PHILIP LATHROP

GREAT CINEMATOGRAPHERS

PHILIP LATHROP

Born: 22 October 1912, Merced, Calif., USA, as Philip H. Lathrop.

Died: 12 April 1995, Los Angeles, Calif., USA.

Career: Entered the industry in 1934 as film loader in the camera department at Universal Studios. In 1938 he became 2nd asst working with doph Joseph Valentine. Became c.op working with doph Russell Metty for 9 years. Became doph in 1957 shooting live-action seq at Walter Lantz' animation studio.

Was a member of the ASC.

Awards: 'Oscar' AA nom [1964; b&w] for 'The Americanization of Emily'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1974] for 'Earthquake'; 'Emmy' Award nom [1984] for 'Celebrity' [part III]; 'Emmy' Award [1985] for 'Malice in Wonderland'; 'Emmy' Award nom [1986] for 'Picking Up the Pieces'; 'Emmy' Award [1987] & ASC Award [1988] for 'Christmas Snow'; 'Emmy' Award nom [1988] & ASC Award [1989] for 'Little Girl Lost'; ASC Lifetime Achievement Award [1992]; SOC Award [1999; posthumously] for the opening scene of 'Touch of Evil'.

Philip H. Lathrop began his career as camera operator on the Irving Reis film 'All My Sons', working with cinematographer Russell Metty as he did ten years later on Orson Welles's 'A Touch of Evil'. The two pictures, in particular the film which marked Welles's return to Hollywood in 1957, proved a valuable training ground for Lathrop, whose own career as a director of photography took off in the same year. In his long career, Lathrop developed a reputation for his detailed approach to lighting and camera placement, and for his skill with widescreen technology in beautifully photographed films such as Blake Edwards's 'The Pink Panther' [1963]. Lathrop worked several times with Edwards, and the reliable, though not always very inspiring films on which they collaborated are notable for the quality of their photography.

Lathrop's most impressive work as a cinematographer came in the 1960s. His particular visual style seemed to epitomize the times, giving a glossy, dense feel to tough films like John Boorman's excellent thriller, 'Point Blank', and a dreamy atmosphere to strange comic offerings like 'The Americanization of Emily', for which he received an Oscar nomination. 'The Cincinnati Kid', which stars Edward G. Robinson and Steve McQueen as opposing poker players 'The Man' and 'The Kid', displays Lathrop's skills at their best, creating a shiny, disconcerting surface to the images that is not unlike the 'Photorealist' paintings that became popular at the same time. Ten years later, Lathrop's style gave an air of quality to films at the end of their era, such as Sam Peckinpah's 'The Killer Elite'. Lathrop went on to be involved in several well-regarded projects, yet in the 1970s most of his work was on films that have since come to embody Hollywood's shortcomings in that period. Commercial movies such as the 'Airport' series of films, and disaster movies such as 'Earthquake' [for which Lathrop received his second Oscar nomination] almost became parodies of themselves with their ever more improbable story lines and predictable dramatic twists.

Lathrop's talent was largely stifled by the demands of the studios in the 1970s, and opportunities for outstanding photography became increasingly limited. Yet despite the overall weakness of the commercial projects he was involved with later in his career, Lathrop's work remained of a high standard, often rescuing films with little else to recommend them. Although he ended his career with a series of limp TV movies, Lathrop will be remembered for his contribution to the 'look' of Hollywood cinema in the 1960s. [From article by Chris Routledge on the filmreference.com website.]

FILMS
1957	Money, Women and Guns [Richard Bartlett] cs/c
1957	Wild Heritage/Death Rides His Trail [Charles Haas] cs/c
1957	Girls on the Loose [Paul Henreid] b&w
1957	Live Fast, Die Young [Paul Henreid] b&w; spph: Clifford Stine
1958	The Monster of Piedras Blancas [Irvin Berwick] b&w
1958	Cry Tough [Paul Stanley] b&w; cph: Irving Glassberg
1958	The Saga of Hemp Brown [Richard Carlson] cs/c
1958	The Perfect Furlough/Strictly for Pleasure [Blake Edwards] cs/c; spph: Clifford Stine
1959	The Private Lives of Adam and Eve [Albert Zugsmith & Mickey Rooney] b&w (present) & c (fantasy seq)
1960	Breakfast at Tiffany's [Blake Edwards] c; uncred cph; ph: Franz Planer
1961	Lonely Are the Brave [David Miller] p/b&w
1961	Experiment in Terror/Grip of Fear [Blake Edwards] b&w
1962	Days of Wine and Roses [Blake Edwards] b&w
1962	Dime with a Halo [Boris Sagal] b&w

