HR
Harold Rosson
Additional Credits
Born April 6, 1895Died September 6, 1988 (93 years)
From Wikipedia
Harold G. "Hal" Rosson, A.S.C. (April 6, 1895 – September 6, 1988) was an American cinematographer who worked during the early and classical Hollywood cinema. He is best known for his work on the 1939 fantasy film The Wizard of Oz.
Harold Rosson began his film career in 1908 as an actor at the Vitagraph Studios in the Flatbush area of Brooklyn, New York City. He became the assistant to Irvin Willat at the Mark Dintenfass Studios. In 1912 he divided his time as an office boy in a stockbrokers firm and as an assistant, extra, and handyman at the Famous Players Studio in New York. His first film for Famous Players was David Harum (1915).
In December 1914, Rosson moved to California and joined Metro Pictures. During World War I, he served in the United States Army. After his demobilization, he went to work on the Marion Davies film The Dark Star. He was offered a contract with the Davies Company. In 1920 he was signed by Mary Pickford, working primarily with her brother Jack Pickford.
In the 1930s, Rosson signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed the photography for some of the studio's most popular films including Treasure Island (1934), The Wizard of Oz, Duel in the Sun, and Singin' in the Rain (1952). In 1936, Rosson and fellow cinematographer W. Howard Greene were awarded an Honorary Oscar for the color cinematography of the 1936 David O. Selznick production The Garden of Allah. Rosson later said it was the first time he attempted to film in color.
After a very long and successful career in Hollywood, Rosson retired in 1958. He briefly came out of retirement in 1966 for the Howard Hawks film El Dorado starring John Wayne.
Rosson was married twice, with both marriages ending in divorce, and had no children. While shooting the film Bombshell in 1933, actress Jean Harlow proposed to Rosson. The two had worked together previously on Red-Headed Woman, Dinner at Eight, Hold Your Man, and Red Dust and had struck up a friendship. On September 17, 1933, the two were married in Yuma, Arizona. In an interview with Leicester Wagner, Harlow recalled that she and Rosson grew closer after the death of her second husband, Paul Bern, and he encouraged her to go out and socialize. Rosson and Harlow separated in May 1934 with Harlow charging that Rosson was "rude, sullen and irritable". She was granted a divorce in March 1935.
On October 11, 1936, Rosson married socialite Yvonne Crellin in Beverly Hills. They divorced in June 1945.
On September 6, 1988, Rosson died, age 93, at his home in Palm Beach, Florida. He is buried in Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Harold G. "Hal" Rosson, A.S.C. (April 6, 1895 – September 6, 1988) was an American cinematographer who worked during the early and classical Hollywood cinema. He is best known for his work on the 1939 fantasy film The Wizard of Oz.
Harold Rosson began his film career in 1908 as an actor at the Vitagraph Studios in the Flatbush area of Brooklyn, New York City. He became the assistant to Irvin Willat at the Mark Dintenfass Studios. In 1912 he divided his time as an office boy in a stockbrokers firm and as an assistant, extra, and handyman at the Famous Players Studio in New York. His first film for Famous Players was David Harum (1915).
In December 1914, Rosson moved to California and joined Metro Pictures. During World War I, he served in the United States Army. After his demobilization, he went to work on the Marion Davies film The Dark Star. He was offered a contract with the Davies Company. In 1920 he was signed by Mary Pickford, working primarily with her brother Jack Pickford.
In the 1930s, Rosson signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed the photography for some of the studio's most popular films including Treasure Island (1934), The Wizard of Oz, Duel in the Sun, and Singin' in the Rain (1952). In 1936, Rosson and fellow cinematographer W. Howard Greene were awarded an Honorary Oscar for the color cinematography of the 1936 David O. Selznick production The Garden of Allah. Rosson later said it was the first time he attempted to film in color.
After a very long and successful career in Hollywood, Rosson retired in 1958. He briefly came out of retirement in 1966 for the Howard Hawks film El Dorado starring John Wayne.
Rosson was married twice, with both marriages ending in divorce, and had no children. While shooting the film Bombshell in 1933, actress Jean Harlow proposed to Rosson. The two had worked together previously on Red-Headed Woman, Dinner at Eight, Hold Your Man, and Red Dust and had struck up a friendship. On September 17, 1933, the two were married in Yuma, Arizona. In an interview with Leicester Wagner, Harlow recalled that she and Rosson grew closer after the death of her second husband, Paul Bern, and he encouraged her to go out and socialize. Rosson and Harlow separated in May 1934 with Harlow charging that Rosson was "rude, sullen and irritable". She was granted a divorce in March 1935.
On October 11, 1936, Rosson married socialite Yvonne Crellin in Beverly Hills. They divorced in June 1945.
