John F. Seitz
- Known for
- Camera
- Born
- June 23, 1892
- Died
- February 27, 1979 (aged 86)
- Birthplace
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
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.
Known For
Filmography
Guns of the Timberland
Movie · Director of Photography
The Man in the Net
Movie · Director of Photography
Island of Lost Women
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The Badlanders
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The Deep Six
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The Big Land
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A Cry in the Night
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Santiago
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Hell on Frisco Bay
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Many Rivers to Cross
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The McConnell Story
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Rogue Cop
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Saskatchewan
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The Rocket Man
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Invaders from Mars
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Desert Legion
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Fort Algiers
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The Savage
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Botany Bay
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The Iron Mistress
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The San Francisco Story
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When Worlds Collide
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Detective Story
Movie · Additional Photography
Dear Brat
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Sunset Boulevard
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Appointment with Danger
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Captain Carey, U.S.A.
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The Goldbergs
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Chicago Deadline
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The Great Gatsby
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Night Has a Thousand Eyes
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On Our Merry Way
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The Big Clock
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Beyond Glory
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Saigon
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Wild Harvest
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Calcutta
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The Imperfect Lady
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The Well Groomed Bride
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Home Sweet Homicide
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The Lost Weekend
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The Unseen
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Double Indemnity
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Hail the Conquering Hero
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The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
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Casanova Brown
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The Hour Before the Dawn
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Five Graves to Cairo
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Fly By Night
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This Gun for Hire
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The Moon and Sixpence
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Lucky Jordan
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Sullivan's Travels
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Dr. Kildare's Crisis
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Dr. Kildare's Strange Case
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A Little Bit of Heaven
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Bad Little Angel
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6,000 Enemies
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Let's Talk Turkey
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Sergeant Madden
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Prophet Without Honor
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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Thunder Afloat
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The Crowd Roars
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Stablemates
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Lord Jeff
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Love Is a Headache
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Young Dr. Kildare
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Carnival in Paris
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Between Two Women
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Navy Blue and Gold
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Madame X
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Poor Little Rich Girl
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15 Maiden Lane
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The Country Doctor
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Captain January
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The Littlest Rebel
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Curly Top
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One More Spring
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Our Little Girl
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Redheads on Parade
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Navy Wife
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Helldorado
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The Farmer Takes a Wife
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Springtime for Henry
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Marie Galante
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All Men Are Enemies
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Coming Out Party
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Mr. Skitch
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Ladies They Talk About
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Adorable
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Dangerously Yours
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Paddy the Next Best Thing
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She Wanted a Millionaire
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The Woman in Room 13
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6 Hours to Live
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A Passport to Hell
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Careless Lady
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The Age for Love
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Over the Hill
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East Lynne
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Hush Money
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Merely Mary Ann
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Misbehaving Ladies
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Young Sinners
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Men of the Sky
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Kismet
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The Right of Way
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The Bad Man
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Road to Paradise
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Sweethearts and Wives
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Back Pay
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In the Next Room
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Murder Will Out
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Saturday's Children
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The Squall
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Her Private Life
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The Painted Angel
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A Most Immoral Lady
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Careers
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Hard to Get
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The Patsy
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Across to Singapore
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Outcast
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The Trail of '98
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The Divine Lady
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Adoration
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The Fair Co-Ed
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The Magician
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Mare Nostrum
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Classmates
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The Arab
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The Price of a Party
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Scaramouche
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Where the Pavement Ends
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The Prisoner of Zenda
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Turn to the Right
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Trifling Women
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The Conquering Power
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The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
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Uncharted Seas
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The Sagebrusher
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Shore Acres
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Hearts Are Trumps
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The Westerners
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Beauty and the Rogue
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Powers That Prey
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Up Romance Road
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The Mate of the Sally Ann
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Whose Wife?
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A Game of Wits
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Souls in Pawn
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The Bride's Silence
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The Serpent's Tooth
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The Quagmire
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The Ranger of Lonesome Gulch
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