1963	The Pink Panther [Blake Edwards] tr (+ 70bu)/c
1963	Twilight of Honor/The Charge Is Murder [Boris Sagal] p/b&w
1963	Soldier in the Rain [Ralph Nelson] b&w
1963	The Americanization of Emily/Emily [Arthur Hiller] b&w; addph: Christopher Challis; spec vfx: J. McMillan Johnson
1964	36 Hours [George Seaston] p/b&w
1964	Girl Happy [Boris Sagal] p/c
1964	In Harm's Way [Otto Preminger] p/b&w; 2uc; ph: Loyal Griggs
1964	The Cincinnati Kid [Norman Jewison (replaced Sam Peckinpah)] c
1965	Never Too Late [Bud Yorkin] p/c; 2uc: Ed Horton
1965	What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? [Blake Edwards] p/c; 2uc: Harold Wellman

[Left] with dir Elliot Silverstein - "The Happening"

1966	The Happening [Elliot Silverstein] c; 2uc: Howard Winner
1966	Don't Make Waves [Alexander Mackendrick] p/c; skydiving ph: Bob Buquor
1966	Gunn [Blake Edwards] c
1966	Point Blank [John Boorman] p/c
1967	Finian's Rainbow [Francis Ford Coppola] p70/c
1968	I Love You, Alice B. Toklas!/Kiss My Butterfly [Hy Averback] c
1968	The Illustrated Man [Jack Smight] p/c
1968	The Gypsy Moths [John Frankenheimer] c; aph: Carl Boenisch
1969	They Shoot Horses, Don't They? [Sydney Pollack] p/c
1969	The Hawaiians/Master of the Islands [Tom Gries] p/c; cph: Lucien Ballard (replaced by P. Lathrop)
1969	The Traveling Executioner [Jack Smight] p/c
1970	Rabbit, Run [Jack Smight] p/c
1970	The All-American Boy [Charles Eastman] p/c
1971	Wild Rovers [Blake Edwards] p/c; 106m & 136m; 2uc: Frank Stanley

[Left] with Ernest Lehman [pointing] "Portnoy's Complaint"

Photo Thys Ockersen Archive

1971	Portnoy's Complaint [Ernest Lehman] p/c
1971	Every Little Crook and Nanny [Cy Howard] c
1972	The Thief Who Came to Dinner [Bud Yorkin] c
1972	Lolly-Madonna XXX/The Lolly-Madonna War [Richard Sarafian] p/c
1973	Mame [Gene Saks] p/c; spec pfx: Albert Whitlock
1973	Together Brothers [William A. Graham] c; cph: Charles Rosher Jr.
1973	The Prisoner of Second Avenue [Melvin Frank] p/c

"Earthquake"

1974	Earthquake [Mark Robson] p/c; miniature ph: Clifford Stine; spec pfx: Albert Whitlock
1974	Airport 1975 [Jack Smight] p/c; 2uc: Rex Metz; Washington ph: Richard Kratina
1974	Hard Times/The Streetfighter [Walter Hill] p/c
1975	The Killer Elite [Sam Peckinpah] p/c; 2uc: Duke Callaghan
1975	The Black Bird [David Giler] c
1976	Swashbuckler/The Scarlet Buccaneer [James Goldstone] p/c; spec pfx: Albert Whitlock
1976	Airport '77 [Jerry Jameson] p/c; 2uc: Rexford Metz
1977	The Driver [Walter Hill] p/c; 91m & 131m
1977	A Different Story [Paul Aaron] c; 2uc: Michael Werk
1978	Moment by Moment [Jane Wagner] p/c
1978	Foolin' Around [Richard T. Heffron] c
1978	The Concorde - Airport '79/Airport '80: The Concorde/S.O.S. Concorde [David Lowell Rich] c; spph: Clifford Stine
1979	Little Miss Marker [Walter Bernstein] c
1979	Loving Couples [Jack Smight] c
1980	A Change of Seasons [Richard Lang & (uncred) Noel Black] c; 2uc: Dick Kratina, Rexford Metz & Joe Jackman; ski ph: Scott Miller
1980	All Night Long [Jean-Claude Tramont] c
1981	Hammett [Wim Wenders (replaced Nicolas Roeg)] c; ph reshoots (1981); ph: Joseph Biroc (1980)
1982	[National Lampoon's] Class Reunion [Michael Miller] c
1982	Jekyll & Hyde... Together Again [Jerry Belson] c
1986	Deadly Friend [Wes Craven] c
1987	Ray's Male Heterosexual Dance Hall [Bryan Gordon] c; short/23m