On September 6, 1988, Rosson died, age 93, at his home in Palm Beach, Florida. He is buried in Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Harold Rosson Filmography
| 1966 | El Dorado · as Director Of Photography |
| 1965 | Decision at Midnight · as Director Of Photography |
| 1958 | Onionhead · as Director Of Photography |
| 1958 | No Time for Sergeants · as Director Of Photography |
| 1957 | The Enemy Below · as Director Of Photography |
| 1956 | Toward the Unknown · as Director Of Photography |
| 1956 | The Bad Seed · as Director Of Photography |
| 1955 | |
| 1955 | Pete Kelly's Blues · as Director Of Photography |
| 1955 | Strange Lady in Town · as Director Of Photography |
| 1954 | Ulysses · as Director Of Photography |
| 1954 | Mambo · as Director Of Photography |
| 1953 | The Actress · as Director Of Photography |
| 1953 | Dangerous When Wet · as Director Of Photography |
| 1953 | The Story of Three Loves · as Director Of Photography |
| 1953 | I Love Melvin · as Director Of Photography |
| 1952 | Singin' in the Rain · as Director Of Photography |
| 1952 | Love Is Better Than Ever · as Director Of Photography |
| 1952 | Lone Star · as Director Of Photography |
| 1951 | The Red Badge of Courage · as Director Of Photography |
| 1950 | To Please a Lady · as Director Of Photography |
| 1950 | Key to the City · as Director Of Photography |
| 1950 | The Asphalt Jungle · as Director Of Photography |
| 1949 | On the Town · as Director Of Photography |
| 1949 | Any Number Can Play · as Director Of Photography |
| 1949 | The Stratton Story · as Director Of Photography |
| 1948 | Command Decision · as Director Of Photography |
| 1948 | Homecoming · as Director Of Photography |
| 1947 | Living in a Big Way · as Director Of Photography |
| 1947 | The Hucksters · as Director Of Photography |
| 1947 | My Brother Talks to Horses · as Director Of Photography |
| 1946 | Duel in the Sun · as Director Of Photography |
| 1946 | Three Wise Fools · as Director Of Photography |
| 1946 | No Leave, No Love · as Director Of Photography |
| 1945 | Between Two Women · as Director Of Photography |
| 1944 | Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo · as Director Of Photography |
| 1944 | Marriage Is a Private Affair · as Cinematographer |
| 1944 | An American Romance · as Director Of Photography |
| 1943 | Slightly Dangerous · as Director Of Photography |
| 1942 | Tennessee Johnson · as Director Of Photography |
| 1942 | Tortilla Flat · as Cinematographer |
| 1942 | Somewhere I'll Find You · as Director Of Photography |
| 1941 | Johnny Eager · as Director Of Photography |
| 1941 | The Chocolate Soldier · as Cinematographer |
| 1941 | Honky Tonk · as Director Of Photography |
| 1941 | Washington Melodrama · as Director Of Photography |
| 1941 | Men of Boys Town · as Director Of Photography |
| 1941 | The Penalty · as Director Of Photography |
| 1940 | Flight Command · as Director Of Photography |
| 1940 | Dr. Kildare Goes Home · as Director Of Photography |
| 1940 | Boom Town · as Director Of Photography |
| 1940 | Edison, the Man · as Director Of Photography |
| 1940 | I Take This Woman · as Director Of Photography |
| 1939 | The Wizard of Oz · as Director Of Photography |
| 1938 | Too Hot to Handle · as Director Of Photography |
| 1938 | A Yank at Oxford · as Cinematographer |
| 1937 | Double Wedding · as Director Of Photography |
| 1937 | The Emperor's Candlesticks · as Director Of Photography |
| 1937 | Captains Courageous · as Director Of Photography |
| 1937 | They Gave Him a Gun · as Director Of Photography |
| 1936 | The Man Who Could Work Miracles · as Director Of Photography |
| 1936 | The Garden of Allah · as Cinematographer |
| 1936 | The Devil Is a Sissy · as Director Of Photography |
| 1936 | As You Like It · as Director Of Photography |
| 1935 | The Ghost Goes West · as Director Of Photography |
| 1934 | The Scarlet Pimpernel · as Director Of Photography |
| 1934 | Treasure Island · as Director Of Photography |
| 1934 | The Girl from Missouri · as Cinematographer |
| 1934 | The Cat and the Fiddle · as Director Of Photography |
| 1934 | This Side of Heaven · as Director Of Photography |
| 1933 | Bombshell · as Director Of Photography |
| 1933 | Penthouse · as Director Of Photography |
| 1933 | Turn Back the Clock · as Director Of Photography |
| 1933 | Hold Your Man · as Director Of Photography |
| 1933 | Hell Below · as Cinematographer |
| 1933 | The Barbarian · as Director Of Photography |
| 1932 | Downstairs · as Director Of Photography |
| 1932 | Red Dust · as Director Of Photography |
| 1932 | Kongo · as Director Of Photography |
| 1932 | Red-Headed Woman · as Director Of Photography |
| 1932 | When a Feller Needs a Friend · as Cinematographer |
| 1932 | Tarzan the Ape Man · as Director Of Photography |
| 1932 | Are You Listening? · as Cinematographer |
| 1931 | The Cuban Love Song · as Director Of Photography |
| 1931 | The Squaw Man · as Director Of Photography |
| 1931 | Sporting Blood · as Director Of Photography |
| 1931 | Son of India · as Director Of Photography |
| 1931 | Men Call It Love · as Director Of Photography |
| 1931 | The Prodigal · as Cinematographer |
| 1930 | Passion Flower · as Director Of Photography |
| 1930 | Madam Satan · as Director Of Photography |
| 1929 | Trent's Last Case · as Director Of Photography |
| 1929 | The Case of Lena Smith · as Director Of Photography |
| 1928 | Three Week Ends · as Director Of Photography |
| 1928 | Abie's Irish Rose · as Director Of Photography |
| 1928 | The Docks of New York · as Director Of Photography |
| 1927 | A Gentleman of Paris · as Director Of Photography |
| 1927 | Service for Ladies · as Director Of Photography |
| 1927 | Getting Gertie's Garter · as Director Of Photography |
| 1926 | Almost a Lady · as Director Of Photography |
| 1926 | Up in Mabel's Room · as Director Of Photography |
| 1925 | A Man Must Live · as Director Of Photography |
| 1925 | Too Many Kisses · as Director Of Photography |
| 1924 | Manhandled · as Director Of Photography |
| 1924 | A Society Scandal · as Cinematographer |
| 1923 | Zaza · as Director Of Photography |
| 1921 | Everything for Sale · as Cinematographer |
| 1921 | Buried Treasure · as Director Of Photography |
| 1919 | The Cinema Murder · as Director Of Photography |
| 1915 | David Harum · as Cinematographer |