Osmond Hudson Borradaile (17 July 1898 – 23 March 1999) was a Canadian cameraman,

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 ...

, and veteran of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Biography

Born in 1898 in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

, Osmond Borradaile grew up in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

, moving often during his childhood. While living in

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff to the northwest are wit ...

, he saw one of his first movies when he was seven years old. He started in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

filming silent movies during which period he made movies starring, among others,

Wallace Reid William Wallace Halleck Reid (April 15, 1891 – January 18, 1923) was an American actor in silent film, referred to as "the screen's most perfect lover". He also had a brief career as a racing driver. Early life Reid was born in St. Louis, M ...

and legends such as

Rudolph Valentino Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguolla (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor based in the United States who starred ...

Gloria Swanson Gloria May Josephine Swanson (March 27, 1899April 4, 1983) was an American actress and producer. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most f ...

, and

Lillian Gish Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893February 27, 1993) was an American actress, director, and screenwriter. Her film-acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912, in silent film shorts, to 1987. Gish was called the "First Lady of American Cinema", ...

. He then went on to "talkies" working closely on numerous films with Cecil B. DeMille. He filmed the aerial sequences for Howard Hughes' '' Hell's Angels'' (Hughes was his pilot), this being a precursor to the location and outdoor shooting that would become his trademark. Borradaile's speciality was filming natural environments to serve as backdrops and stock footage. Much of this footage was taken in Africa, where he met and filmed the rituals and daily lives of several tribes. He also behind the camera for the films of Sabu, including '' Elephant Boy'', '' The Drum'', and ''

The Four Feathers ''The Four Feathers'' is a 1902 adventure novel by British writer A. E. W. Mason that has inspired many films of the same title. In December 1901, ''Cornhill Magazine'' announced the title as one of two new serial stories to be published in th ...

'', which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Colour Cinematography. In the late 1940s, Borradaile travelled to

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

to file sequences for ''

Scott of the Antarctic Captain Robert Falcon Scott, , (6 June 1868 – c. 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated ''Terra Nov ...

'', one of the most ambitious film projects for the time period. In 1957, he was commissioned by the

Government of British Columbia The Government of British Columbia (french: Gouvernement de la Colombie-Britannique) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of British Columbia. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, ass ...

to make a documentary film commemorating the province's upcoming centennial. ''

The Tall Country ''The Tall Country'' is a Canadian short documentary film, directed by Osmond Borradaile and released in 1958."Centennial Film, 'Tall Country' Tops". '' Vancouver Sun'', May 7, 1958. Commissioned by the Government of British Columbia to commemorat ...

'' was released in 1958,"Centennial Film, 'Tall Country' Tops". ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...

'', May 7, 1958. and won the

Canadian Film Award The Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually, except in 1974 when a number of Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation. In the 1970s ...

for Best Theatrical Short Film at the 11th Canadian Film Awards in 1959. In 1982, he was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

, Canada's highest civilian honour. He died at age 100 in Vancouver. Borradaile's grandson is former rugby union footballer Norm Hadley."Rugby team takes time out for Canadian history lesson". ''

'', October 18, 1991.

Selected filmography

* '' Say It with Music'' (1932) * ''

Sanders of the River ''Sanders of the River'' is a 1935 British film directed by the Hungarian-British director, Zoltán Korda, based on the stories of Edgar Wallace. It is set in Colonial Nigeria. The lead Nigerian characters were played by African Americans Paul Ro ...

'' (1934) * '' Elephant Boy'' (1937) * '' The Drum'' (1938) * '' The Lion Has Wings'' (1939) * '' The Overlanders'' (1946) * ''

'' (1948) * '' Saints and Sinners'' (1949) * ''

I Was a Male War Bride ''I Was a Male War Bride'' is a 1949 comedy film directed by Howard Hawks and starring Cary Grant and Ann Sheridan. The film was based on "Male War Bride Trial to Army", a biography of Henri Rochard (pen name of Roger Charlier), a Belgian who ...

'' (1949)

References

External links

* * New York Times Biograph

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borradaile, Osmond 1898 births 1999 deaths Canadian centenarians Canadian cinematographers Canadian expatriates in the United States Canadian military personnel of World War I Canadian military personnel of World War II Men centenarians Officers of the Order of Canada People from Winnipeg

Biography

Selected filmography

References

Further reading

External links