psychopath [Delbert Mann] 2-part tvm

1985

Outrage! [Walter Grauman] tvm

1985

A Winner Never Quits [Mel Damski] tvm

1987

Time Out for Dad [Harry Harris] pilot/60m

FILMS AS CAMERA OPERATOR

1930

Cimarron [Wesley Ruggles] co-c.asst; ph: Edward Cronjager

1931

[Young] Donovan's Kid [Fred Niblo] co-2nd cam; ph: Edward Cronjager

1931

Three Who Loved [George Archainbaud] co-2nd cam; ph: Nicholas Musuraca

1931

Are These Our Children? [Wesley Ruggles & (uncred) Howard Estabrook] co-2nd cam; ph: Leo Tover

1931

Ladies of the Jury [Lowell Sherman] co-2nd cam; ph: Jack MacKenzie

1931

The Lost Squadron [George Archainbaud] co-c.op; ph: Edward Cronjager & Leo Tover

1932

State's Attorney/Cardigan's Last Case [George Archainbaud] co-c.op; ph: Leo Tover

1932

The Monkey's Paw [Wesley Ruggles & (uncred add scenes) Ernest B. Schoedsack] co-c.asst; ph: Leo Tover

1932

Secrets of the French Police [A. Edward Sutherland] co-c.asst; ph: Alfred Gilks

1932

No Other Woman [J. Walter Ruben] 2nd c.op; ph: Edward Cronjager

1932

The Animal Kingdom/The Woman in His House [Edward H. Griffith & (uncred) George Cukor] ph: George Folsey

1933

Before Dawn [Irving Pichel] 2nd cam; ph: Lucien Andriot

1933

Rafter Romance [William Seiter] ph: David Abel

1933

Ann Vickers [John Cromwell] ph: David Abel & Edward Cronjager

1934

Where Sinners Meet/The Dover Road [J. Walter Ruben] ph: Nicholas Musuraca & (uncred) David Abel

1934

Their Big Moment/Afterwards [James Cruze] ph: Harold Wenstrom

1934

The Gay Divorcee/The Gay Divorce [Mark Sandrich] ph: David Abel

1934

Laddie [George Stevens] ph: Harold Wenstrom

1935

Break of Hearts [Philip Moeller] ph: Robert De Grasse

[Right] with doph J. Roy Hunt [left] - "The Ex-Mrs. Bradford"

1936

The Ex-Mrs. Bradford [Stephen Roberts] ph: J. Roy Hunt

1936

Swing Time [George Stevens] 2nd c.op; ph: David Abel

[At camera] with dir John Farrow [seated/glasses]

and doph Nicholas Musuraca [standing left] - "Five Came Back"

1939

Five Came Back [John Farrow] ph: Nicholas Musuraca

1940

Tom Brown's School Days/Adventures at Rugby [Robert Stevenson] ph: Nicholas Musuraca

1946

It's a Wonderful Life [Frank Capra] c.op (& finished film); ph: Victor Milner (uncred) & Joseph Walker; see Films

1956	Attack [Robert Aldrich] b&w
1956	Tension at Table Rock [Charles Marquis Warren] c

1956	Run of the Arrow/Hot Lead [Samuel Fuller] RKO-Scope/c
1956	The Black Whip/The Man with a Whip [Charles Marquis Warren] Regalscope/b&w
1956	The Ride Back [Allen H. Miner] b&w
1956	The Garment Jungle [Vincent Sherman & (uncred; started the film, but fell ill) Robert Aldrich] b&w
1957	China Gate [Samuel Fuller] cs/b&w; spec pfx: Linwood G. Dunn
1957	The Unknown Terror [Charles Marquis Warren] Regalscope/b&w

1957	Forty Guns [Samuel Fuller] cs/b&w; optical efx: Linwood Dunn; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott
1957	The Amazing Colossal Man [Bert I. Gordon] b&w
1957	Underwater Warrior [Andrew Marton] cs/b&w; uwph: Lamar Boren
1957	Born Reckless [Howard W. Koch] b&w; replaced scheduled ph Carl Guthrie
1958	Home Before Dark [Mervyn LeRoy] b&w
1958	Verboten! [Samuel Fuller] b&w

