John Alton

John Alton

  • Birthday: 10/5/1901
  • Deathday: 6/2/1996
  • Place of birth: Sopron, Austria-Hungary
  • Fame for: Camera

Biography

​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).

Filmography

Glorious Technicolor
Release date: 12/7/1998

Glorious Technicolor

Role(s): Self (archive footage)

Details
Film Noir: Bringing Darkness to Light
Release date: 7/18/2006

Film Noir: Bringing Darkness to Light

Role(s): Self

Details
'S Wonderful: Creating An American in Paris
Release date: 9/16/2008

'S Wonderful: Creating An American in Paris

Role(s): Self (archival footage)

Details
Mystery Street: Murder at Harvard
Release date: 7/31/2007

Mystery Street: Murder at Harvard

Details
Dark and Deadly: Fifty Years of Film Noir
Release date: 6/1/1995

Dark and Deadly: Fifty Years of Film Noir

Role(s): Self

Details