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 recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

, and veteran of World War I and World War II.

Biography

Born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Osmond Borradaile grew up in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, moving often during his childhood. While living in

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in Southern Alberta, 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, Alberta, R ...

, he saw one of his first movies when he was seven years old. He started in Hollywood filming silent movies during which period he made movies starring, among others, Wallace Reid and legends such as

Rudolph Valentino Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor who starred in several well-known sile ...

Gloria Swanson Gloria Mae Josephine Swanson (March 27, 1899April 4, 1983) was an American actress. 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 famously for h ...

, and

Lillian Gish Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893 – February 27, 1993) was an American actress best known for her work in movies of the silent era. Her film-acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912, in silent film shorts, to 1987. Gish was dubbed the "F ...

. 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 was also behind the camera for the films of Sabu, including '' Elephant Boy'', '' The Drum'', and '' The Four Feathers'', which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Color 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 (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

to file sequences for '' Scott of the Antarctic'', one of the most ambitious film projects for the time period. In 1957, he was commissioned by the Government of British Columbia to make a documentary film commemorating the province's upcoming centennial. '' The Tall Country'' 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, and is the larg ...

'', May 7, 1958. and won the Genie Award 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 () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

, Canada's highest civilian honour. He died eight months past his 100th birthday in Vancouver. Borradaile's grandson is former rugby union footballer

Norm Hadley Norman Hadley (2 December 1964 – 26 March 2016) was a Canadian rugby union player. "Stormin' Norman" was a massive , Lock (rugby union), lock. He played professionally first for Wasps RFC, London Wasps and then Bedford Blues in the 1990s. In C ...

."Rugby team takes time out for Canadian history lesson". ''

'', October 18, 1991.

Selected filmography

* '' Say It with Music'' (1932) * '' Sanders of the River'' (1934) * '' Elephant Boy'' (1937) * '' The Drum'' (1938) * ''

The Lion Has Wings ''The Lion Has Wings'' is a 1939 British, black-and-white, documentary-style, propaganda film, propaganda war film that was directed by Adrian Brunel, Brian Desmond Hurst, Alexander Korda and Michael Powell. The film was produced by London Film ...

'' (1939) * '' The Overlanders'' (1946) * '' Scott of the Antarctic'' (1948) * '' Saints and Sinners'' (1949) * '' I Was a Male War Bride'' (1949)

References

External links

* * New York Times Biograph

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borradaile, Osmond 1898 births 1999 deaths Canadian men centenarians Canadian cinematographers Canadian expatriates in the United States Canadian military personnel of World War I Canadian military personnel of World War II Officers of the Order of Canada Military personnel from Winnipeg Directors of Genie Award winners for Best Theatrical Short

Biography

Selected filmography

References

Further reading

External links