TELEVISION
1957	The Woody Woodpecker Show [various] anim + live-action series, 1957-58 (ABC-tv); live-action ph (host seq ?)

1958	Peter Gunn [ep #1 'The Kill' dir by Blake Edwards + ep #11-13, #15-26 & #29-38 dir by various] 114-part detective series/b&w, 1958-60 (NBC-tv) & 1960-61 (ABC-tv); 1st season, 1958-59; other ph: Arthur Arling & Maury Gertsman
1958	Rawhide [ep #1 'Incident of the Tumbleweed Wagon' dir by Richard Whorf (RW), #2 'Incident at Alabaster Plain' dir by RW, #3 'Incident with an Executioner' dir by Charles Marquis Warren (CMW), #4 'Incident of the Widowed Dove' dir by Ted Post (TP), #5 'Incident on the Edge of Madness' dir by Andrew V. McLaglen (AVM), #6 'Incident of the Power and the Plow' dir by AVM, #8 'Incident West of Lano' dir by CMW, #9 'Incident of the Town in Terror' dir by TP & #10 'Incident of the Golden Calf' dir by Jesse Hibbs] 217-part western series/b&w, 1959-66 (CBS-tv); 1st season, 1959; other ph: John M. Nickolaus Jr.
1958	Steve Canyon [11 ep dir by various] 34-part adventure series/b&w, 1958-59 (NBC-tv); other ph: Paul Ivano (pilot), Arthur Arling (16 ep), Kenneth Peach (3 ep), Maury Gertsman (2 ep) & Russell Metty (1 ep)
1959	Mr. Lucky [ep #1 'The Magnificent Bribe' dir by Blake Edwards + 33 ep dir by various] 34-part adventure series/b&w, 1959-60 (CBS-tv)
1959	The Swamp Fox [ep #1 'The Birth of the Swamp Fox' dir by Harry Keller (HK) & #2 'Brother Against Brother' dir by HK] 8-part 'Walt Disney Presents - Frontierland'-series, 1959-61; other ph: Gordon Avil (2 ep), Floyd Crosby (2 ep) & Lucien Ballard (2 ep)
1959	Peter Gunn [ep #41, #43-50, #52-54 & #56-76 dir by various] 2nd season, 1959-60; other ph: Ellis Carter, Harkness Smith, a.o.; see 1958
1960	Hong Kong [ep #1 'Clear for Action' dir by Ida Lupino + 23 ep dir by various] unaired pilot + 26-part adventure series/b&w, 1960-61 (ABC-tv); other ph: Ted McCord, Frank Phillips & Robert Hauser
1960	Perry Mason [ep #4.23 'The Case of the Torrid Tapestry' dir by John English & #4.24 'The Case of the Violent Vest' dir by Lewis Allen] 271-part lawyer series/b&w, 1957-66 (CBS-tv); 4th season, 1960-61; other ph: Robert Hager, Frank Redman, John M. Nickolaus Jr., a.o.
1962	Hooray for Love [Jerry Hopper] unsold pilot/b&w; shown on CBS-tv 'Vacation Playhouse' (ep #8, September 1963)