1958	The FBI Story [Mervyn LeRoy] c
1959	The Bat [Crane Wilbur] b&w

1959	Ice Palace [Vincent Sherman] c
1960	13 Ghosts [William Castle] b&w-c; originally filmed in 'Illusion-O' (As with most of his productions, William Castle, 'The King of Ballyhoo', used a gimmick to promote the movie. For '13 Ghosts', audience members were given a choice: the 'brave' ones could watch the film and see the ghosts, while the apprehensive among them would be able to opt out of the horror and watch without the stress of having to see the ghosts. The choice came via the special viewer. In the theatres, scenes involving ghosts were shown in a 'process' dubbed 'Illusion-O': the filmed elements of the actors and the sets - everything except the ghosts - were displayed in regular b&w, while the ghost elements were tinted a pale blue and superimposed over the frame. Audiences received viewers with red and blue cellophane filters. Choosing to look through the red filter intensified the images of the ghosts, while the blue filter 'removed' them. Although the blue filter did screen out the ghostly images, the ghosts were visible with the naked eye, without the red filter. [From Wikipedia])
1960	Gold of the Seven Saints [Gordon Douglas] WarnerScope/b&w
1961	Operation Eichmann [R.G. Springsteen] b&w
1961	The Devil at 4 O'Clock [Mervyn LeRoy] c
1961	Sail a Crooked Ship [Irving Brecher] b&w
1961	Hitler/Women of Nazi Germany [Stuart Heisler] b&w
1962	Convicts 4/Reprieve [Millard Kaufman] b&w
1962	Confessions of an Opium Eater/Evils of Chinatown/Souls for Sale [Albert Zugsmith] b&w
1962	Bye Bye Birdie [George Sidney] p/c
1963	Toys in the Attic [George Roy Hill] p/b&w
1963	Promises! Promises! [King Donovan] b&w
1963	Under the Yum Yum Tree [David Swift] c
1963	4 for Texas/Four for Texas [Robert Aldrich] c; co-2uc; ph: Ernest Laszlo
1963	Viva Las Vegas/Love in Las Vegas [George Sidney] p/c
1963	Gunfight at Comanche Creek [Frank McDonald] p/c
1963	To Trap a Spy [Don Medford] c; expanded pilot ('The Vulcan Affair') of 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'-series; filmed November 1963 & March/April 1964; see Television (1963); released in 1966
1963	Bullet for a Badman/Renegade Posse [R.G. Springsteen] c
1964	Ride the Wild Surf [Don Taylor] c
1964	Kitten with a Whip [Douglas Heyes] b&w
1964	The Young Lovers/Chance Meeting [Samuel Goldwyn Jr.] b&w; cph: Ellsworth Fredericks
1964	Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte/What Ever Happened to Cousin Charlotte? [Robert Aldrich] b&w
1965	I Saw What You Did [and I Know Who You Are!] [William Castle] b&w
1965	The Flight of the Phoenix [Robert Aldrich] c; aph: Paul Mantz; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott & Howard Lydecker

1965	The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming [Norman Jewison] p/c
1966	The Swinger [George Sidney] c; spec pfx: Paul K. Lerpae; process ph: Farciot Edouart
1966	Warning Shot [Buzz Kulik] c
1966	Enter Laughing [Carl Reiner] c
1966	Who's Minding the Mint? [Howard Morris] c; hph: Nelson Tyler
1966	Fitzwilly [Strikes Back] [Delbert Mann] p/c

1967	Tony Rome [Gordon Douglas] p/c
1967	The Legend of Lylah Clare [Robert Aldrich] c
1968	The Detective [Gordon Douglas] p/c; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott & Art Cruickshank
1968	Lady in Cement [Gordon Douglas] p/c
1968	The Killing of Sister George [Robert Aldrich] c; London ph: Brian West
1968	Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice? [Lee H. Katzin] c
1969	Too Late the Hero/Suicide Run [Robert Aldrich] Metroscope (+ 70bu)/c; 2uc: Nonong Rasca
1969	The Greatest Mother of 'em All [Robert Aldrich & (dir ext) Tom Buchanan] c; short/20m; int ph; ext ph: Verne Carlson; promo reel for an un-produced feature
1969	Mrs. Pollifax - Spy [Leslie H. Martinson] c; 2uc: Mark H. Davis
1970	Escape from the Planet of the Apes [Don Taylor] p/c; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott & Howard A. Anderson
1971	The Organization [Don Medford] c
1971	The Grissom Gang [Robert Aldrich] c
1972	Ulzana's Raid [Robert Aldrich] c
1972	Emperor of the North Pole/Emperor of the North [Robert Aldrich] c; 2uc: Joe Jackman; spec vfx: L.B. Abbott
1972	Cahill [- U.S. Marshall] [- United States Marshal] [Andrew V. McLaglen] p/c; spec pfx: Albert Whitlock
1973	Superman [George Blair, Harry Gerstad & Lew Landers] c; comp of 4 ep (1957: #80 'Tin Hero' & #81 'The Town That Wasn't'; 1958: #95 'The Mysterious Cube' & #100 'Superman's Wife') of tv-series 'Adventures of Superman'; cph: Harold Wellman
1973	Blazing Saddles [Mel Brooks] p/c
1973	The Longest Yard/The Mean Machine [Robert Aldrich & (car chase) Hal Needham] c
1974	Shanks [William Castle] c

