John F. Seitz

John F. Seitz

  • Birthday: 1892-06-23
  • Deathday: 1979-02-27
  • Place of birth: Chicago, Illinois, USA
  • Also know as: John Seitz

Biography

John Francis Seitz, A.S.C. (June 23, 1892 – February 27, 1979) was an American cinematographer and inventor. He was nominated for seven Academy Awards. Seitz's Hollywood career began in 1909 as a lab assistant with the Essanay Film Manufacturing Company in Chicago. He went to work as a lab technician for the American Film Manufacturing Company (known as "Flying A"), also in Chicago. In 1916, during the silent era, he established himself, achieving great successes with the Rudolph Valentino film The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921). Highly regarded by director Billy Wilder, Seitz worked with him on the film noirs Double Indemnity (1944), The Lost Weekend (1945), and Sunset Blvd. (1950), receiving Academy Award nominations for each. In 1929, he served a year as president of the American Society of Cinematographers (A.S.C.) for which he had been a member since 1923. The A.S.C. named its 2002 Heritage Award after Seitz. Besides one Golden Globe and seven Oscar nominations, he also received the Look Magazine Award for The Lost Weekend, the A.S.C. Award for Sunset Blvd., and was among the winners of the inaugural George Award from the George Eastman House for outstanding contributions to the art of cinema for the years 1915 to 1925. He retired in 1960 and devoted himself to photographic inventions, for which he held 18 patents. An example of one Seitz invention is the matte shot: a large painting is photographed separately and later added to a scene to expand it, add effects, and/or create a sense of depth in backgrounds. He was also noted for his innovations with low-key lighting, which enhanced the film noir style. A widower, he married screenwriter Marie Boyle in 1934 who raised his daughter Margaret Alice Marhoefer and later gave birth to a son, John Lawrence Seitz.

