Harold Rosson(1895-1988)
- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Harold G. "Hal" Rosson, a cinematographer known for his subtle and
imaginative lighting, was born in Genaseo, New York, on August 24,
1895, although some sources cite his birthday as April 6, 1895, or in
1889.
Rosson entered the movie industry in 1908 as an actor at the Vitagraph
Studios in Brooklyn, New York. Eventually, he quit acting to become an
assistant to director of photography
Irvin Willat at the Mark Dintenfass
Studios. Moving on to the Famous Players Studio in 1912, he served as a
"film johnny," or jack-of-all-trades, working as an assistant, extra
and handyman, while simultaneously holding down a job as an office boy
in a stock brokerage. By 1914, he was employed by a small theater in
Brooklyn, where his duties included being the projectionist and manning
the ticket booth.
Rosson finally abandoned New York for California in December 1914 and
secured employment at Metro Pictures as assistant to both property man
Danny Hogan and director of
photography Arthur A. Cadwell. He
moved back to New York when Metro relocated there, eventually becoming
a director of photography in 1915. His first film has been cited as
David Harum (1915) for director
Allan Dwan (film credits for cinematographers
were not inaugurated until 1919, under the influence of the American
Society of Cinematographers, which Rosson joined in 1927). As a
cinematographer, he also worked for the Kalem Company, Famous Players
and Essanay before his career was interrupted by WWI, during which he
served in the army.
After being demobilized, he got a job as assistant to cinematographer
H. Lyman Broening on
The Dark Star (1919), which
starred Marion Davies and was shot in Fort
Lee, NJ. He became an employee of Davies' production company,
Cosmopolitan Productions, which had been set up for her in 1918 by her
lover, William Randolph Hearst.
In 1920, Rosson was signed by
Mary Pickford to shoot movies starring her
brother, Jack Pickford.
He eventually rejoined Metro (which in 1924, merged with Goldwyn
Studios and then with Louis B. Mayer
Productions to become Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer), where he made his
reputation. At MGM he was the lighting cameraman on
Red Dust (1932),
Red-Headed Woman (1932) and
Bombshell (1933), on which his camera
work showed off star Jean Harlow's platinum
blonde look to maximum advantage. Rosson was married to Harlow for two
years, from 1933 to 1935, which was indicative of his high status in
the film community. In 1935 he moved to England to work for
Alexander Korda's London Film
Productions, but eventually he returned to MGM.
Rosson became a noted cinematographer in color, using the skills he had
developed shooting in black & white to soften the palette created by
the Technicolor process. Due to its need for high light levels,
Technicolor often created gaudy images that resembled a child's
coloring book. Rosson was able to make the colors more subtle, and was
the recipient along with
W. Howard Greene of an honorary Academy
Award plaque for his color photography on
The Garden of Allah (1936)
in 1937 (the cinematography category was not split into color and B&W
categories until the awards for 1939. The awards for color
cinematography made for the 1936, '37, and '38 production years were
awarded on the basis of a recommendation of a committee of leading
cinematographers that viewed all the color pictures made during the
year. For the 1967 awards, the B&W category was eliminated).
Rosson also was hailed for his photography on
The Wizard of Oz (1939), for
which he received the first of his five Academy Award nominations. When
Rosson shot "Oz," he had the aid of two cameramen lent to MGM by
Technicolor, and enjoyed the advice of Technicolor consultant
Henri Jaffa, whose title was Technicolor
Color Director (all early Technicolor films were overseen by a
consultant from the company, to ensure that cinematographers and
directors didn't use the process in ways Technicolor deemed improper
and that violated its aesthetic criteria).
Ironically, four of Rosson's five Oscar nominations for best
cinematography were for his B&W work. His B&W cinematography for
The Asphalt Jungle (1950),
for which he received his fourth Oscar nomination, is noted for
creating the stark atmosphere that was central to the story and the
overall success of the John Huston
picture.
He retired in 1958 after shooting
Onionhead (1958) for director
Norman Taurog, though he returned to shoot
El Dorado (1966) for
Howard Hawks. In addition to shooting eight
films for Allan Dwan between 1915 and 1929
and
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
and
The Red Badge of Courage (1951)
for John Huston, Rosson also worked
many times with directors
Josef von Sternberg,
Sam Wood,
Cecil B. DeMille,
W.S. Van Dyke,
Howard Hawks,
Mervyn LeRoy,
Norman Taurog,
Fred Zinnemann, and
Vincente Minnelli. He shot the "The
Trolley Song" number in
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
for Minnelli and On the Town (1949)
and
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
for Gene Kelly and
Stanley Donen. His most famous
collaboration was with director
Victor Fleming, starting in 1923 with
Dark Secrets (1923) and culminating
in 1939 with his work on
The Wizard of Oz (1939) (in
December 1938, under the direction of producer
David O. Selznick, Rosson shot the
burning of Atlanta sequence for
Gone with the Wind (1939), for
which Fleming was credited as the director).
