John Alton

John Alton

Born: October 5, 1901
Died: June 2, 1996
in Sopron, 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).

Movies for John Alton...

'S Wonderful: Creating An American in Paris
Title: 'S Wonderful: Creating An American in Paris
Character: Self (archival footage)
Released: September 16, 2008
Type: Movie
This recently produced behind-the-scenes documentary digs into Gershwin's original work, the genesis of the cinematic adaptation, casting, the shoot, and the eventual reception of the film.
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Mystery Street: Murder at Harvard
Title: Mystery Street: Murder at Harvard
Released: July 31, 2007
Type: Movie
Presents testimony from Patricia King Hanson and Richard Schickel and archival input from cinematographer John Alton.
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Film Noir: Bringing Darkness to Light
Title: Film Noir: Bringing Darkness to Light
Character: Self
Released: July 18, 2006
Type: Movie
Film Noir burrows into the mind; it's disorienting, intriguing and enthralling. Noir brings us into a gritty underworld of lush morbidity, providing intimate peeks at its tough, scheming dames, mischievous misfits and flawed men - all caught in the wicked web of a twisted fate.
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Glorious Technicolor
Title: Glorious Technicolor
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: December 7, 1998
Type: Movie
The history of color photography in motion pictures, in particular the Technicolor company's work.
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Dark and Deadly: Fifty Years of Film Noir
Title: Dark and Deadly: Fifty Years of Film Noir
Character: Self
Released: June 1, 1995
Type: Movie
One of the first film noir documentaries, made for British Channel Four, and including interviews with Paul Schrader, Robert Wise, John Dahl, Bryan Singer, Edward Dmytryk, Dennis Hopper, John Alton.