John Alton

Born

October 5, 1901

Died

Jun 2, 1996

From

Sopron, Austria-Hungary

Also:
Writer
Cinematographer

108

Credits on file

Decades active

Awards

In short · Acted for 10 decades — 108 credits, 1 Academy Award win.

Remembered for

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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 · 106 of 106

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