1962	Combat! [ep #11 (originally the pilot) 'A Day in June' dir by Boris Sagal] 152-part war drama series/b&w-c, 1962-67 (ABC-tv); 1st season/b&w, 1962-63; other ph: Robert Hauser & Emmett Bergholz
1963	The Greatest Showman [Boris Sagal] special on dir Cecil B. DeMille; for NBC-tv
1964	Profiles in Courage [ep dir by various] 26-part biography series/b&w, 1964-65 (NBC-tv)
1975	Three for the Road [pilot dir by Boris Sagal] 13-part adventure series, 1975 (CBS-tv)
1975	What Now, Catherine Curtis? [Charles Walters] special/50m (3 seg: 'First Night', 'First Affair' & 'First Love')
1976	Never Con a Killer/The Feather & Father Gang [Buzz Kulik] tvm; cph: David M. Walsh
1977	Captains Courageous [Harvey Hart] tvm
1983	Celebrity [Paul Wendkos] 3-part miniseries
1984	Malice in Wonderland/The Rumor Mill [Gus Trikonis] tvm
1985	Between the Darkness and the Dawn [Peter Levin] tvm
1985	Love on the Run [Gus Trikonis] tvm
1985	Picking Up the Pieces/First Strike on Sycamore Lane [Paul Wendkos] tvm
1985	Mr. and Mrs. Ryan [Peter H. Hunt] tvm
1986	Christmas Snow [Gus Trikonis] tvm/60m
1986	The Liberators [Kenneth Johnson] tvm; ep 'Disney Sunday Movie'
1987	Six Against the Rock [Paul Wendkos] tvm
1987	Little Girl Lost [Sharron Miller] tvm; ep 'General Foods Golden Showcase'

FILMS AS CAMERA OPERATOR
1935	East of Java/Java Seas [George Melford] c.asst; ph: Norbert Brodine
1941	Saboteur [Alfred Hitchcock] c.asst; ph: Joseph Valentine; filmed 1941-42
1942	Shadow of a Doubt [Alfred Hitchcock] ph: Joseph Valentine
1946	The Cat Creeps [Erle C. Kenton] c.asst; ph: George Robinson
1947	Letter from an Unknown Woman [Max Ophüls] co-c.asst; ph: Franz Planer
1947	All My Sons [Irving Reis] ph: Russell Metty
1947	Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid [Irving Pichel] co-c.op; ph: Russell Metty; filmed 1947-48
1948	Kiss the Blood Off My Hands/Blood On My Hands [Norman Foster] c.asst; ph: Russell Metty
1948	You Gotta Stay Happy [H.C. Potter] c.asst; ph: Russell Metty
1948	The Lady Gambles [Michael Gordon] co-c.op; ph: Russell Metty; filmed 1948-49
1950	Peggy [Frederick De Cordova] ph: Russell Metty
1950	The Desert Hawk [Frederick De Cordova] ph: Russell Metty
1950	Wyoming Mail [Reginald Le Borg] ph: Russell Metty
1950	Little Egypt/Chicago Masquerade [Frederick De Cordova] ph: Russell Metty
1951	The Raging Tide [George Sherman] ph: Russell Metty
1951	Flame of Araby/Flame of the Desert [Charles Lamont] ph: Russell Metty
1951	The Treasure of Lost Canyon [Ted Tetzlaff] ph: Russell Metty
1951	Bronco Buster [Budd Boetticher] ph: Clifford Stine
1951	Scarlet Angel [Sidney Salkow] ph: Russell Metty
1952	Against All Flags [George Sherman] ph: Russell Metty
1952	Yankee Buccaneer [Frederick De Cordova] ph: Russell Metty
1952	[Willie and Joe] Back at the Front/Willie and Joe in Tokyo [George Sherman] ph: Clifford Stine
1952	Seminole [Budd Boetticher] ph: Russell Metty
1952	The Man from the Alamo [Budd Boetticher] ph: Russell Metty
1952	The Veils of Bagdad [George Sherman] ph: Russell Metty
1952	It Happens Every Thursday [Joseph Pevney] ph: Russell Metty; filmed 1952-53
1955	All That Heaven Allows [Douglas Sirk] ph: Russell Metty
1956	Man Afraid [Harry Keller] ph: Russell Metty

P. Lathrop - Charlton Heston - Orson Welles - "Touch of Evil"

1957

Touch of Evil [Orson Welles] co-c.op; ph: Russell Metty