1974	The Towering Inferno [John Guillermin] p (+ 70bu)/c; ph action seq (dir by Irwin Allen); ph 1st unit: Fred J. Koenekamp
1974	Hustle [Robert Aldrich] c
1975	The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox [Melvin Frank] p/c; 2uc: Joe Jackman
1977	The Choirboys [Robert Aldrich] c
1978	Beyond the Poseidon Adventure [Irwin Allen] p/c; uwph: Jack Cooperman; spec pfx: Harold Wellman

1979	Airplane!/Flying High [Jim Abrahams, David & Jerry Zucker] c; sfx ph: Bruce Logan; miniatures ph: Paul Gentry
1980	Hammett [Wim Wenders] c; cph: Philip Lathrop (reshoots in 1981)
1980	...All the Marbles/The California Dolls [Robert Aldrich] c; 2uc: William Birch
1982	Airplane II: The Sequel/Flying High II [Ken Finkleman] c

TELEVISION
Ph ep of 'Four Star Playhouse/Star Performance' (129-part series, 1952-56), 'TV Reader's Digest' (1955-56), 'Alcoa-Goodyear Theatre' (1957-60), 'Checkmate' (71-part series, 1960-62) & 'Grindl' (32-part series, 1963-64).
1951	The Honeymoon Is Over [?] ?
1952	The Midas Touch [Roy Kellino] tvm/b&w/30m; also seg of feature 'Charade' (1953); see Films
1952	I'm the Law [ep #3 'The Model Agency Story' dir by George Archainbaud, #7 'The South American Money and the Generals Coffin' dir by Jean Yarbrough (JY), #8 'Who Killed Evelyn?' dir by JY, #9 'The Stool Pigeon Story' dir by JY, #10 'The Juvenile Murder Story' dir by JY, #11 'The Mad Cartoonist' dir by JY, #12 'The Wish and the Shoplifter' dir by Robert Walker (RW), #14 'O sole mio' dir by RW, #15 'The Trucking Story' dir by RW, #18 'The Countess Bobo Story' dir by RW, #21 'The Killer' dir by RW, #24 'Falling Star' dir by RW, #? 'The Waterfront Story' dir by RW & #? 'Train to Auburn' dir by JY] 26-part (syndicated) police series/b&w, 1952-53
1952	China Smith [various] 52-part (syndicated) adventure series/b&w, 1952 & 1954-55 ('The New Adventures of China Smith'); other ph: Don Flagg
1952	The Child [James Mason] tvm/b&w/28m
1953	Your Readers [e.g. 'About War', 'John Keats', 'The Birth of Christ', 'Robinson Crusoe' & 'Julius Caesar' dir by James Mason] 29 (?) -part series/b&w; cph: Hal Mohr; each ep (20m) is a reading of excerpts from a literary work
1954	The Lone Wolf/Streets of Danger [prod #2 'The Blue Lantern Story/Copper Mountain Lodge' dir by Bernard Girard, prod #3 'The Art Story/The Painting' dir by BG, prod #4 'The San Francisco Story' dir by BG, prod #5 'The Emerald Ring' dir by BG, prod #6 'The Avalanche Story/The Reno Story/Time Bomb' dir by Bernard Girard & prod #7 'The Chinese Story/Intrigue' dir by BG] 39-part (syndicated) adventure series/b&w; other ph: Frederick Gately, Nicholas Musuraca & Charles Van Enger

1954	The Mickey Rooney Show "Hey Mulligan" [ep #2 'The Moon or Bust' dir by Leslie H. Martinson (LHM), #3 'Disc Jockey' dir by LHM, #4 'Double Trouble' dir by LHM, #6 'The Grunion Hunt Mystery' dir by LHM & #10 'Tiger Mulligan' dir by LHM] 39-part sitcom series/b&w, 1954-55 (NBC-tv); other ph: James Van Trees
1954	Police Call/International Police [ep 'Montreal' dir by Arthur Singer] 26-part crime anthology series/b&w (syndication)
1954	Treasury Men in Action/Federal Men/T-Men in Action [ep #5-01 'The Case of the Lonely People' dir by Gerald Mayer (GM), #5-03 'The Case of the Gentleman Cheat' dir by William Beaudine (WB), #5-05 'The Case of the Man Outside' dir by Will Jason (WJ), # 5-08 'The Case of the Green Feathers' dir by GM, #5-11 'The Case of the Losing Gamble' dir by GM, #5-12 'The Case of the Bad Bargain' dir by WB, #5-13 'The Case of the Broken Bond' dir by WB, #5-36 'The Case of the Shot in the Dark' dir by WJ, #5-38 'The Case of the Frightened Man' dir by Leigh Jason & #5-39 'The Case of the Slippery Eel' dir by WJ] 192-part crime series/b&w, 1950 (ABC-tv), 1951-54 (NBC-tv) & 1954-55 (ABC-tv); 5th season, 1954-55

