John Alton

Known for CameraBorn 1901-10-05Died 1996-06-02Sopron, Austria-Hungary

John Alton A.S.C. (October 5, 1901 – June 2, 1996), born Johann Altmann, in Sopron/Ödenburg, Kingdom of Hungary, Austria-Hungary, was an American cinematographer. Alton won an Academy Award for the cinematography of An American in Paris (1951), becoming the first Hungarian-born person to do so. He photographed some of the most famous film noirs of the classic period. He started out in Los Angeles as a lab technician in the 1920s, later becoming a cameraman within four years. He moved to France with Ernst Lubitsch to film backgrounds for The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927) and ended up staying for one year heading the camera department of Paramount Pictures's Joinville Studios. In 1932 he moved to Argentina where he shot many Spanish-language films and designed the country's first sound film studio for Lumiton and Argentina Sono Film. He returned to Hollywood in the late 1930s, with two dozen film credits, and became one of the most sought after cinematographers in American cinema. Alton was known for unconventional camera angles—especially low camera shots. His style is most notable in the film noirs: He Walked by Night, The Big Combo, The Amazing Mr. X, T-Men, and Raw Deal. Alton also photographed many color movies including Slightly Scarlet (a color film noir).Read more

Movies & web series

Hit Parade of 1947

Song of Mexico

Lake Placid Serenade

Cadetes de San Martín

Amalia

Loco lindo

Palermo

Red Stallion In The Rockies

Doce mujeres

El último encuentro

I Was a Criminal

El matrero

The Bohemian Life

Compañeros

Mission: Impossible

Film Noir: Bringing Darkness to Light

Birdman of Alcatraz

Girls of the Big House

Mr. District Attorney in the Carter Case

Glorious Technicolor

Elmer Gantry

¡Goal!

The Catered Affair

The Big Combo

'S Wonderful: Creating An American in Paris

Tea and Sympathy

The Steel Cage

An American in Paris

Washington Story

Father of the Bride

A Guy Could Change

Affairs of Geraldine

Border Incident

El pobre Pérez

Tararira (la bohemia de hoy)

Devil's Doorway

Reign of Terror

Mystery Street

Duffy of San Quentin

T-Men

Designing Woman

Driftwood

He Walked by Night

Raw Deal

The Brothers Karamazov

Hollow Triumph

Tennessee's Partner

Honeysuckle