Lucien Ballard,

A.S.C. The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), founded in Hollywood in 1919, is a cultural, educational, and professional organization that is neither a labor union nor a guild. The society was organized to advance the science and art of ci ...

(May 6, 1908 – October 1, 1988) was an American

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

. He worked on more than 130 films during his 50-year career, collaborating multiple times with directors including

Josef von Sternberg Josef von Sternberg (; born Jonas Sternberg; May 29, 1894 – December 22, 1969) was an Austrian-American filmmaker whose career successfully spanned the transition from the silent to the sound era, during which he worked with most of the major ...

, John Brahm,

Henry Hathaway Henry Hathaway (March 13, 1898 – February 11, 1985) was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Westerns, especially starring Randolph Scott and John Wayne. He directed Gary Cooper in seven films. Backgrou ...

Budd Boetticher Oscar "Budd" Boetticher Jr. ( ; July 29, 1916 – November 29, 2001) was an American film director. He is best remembered for a series of low-budget Westerns he made in the late 1950s starring Randolph Scott. Early life Boetticher was born in C ...

Raoul Walsh Raoul Walsh (born Albert Edward Walsh; March 11, 1887December 31, 1980) was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh. He wa ...

Sam Peckinpah David Samuel Peckinpah (; February 21, 1925 – December 28, 1984) was an American film director and screenwriter. His 1969 Western epic ''The Wild Bunch'' received an Academy Award nomination and was ranked No. 80 on the American Film Institut ...

and Tom Gries. He was nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Cinematography The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work on one particular motion picture. History In its first film season, 1927–28, this award (like others such as the acting awards) w ...

for '' The Caretakers'' (1963).

Biography

Ballard was born in

Miami, Oklahoma Miami ( ) is a city in and county seat of Ottawa County, Oklahoma, United States, founded in 1891. Lead and zinc mining were established by 1918, causing the area's economy to boom. This area was part of Indian Territory. Miami is the capita ...

in 1908. His mother Ada was

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, th ...

and Lucien is listed on the

Dawes Rolls The Dawes Rolls (or Final Rolls of Citizens and Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes, or Dawes Commission of Final Rolls) were created by the United States Dawes Commission. The commission was authorized by United States Congress in 1893 to exe ...

as 1/16th Cherokee by Blood. He attended the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

and the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...

and after graduating, he became a surveyor. Ballard began working on films at Paramount Studios in 1929 after dating a script woman there. He later joked in an interview that it was a three-day party at the home of actress

Clara Bow Clara Gordon Bow (; July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom during the silent film era of the 1920s and successfully made the transition to " talkies" in 1929. Her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the ...

that convinced him "this is the business for me". He began his career loading trucks at Paramount and trained to be a camera assistant. He was taken on as an assistant to

Lee Garmes Lee Garmes, A.S.C. (May 27, 1898 – August 31, 1978) was an American cinematographer. During his career, he worked with directors Howard Hawks, Max Ophüls, Josef von Sternberg, Alfred Hitchcock, King Vidor, Nicholas Ray and Henry Hathaway, whom ...

's ''

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

'' (1930). Von Sternberg allowed him credit as a second cameraman on '' The Devil is a Woman'' (1935), and the two shared a

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An awar ...

for Best Cinematography in 1935. Von Sternberg promoted him to director of photography on ''

Crime and Punishment ''Crime and Punishment'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Преступление и наказание, Prestupléniye i nakazániye, prʲɪstʊˈplʲenʲɪje ɪ nəkɐˈzanʲɪje) is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. ...

'' (1935) and '' The King Steps Out'' (1936), based on the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, both at

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

. After filming

Dorothy Arzner Dorothy Emma Arzner (January 3, 1897 – October 1, 1979) was an American film director whose career in Hollywood spanned from the silent era of the 1920s into the early 1940s. With the exception of longtime silent film director Lois Weber (who d ...

's ''

Craig's Wife ''Craig's Wife'' is a 1925 play written by American playwright George Kelly. It won the 1926 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and has been adapted for three feature films. Production ''Craig's Wife'' premiered on Broadway at the Morosco Theatre on O ...

'' also at Columbia, he settled into making

B movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

s such as '' The Devil's Playground'' (1937), '' Penitentiary'' and '' The Lone Wolf in Paris'', both 1938. While at Columbia, he also shot several two-reel comedies, including a number with

The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...

. In an interview with

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fi ...

, he said he enjoyed working on them because it gave him the freedom to experiment with different lenses and filters, which likely would not have been permitted on features. Ballard filmed '' Let Us Live!'' (1939) for John Brahm and made more films with him including ''

Wild Geese Calling ''Wild Geese Calling'' is a 1941 American drama film directed by John Brahm and starring Henry Fonda and Joan Bennett. It was distributed by 20th Century-Fox. The screenplay was written by Horace McCoy, based on a novel by Stewart Edward White. T ...