Production

Sunset Boulevard

1950

As Director of Photography

Double Indemnity

1944

As Director of Photography

Invaders from Mars

1953

As Director of Photography

Rogue Cop

1954

As Director of Photography

Fly-By-Night

1942

As Director of Photography

Night Has a Thousand Eyes

1948

As Director of Photography

Saigon

1947

As Director of Photography

Calcutta

1946

As Director of Photography

Chicago Deadline

1949

As Director of Photography

The Lost Weekend

1945

As Director of Photography

A Cry in the Night

1956

As Director of Photography

Hail the Conquering Hero

1944

As Director of Photography

The Unseen

1945

As Director of Photography

When Worlds Collide

1951

As Director of Photography

This Gun for Hire

1942

As Director of Photography

The Man in the Net

1959

As Director of Photography

Hell on Frisco Bay

1955

As Director of Photography

The Moon and Sixpence

1942

As Director of Photography

The Rocket Man

1954

As Director of Photography

Island of Lost Women

1959

As Director of Photography

Saskatchewan

1954

As Director of Photography

Lucky Jordan

1942

As Director of Photography

Santiago

1956

As Director of Photography

The Imperfect Lady

1946

As Director of Photography

The Well Groomed Bride

1946

As Director of Photography

Saturday's Children

1929

As Director of Photography

Kismet

1930

As Director of Photography

The Right of Way

1930

As Director of Photography

The Age for Love

1931

As Director of Photography

Over the Hill

1931

As Director of Photography

Springtime for Henry

1934

As Director of Photography

The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek

1943

As Director of Photography

Five Graves to Cairo

1943

As Director of Photography

Sullivan's Travels

1941

As Director of Photography

Bad Little Angel

1939

As Director of Photography

Poor Little Rich Girl

1936

As Director of Photography

She Wanted a Millionaire

1932

As Director of Photography

The Squall

1929

As Director of Photography

The Conquering Power

1921

As Director of Photography

Ladies They Talk About

1933

As Director of Photography

Mr. Skitch

1933

As Director of Photography

On Our Merry Way

1948

As Director of Photography

Classmates

1924

As Director of Photography

6,000 Enemies

1939

As Director of Photography

The Bad Man

1930

As Director of Photography

Scaramouche

1923

As Director of Photography

The Magician

1926

As Director of Photography

The Patsy

1928

As Director of Photography

Across to Singapore

1928

As Director of Photography

Let's Talk Turkey

1939

As Director of Photography

The Woman in Room 13

1932

As Director of Photography

6 Hours to Live

1932

As Director of Photography

The Littlest Rebel

1935

As Director of Photography

The Prisoner of Zenda

1922

As Director of Photography

Marie Galante

1934

As Director of Photography

Carnival in Paris

1937

As Director of Photography

Wild Harvest

1947

As Director of Photography

Between Two Women

1937

As Director of Photography

The Savage

1952

As Director of Photography

Appointment with Danger

1950

As Director of Photography

Botany Bay

1952

As Director of Photography

Dear Brat

1951

As Director of Photography

Sergeant Madden

1939

As Director of Photography

The Big Clock

1948

As Director of Photography

The Badlanders

1958

As Director of Photography

Many Rivers to Cross

1955

As Director of Photography

Casanova Brown

1944

As Director of Photography

Navy Blue and Gold

1937

As Director of Photography

Prophet Without Honor

1939

As Director of Photography

The Iron Mistress

1952

As Director of Photography

Madame X

1937

As Director of Photography

The Arab

1924

As Director of Photography

Outcast

1928

As Director of Photography

Beauty and the Rogue

1918

As Director of Photography

All Men Are Enemies

1934

As Director of Photography

Home Sweet Homicide

1946

As Director of Photography

Desert Legion

1953

As Director of Photography

The Hour Before the Dawn

1944

As Director of Photography

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

1921

As Director of Photography

The Fair Co-Ed

1927

As Director of Photography

The Trail of '98

1928

As Director of Photography

The Divine Lady

1928

As Director of Photography

East Lynne

1931

As Director of Photography

Our Little Girl

1935

As Director of Photography

The San Francisco Story

1952

As Director of Photography

Fort Algiers

1953

As Director of Photography

The McConnell Story

1955

As Director of Photography

The Big Land

1957

As Director of Photography

The Deep Six

1958

As Director of Photography

Guns of the Timberland

1960

As Director of Photography

Turn to the Right

1922

As Director of Photography

Mare Nostrum

1926

As Director of Photography

Adorable

1933

As Director of Photography

One More Spring

1935

As Director of Photography

Curly Top

1935

As Director of Photography

Stablemates

1938

As Director of Photography

Beyond Glory

1948

As Director of Photography

The Crowd Roars

1938

As Director of Photography

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

1939

As Director of Photography

A Little Bit of Heaven

1940

As Director of Photography

Dr. Kildare's Crisis

1940

As Director of Photography

Dr. Kildare's Strange Case

1940

As Director of Photography

Thunder Afloat

1939

As Director of Photography

Young Dr. Kildare

1938

As Director of Photography

The Country Doctor

1936

As Director of Photography

Captain January

1936

As Director of Photography

15 Maiden Lane

1936

As Director of Photography

Navy Wife

1935

As Director of Photography

Redheads on Parade

1935

As Director of Photography

Coming Out Party

1934

As Director of Photography

Careless Lady

1932

As Director of Photography

A Passport to Hell

1932

As Director of Photography

Merely Mary Ann

1931

As Director of Photography

Hush Money

1931

As Director of Photography

Road to Paradise

1930

As Director of Photography

Back Pay

1930

As Director of Photography

Careers

1929

As Director of Photography

The Painted Angel

1929

As Director of Photography

Adoration

1928

As Director of Photography

Trifling Women

1922

As Director of Photography

Where the Pavement Ends

1923

As Director of Photography

Her Private Life

1929

As Director of Photography

A Most Immoral Lady

1929

As Director of Photography

Sweethearts and Wives

1930

As Director of Photography

Misbehaving Ladies

1931

As Director of Photography

Love Is a Headache

1938

As Director of Photography

Lord Jeff

1938

As Director of Photography

The Great Gatsby

1949

As Director of Photography

Captain Carey, U.S.A.

1950

As Director of Photography

The Mate of the Sally Ann

1917

As Director of Photography

Whose Wife?

1917

As Director of Photography

Souls in Pawn

1917

As Director of Photography

The Serpent's Tooth

1917

As Director of Photography

A Game of Wits

1917

As Director of Photography

Powers That Prey

1918

As Director of Photography

Up Romance Road

1918

As Director of Photography

Shore Acres

1920

As Director of Photography

Uncharted Seas

1921

As Director of Photography

The Westerners

1919

As Director of Photography

The Sagebrusher

1920

As Director of Photography

The Price of a Party

1924

As Director of Photography

Men of the Sky

1931

As Director of Photography

Young Sinners

1931

As Director of Photography

Murder Will Out

1930

As Director of Photography

In the Next Room

1930

As Director of Photography

Dangerously Yours

1933

As Director of Photography

Helldorado

1935

As Director of Photography

The Bride's Silence

1917

As Director of Photography

Hard to Get

1929

As Director of Photography

The Goldbergs

1950

As Director of Photography

Hearts Are Trumps

1920

As Director of Photography

The Quagmire

1916

As Director of Photography

The Ranger of Lonesome Gulch

1916

As Director of Photography

Paddy the Next Best Thing

1933

As Director of Photography

Detective Story

1951

As Additional Photography

Winning Your Wings

1942

As Cinematography

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