1955	Adventures of Superman [13 ep dir by various] 104-part series, 1952-58; 4th season, 1956; this series followed the theatrical feature 'Superman and the Mole Men' dir by Lee Sholem and ph by Clark Ramsey in July-August 1951 (the 1st season, 1952-53 - 24 ep - was ph by William Whitley in 1951 and was sold to Kellogg's Cereal Company, who delayed airing by a year)
1955	Screen Directors Playhouse [ep #7 'The Final Tribute' dir by Andrew L. Stone] 35-part anthology series/b&w, 1955-56
195?	Warden Duffy of San Quentin [pilot 'Hostages' dir by Walter Doniger] unsold pilot/b&w
1955	My Friend Flicka [ep #7 'The Stranger' dir by Robert Gordon] 39-part adventure series, 1956-57 (CBS-tv; filmed in color, aired in b&w) & 1957-58 (NBC-tv; reruns in color); cph: Lloyd Ahern; first filmed series from 20th Century-Fox
1955	The Wanderer [ep 'A Place of Plenty' dir by Harry Horner] series/b&w
1956	Sheriffs of the U.S.A. [ep 'Dandy Man' dir by Gerald Mayer] series/b&w
1956	Cavalry Patrol [Charles Marquis Warren] pilot/b&w/30m
1956	General Electric Summer Originals [ep #1 'It's Sunny Again' dir by Don Weis] dramatic anthology series/b&w
1956	Arabian Nights [ep 'The Princess and the Beggar' dir by Gilbert Kay] series/b&w
1957	Hey, Jeannie!/The Jeannie Carson Show (1958) [ep #27 'The Landlord' dir by Rod Amateau] 32-part sitcom series/b&w, 1956-57 (26 ep; CBS-tv) & 1958 (6 ep; syndication); other ph: William Margulies (5 ep; syndication)

FILMS AS CAMERA OPERATOR
1930	Cimarron [Wesley Ruggles] co-c.asst; ph: Edward Cronjager
1931	[Young] Donovan's Kid [Fred Niblo] co-2nd cam; ph: Edward Cronjager
1931	Three Who Loved [George Archainbaud] co-2nd cam; ph: Nicholas Musuraca
1931	Are These Our Children? [Wesley Ruggles & (uncred) Howard Estabrook] co-2nd cam; ph: Leo Tover
1931	Ladies of the Jury [Lowell Sherman] co-2nd cam; ph: Jack MacKenzie
1931	The Lost Squadron [George Archainbaud] co-c.op; ph: Edward Cronjager & Leo Tover
1932	State's Attorney/Cardigan's Last Case [George Archainbaud] co-c.op; ph: Leo Tover
1932	The Monkey's Paw [Wesley Ruggles & (uncred add scenes) Ernest B. Schoedsack] co-c.asst; ph: Leo Tover
1932	Secrets of the French Police [A. Edward Sutherland] co-c.asst; ph: Alfred Gilks
1932	No Other Woman [J. Walter Ruben] 2nd c.op; ph: Edward Cronjager
1932	The Animal Kingdom/The Woman in His House [Edward H. Griffith & (uncred) George Cukor] ph: George Folsey
1933	Before Dawn [Irving Pichel] 2nd cam; ph: Lucien Andriot
1933	Rafter Romance [William Seiter] ph: David Abel
1933	Ann Vickers [John Cromwell] ph: David Abel & Edward Cronjager
1934	Where Sinners Meet/The Dover Road [J. Walter Ruben] ph: Nicholas Musuraca & (uncred) David Abel
1934	Their Big Moment/Afterwards [James Cruze] ph: Harold Wenstrom
1934	The Gay Divorcee/The Gay Divorce [Mark Sandrich] ph: David Abel
1934	Laddie [George Stevens] ph: Harold Wenstrom
1935	Break of Hearts [Philip Moeller] ph: Robert De Grasse

1936	The Ex-Mrs. Bradford [Stephen Roberts] ph: J. Roy Hunt
1936	Swing Time [George Stevens] 2nd c.op; ph: David Abel

1939	Five Came Back [John Farrow] ph: Nicholas Musuraca
1940	Tom Brown's School Days/Adventures at Rugby [Robert Stevenson] ph: Nicholas Musuraca
1946	It's a Wonderful Life [Frank Capra] c.op (& finished film); ph: Victor Milner (uncred) & Joseph Walker; see Films