'' (1941) and '' The Lodger'' (1944). On the set of ''The Lodger'', Ballard met and then married actress Merle Oberon; they remained married from 1945 until 1949. He photographed 4 more of her films – '' This Love of Ours'' (1945), ''

Temptation Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals.Webb, J.R. (Sep 2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Psychology of temptation: Conceptualization, measurement, and clinical implications. Sp ...

'' (1946), '' Night Song'' (1948), '' Berlin Express'' (1948). After she was involved in a near fatal car crash in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, he invented a light which was mounted by the side of the camera, to provide direct light onto a subject's face, with the aim of reducing the appearance of blemishes and wrinkles. Named the "Obie", the device benefited Oberon, who had sustained facial scarring in the car accident. The Obie became widely used in the film industry. In 1941's

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in t ...

film ''

The Outlaw ''The Outlaw'' is a 1943 American Western film, directed by Howard Hughes and starring Jack Buetel, Jane Russell, Thomas Mitchell, and Walter Huston. Hughes also produced the film, while Howard Hawks served as an uncredited co-director. Th ...

'', Hughes cast

Jane Russell Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell (June 21, 1921 – February 28, 2011) was an American actress, singer, and model. She was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s. She starred in more than 20 films. Russell moved from th ...

in the lead and had numerous shots of her cleavage, which got the attention of the Hollywood censors. The film was shot in 1940 and 1941 but took five years to be released to selected theaters. Ballard was the camera man for the screen tests, did some of the second unit work for director

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name." A ...

, and assisted cinematographer

Gregg Toland Gregg Wesley Toland, A.S.C. (May 29, 1904 – September 28, 1948) was an American cinematographer known for his innovative use of techniques such as deep focus, examples of which can be found in his work on Orson Welles' ''Citizen Kane'' ...

on the first unit crew. He also filmed '' Laura'' (1944) for

Rouben Mamoulian Rouben Zachary Mamoulian ( ; hy, Ռուբէն Մամուլեան; October 8, 1897 – December 4, 1987) was an American film and theatre director. Early life Mamoulian was born in Tiflis, Russian Empire, to a family of Armenian descent. ...

until

Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( , ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian-American theatre and film director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the theatre. He first gai ...

took over as director. On ''Morocco'', Ballard had also worked with

assistant director The role of an assistant director on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have to tak ...

. This relationship with Hathaway came back to benefit Ballard when Hathaway himself became a director. They worked together on five films, including ''

Diplomatic Courier A diplomatic courier is an official who transports diplomatic bags as sanctioned under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Couriers are granted diplomatic immunity and are thereby protected by the receiving state from arrest and d ...

'' (1952), ''

Prince Valiant ''Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur'', often simply called ''Prince Valiant'', is an American comic strip created by Hal Foster in 1937. It is an epic adventure that has told a continuous story during its entire history, and the full stretc ...

'' (1954), '' The Sons of Katie Elder'' (1965), '' Nevada Smith'' (1966), and ''

True Grit True Grit may refer to: Fiction * True Grit (novel), ''True Grit'' (novel), a 1968 novel by Charles Portis ** True Grit (1969 film), ''True Grit'' (1969 film), a film adaptation by Henry Hathaway, starring John Wayne ** True Grit (2010 film), ''Tr ...

'' (1969). The last, because of the natural beauty of

southwestern Colorado Southwestern Colorado is a region in the southwest portion of Colorado, which in turn is part of the larger Four Corners region. It is bordered by Western Colorado, Southern Colorado, the south portion of Central Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico. ...

, garnered Ballard acclaim among his peers. He also worked on a segment of '' O. Henry's Full House'' (1952) with him. After working with

on ''

The Magnificent Matador ''The Magnificent Matador'' is a 1955 American drama film directed by Budd Boetticher and written by Budd Boetticher and Charles Lang. The film stars Maureen O'Hara, Anthony Quinn, Manuel Rojas, Richard Denning, Thomas Gomez, Lola Albright, Will ...

'' (1955), they worked together on six feature films, including '' The Killer Is Loose'' (1956), '' Buchanan Rides Alone'' (1958),'' The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond'' (1960), ''

A Time for Dying ''A Time for Dying'' is a 1969 American Western film written directed by Budd Boetticher with a cameo role by Audie Murphy, who also produced the film, as Jesse James. It was Murphy's last film, as well as the final dramatic feature for Boettich ...

'' (1969) and '' Arruza'' (1971) as well as the television show ''

Maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Bure ...