Rosson died on September 6, 1988, in Palm Beach, Florida, well into his
90s. His long life was a fitting cap to a long and productive career.
imaginative lighting, was born in Genaseo, New York, on August 24,
1895, although some sources cite his birthday as April 6, 1895, or in
1889.
Rosson entered the movie industry in 1908 as an actor at the Vitagraph
Studios in Brooklyn, New York. Eventually, he quit acting to become an
assistant to director of photography
Irvin Willat at the Mark Dintenfass
Studios. Moving on to the Famous Players Studio in 1912, he served as a
"film johnny," or jack-of-all-trades, working as an assistant, extra
and handyman, while simultaneously holding down a job as an office boy
in a stock brokerage. By 1914, he was employed by a small theater in
Brooklyn, where his duties included being the projectionist and manning
the ticket booth.
Rosson finally abandoned New York for California in December 1914 and
secured employment at Metro Pictures as assistant to both property man
Danny Hogan and director of
photography Arthur A. Cadwell. He
moved back to New York when Metro relocated there, eventually becoming
a director of photography in 1915. His first film has been cited as
David Harum (1915) for director
Allan Dwan (film credits for cinematographers
were not inaugurated until 1919, under the influence of the American
Society of Cinematographers, which Rosson joined in 1927). As a
cinematographer, he also worked for the Kalem Company, Famous Players
and Essanay before his career was interrupted by WWI, during which he
served in the army.
After being demobilized, he got a job as assistant to cinematographer
H. Lyman Broening on
The Dark Star (1919), which
starred Marion Davies and was shot in Fort
Lee, NJ. He became an employee of Davies' production company,
Cosmopolitan Productions, which had been set up for her in 1918 by her
lover, William Randolph Hearst.
In 1920, Rosson was signed by
Mary Pickford to shoot movies starring her
brother, Jack Pickford.
He eventually rejoined Metro (which in 1924, merged with Goldwyn
Studios and then with Louis B. Mayer
Productions to become Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer), where he made his
reputation. At MGM he was the lighting cameraman on
Red Dust (1932),
Red-Headed Woman (1932) and
Bombshell (1933), on which his camera
work showed off star Jean Harlow's platinum
blonde look to maximum advantage. Rosson was married to Harlow for two
years, from 1933 to 1935, which was indicative of his high status in
the film community. In 1935 he moved to England to work for
Alexander Korda's London Film
Productions, but eventually he returned to MGM.
Rosson became a noted cinematographer in color, using the skills he had
developed shooting in black & white to soften the palette created by
the Technicolor process. Due to its need for high light levels,
Technicolor often created gaudy images that resembled a child's
coloring book. Rosson was able to make the colors more subtle, and was
the recipient along with
W. Howard Greene of an honorary Academy
Award plaque for his color photography on
The Garden of Allah (1936)
in 1937 (the cinematography category was not split into color and B&W
categories until the awards for 1939. The awards for color
cinematography made for the 1936, '37, and '38 production years were
awarded on the basis of a recommendation of a committee of leading
cinematographers that viewed all the color pictures made during the
year. For the 1967 awards, the B&W category was eliminated).
Rosson also was hailed for his photography on
The Wizard of Oz (1939), for
which he received the first of his five Academy Award nominations. When
Rosson shot "Oz," he had the aid of two cameramen lent to MGM by
Technicolor, and enjoyed the advice of Technicolor consultant
Henri Jaffa, whose title was Technicolor
Color Director (all early Technicolor films were overseen by a
consultant from the company, to ensure that cinematographers and
directors didn't use the process in ways Technicolor deemed improper
and that violated its aesthetic criteria).
Ironically, four of Rosson's five Oscar nominations for best
cinematography were for his B&W work. His B&W cinematography for
The Asphalt Jungle (1950),
for which he received his fourth Oscar nomination, is noted for
creating the stark atmosphere that was central to the story and the
overall success of the John Huston
picture.
He retired in 1958 after shooting
Onionhead (1958) for director
Norman Taurog, though he returned to shoot
El Dorado (1966) for
Howard Hawks. In addition to shooting eight
films for Allan Dwan between 1915 and 1929
and
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
and
The Red Badge of Courage (1951)
for John Huston, Rosson also worked
many times with directors
Josef von Sternberg,
Sam Wood,
Cecil B. DeMille,
W.S. Van Dyke,
Howard Hawks,
Mervyn LeRoy,
Norman Taurog,
Fred Zinnemann, and
Vincente Minnelli. He shot the "The
Trolley Song" number in
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
for Minnelli and On the Town (1949)
and
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
for Gene Kelly and
Stanley Donen. His most famous
collaboration was with director
Victor Fleming, starting in 1923 with
Dark Secrets (1923) and culminating
in 1939 with his work on
The Wizard of Oz (1939) (in
December 1938, under the direction of producer
David O. Selznick, Rosson shot the
burning of Atlanta sequence for
Gone with the Wind (1939), for
which Fleming was credited as the director).
Rosson died on September 6, 1988, in Palm Beach, Florida, well into his
90s. His long life was a fitting cap to a long and productive career.