Distinguished veteran cinematographer John F. Seitz had eighteen
patents for various photographic processes to his name. These included
illuminating devices, processes for making dissolves and the matte
shot, which he perfected during filming of
Rex Ingram's
Die Schlange von Paris (1922). Seitz
started with Essanay in Chicago, then joined the St. Louis Motion
Picture Company as a lab tech in 1909. Within another four years, he
had progressed to director of photography. He was signed by Metro in
1920, doing his best work in collaboration with Ingram, most notably on
Die vier Reiter der Apokalypse (1921)
and
The Prisoner of Zenda (1922).
Personally selected by
William Randolph Hearst, Seitz
was also behind the camera for
Ein Mädel mit Tempo (1928), one of the major hits
for Hearst's mistress, Marion Davies. By
this time, he was the highest paid cinematographer in Hollywood.
Seitz's trademark was low key lighting and differentially illuminating
different regions of the screen (ie. background, foreground and
middle). His colour photography was characterised by a tendency to
favor tan or beige as backgound colours, and vivid colours for costumes
or props. Seitz's career in the 1930's, spent at 20th Century Fox
(1931-36) and MGM (1937-40), was generally unremarkable. However, he
enjoyed a massive resurgence at Paramount (1941-52), working on some of
the best films made by Preston Sturges
(Sullivans Reisen (1941),
Heil dem siegreichen Helden (1944)
and
Sensation in Morgan's Creek (1943))
and Billy Wilder
(Frau ohne Gewissen (1944),
Das verlorene Wochenende (1945) and
Boulevard der Dämmerung (1950)). Add to that
another two excellent films noir,
Die Narbenhand (1942) and
Gangsterfalle (1942) - both directed
by Frank Tuttle and starring
Alan Ladd. He was a master at creating
atmosphere through ominous shadows and looming close-ups.