'' (1957) and the documentary '' My Kingdom For...'' (1985). He made '' The House on Telegraph Hill'' (1951) and ''

The Desert Rats The 7th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army that saw distinguished active service during the Second World War, where its exploits in the Western Desert Campaign gained it the ''Desert Rats'' nickname. After the ...

'' (1953) for

Robert Wise Robert Earl Wise (September 10, 1914 – September 14, 2005) was an American film director, producer, and editor. He won the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture for his musical films ''West Side Story'' (1961) and ''The Sound of ...

; ''

Return of the Texan ''Return of the Texan'' is a 1952 American Western film directed by Delmer Daves and starring Dale Robertson and Joanne Dru.Susan Slade ''Susan Slade'' is a 1961 American Technicolor drama film directed by Delmer Daves and starring Troy Donahue, Connie Stevens, Dorothy McGuire and Lloyd Nolan. Based upon the 1961 novel ''The Sin of Susan Slade'' by Doris Hume, concerns a well-t ...

'' (1961) with

Delmer Daves Delmer Lawrence Daves (July 24, 1904 – August 17, 1977) was an American screenwriter, film director and film producer. He worked in many genres, including film noir and warfare, but he is best known for his Western movies, especially '' Broke ...

; three films with

including ''

The King and Four Queens ''The King and Four Queens'' is a 1956 DeLuxe Color American Western adventure comedy/mystery film starring Clark Gable and Eleanor Parker and filmed in CinemaScope. Directed by Raoul Walsh, the film is based on a story written by Margaret Fi ...

'' (1956) and '' Band of Angels'' (1957); and three films with Roy Ward Baker, including '' Inferno'' (1953), often considered the best shot color

3D film 3D films are motion pictures made to give an illusion of three-dimensional solidity, usually with the help of special glasses worn by viewers. They have existed in some form since 1915, but had been largely relegated to a niche in the motion pic ...

of the era. He also worked with

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

on '' The Killing'' (1956). Ballard was nominated for an

for '' The Caretakers'' (1963). Another relationship of importance was with

. They worked together on '' The Westerner'' (1960 television series), '' Ride the High Country'' (1962), ''

The Wild Bunch ''The Wild Bunch'' is a 1969 American epic Revisionist Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O'Brien, Ben Johnson and Warren Oates. The plot concerns an aging outlaw ga ...

'' (1969), ''

The Ballad of Cable Hogue ''The Ballad of Cable Hogue'' is a 1970 American Technicolor Western comedy film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring Jason Robards, Stella Stevens and David Warner. Set in the Arizona desert during a period when the frontier was closing, t ...

'' (1970), '' The Getaway'' (1972), and '' Junior Bonner'' (1972). He won the

National Society of Film Critics The National Society of Film Critics (NSFC) is an American film critic organization. The organization is known for its highbrow tastes, and its annual awards are one of the most prestigious film critics awards in the United States. In January 2014, ...

award for Best Cinematography for ''The Wild Bunch''. He also formed a partnership with Tom Gries making five films, including '' Will Penny'' (1968) and '' Breakheart Pass'' (1976). His last feature film was

Joan Rivers Joan Alexandra Molinsky (June 8, 1933 – September 4, 2014), known professionally as Joan Rivers, was an American comedian, actress, producer, writer and television host. She was noted for her blunt, often controversial comedic persona—heavi ...

' ''

Rabbit Test The rabbit test, or Friedman test, was an early pregnancy test developed in 1931 by Maurice Friedman and Maxwell Edward Lapham at the University of Pennsylvania. Test The hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is produced during pregna ...

'' (1978) starring

Billy Crystal William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...

in his film debut. Ballard died at the age of 80 in 1988, two days after being involved in a car accident near his home in

Indian Wells, California Indian Wells is a city in Riverside County, California, in the Coachella Valley. Incorporated in 1967, it lies in between the cities of Palm Desert and La Quinta. As of the 2010 Census, the city population was 4,958. The city hosts the sixt ...

Personal life

Ballard had been married before Oberon and was married for a third time in 1949 to Inez Pokorny, a world traveler and photographer who is sometimes credited as the first woman to explore the Amazon River from the Atlantic to the Pacific, who was killed in an automobile accident in 1982. He had two sons, Christopher and Anthony. Ballard also had two daughters, Zoe and Pamela from his first marriage to Margaret J McLellan.

Partial filmography

* ''

'' 1935 * '' The King Steps Out'', 1936 * ''

The Final Hour "The Final Hour" is a single by the Canadian country music artist Hank Smith. The song debuted at number 45 on the ''RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational sp ...

'' * ''

'', 1936 * '' The Devil's Playground'', 1937 * ''

Racketeers in Exile ''Racketeers in Exile'' is a 1937 American crime film directed by Erle C. Kenton and starring George Bancroft, Evelyn Venable and Wynne Gibson.Hardy p.282 Cast * George Bancroft as William Waldo * Evelyn Venable as Myrtle Thornton * Wyn ...

'', 1937 * '' Penitentiary'', 1938 * ''

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

'' (1938) * '' The Lone Wolf in Paris'', 1938 * ''

Squadron of Honor ''Squadron of Honor'' is a 1938 American action film directed by Charles C. Coleman and starring Don Terry, Mary Russell, and Thurston Hall. It was produced as a second feature by Columbia Pictures.Miller p.61 The film's sets were designed by th ...

'' (1938) * ''

The Thundering West ''The Thundering West'', also known as ''Trail of the Tumbleweed'', is a 1939 American Western film directed by Sam Nelson, starring Charles Starrett, and Iris Meredith. Cast * Charles Starrett as Jim Dale * Iris Meredith as Helen Patterson * ...

'', 1939 * ''

Texas Stampede ''Texas Stampede'' is a 1939 American western film directed by Sam Nelson and starring Charles Starrett, Iris Meredith and Bob Nolan. It is a remake of the 1930 film '' The Dawn Trail''Pitts p.79 Cast * Charles Starrett as Tom Randall * Iris Mere ...

'' (1939) * '' Let Us Live!'', 1939 * ''

'', 1941 * '' The Lodger'', 1944 * '' This Love of Ours'', 1945 * ''

'', 1946 * '' Berlin Express'', 1948 * '' Night Song'', 1948 * '' Fixed Bayonets!'', 1951 * '' The House on Telegraph Hill'', 1951 * ''

Don't Bother to Knock ''Don't Bother to Knock'' is a 1952 American psychological film noir thriller starring Richard Widmark and Marilyn Monroe and directed by Roy Ward Baker. The screenplay was written by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1951 novel ''Mischief'' by C ...

'', 1952 * ''

Return of the Texan ''Return of the Texan'' is a 1952 American Western film directed by Delmer Daves and starring Dale Robertson and Joanne Dru.Night Without Sleep'', 1953 * '' Inferno'', 1953 * ''

'', 1953 * ''

'', 1954 * ''

'', 1955 * ''

'', 1956 * '' The Killing'', 1956 * '' A Kiss Before Dying'', 1956 * '' The Killer Is Loose'', 1956 * '' Band of Angels'', 1957 * '' Buchanan Rides Alone'', 1958 * '' Murder by Contract'', 1958 * '' The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond'', 1960 * '' Marines, Let's Go'', 1961 * ''

Susan Slade ''Susan Slade'' is a 1961 American Technicolor drama film directed by Delmer Daves and starring Troy Donahue, Connie Stevens, Dorothy McGuire and Lloyd Nolan. Based upon the 1961 novel ''The Sin of Susan Slade'' by Doris Hume, concerns a well-t ...

'', 1961 * '' The Parent Trap'', 1961 * '' Ride the High Country'', 1962 * '' The Caretakers'', 1963 * '' The Sons of Katie Elder'', 1965 * '' Nevada Smith'', 1966 * ''

Hour of the Gun ''Hour of the Gun'' is a 1967 Western film depicting Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday during their 1881 battles against Ike Clanton and his brothers in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and the gunfight's aftermath in and around Tombstone, Arizona, ...

'', 1967 * '' Will Penny'', 1968 * '' The Party'', 1968 * ''

'', 1969 * ''

'', 1970 * ''

The Hawaiians Hawaiians are the indigenous people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiians or The Hawaiians may also refer to: * The Hawaiians (WFL) The Hawaiians were a professional American football team based in Honolulu that played in the World Football Lea ...

'', 1970 * '' Elvis: That's the Way It Is'', 1970 * '' Arruza'', 1971 * '' The Getaway'', 1972 * '' Junior Bonner'', 1972 * ''

Lady Ice ''Lady Ice'' is a 1973 American crime film directed by Tom Gries, and stars Donald Sutherland, Jennifer O'Neill, and Robert Duvall. The story concerns an insurance investigator who becomes involved with a wealthy young woman he suspects of fenc ...

'', 1973 * '' Breakout'', 1975 * '' Breakheart Pass'', 1976 * ''

'', 1978 * '' My Kingdom For...'', (1985)

References

External links

Ballard @ the Internet Encyclopedia of Cinematographers
*
Ballard @ Allmovie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballard, Lucien 1908 births 1988 deaths American cinematographers Cherokee Nation artists People from Miami, Oklahoma Road incident deaths in California University of Pennsylvania alumni 20th-century Native Americans