Born Russell September 16, 1903 in Los Angeles, California to Frank and Bertha Harlan, who hailed from Iowa and Missouri. Russell was raised in Los Angeles along with his younger brother Richard (b. 1911). His paternal grandmother Sarah J. Harlan also lived with the family.
Harlan started in the film industry as an actor and stuntman, and by the early 1930s was working behind the camera as an assistant. His first work as lead cinematographer was in 1937, when he filmed four "Hopalong Cassidy" westerns for Harry Sherman Productions. Harlan had a career as a cinematographer that spanned some thirty-three years from 1937 to 1970. He was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, including two in 1962 for his work on Hatari! and To Kill a Mockingbird.
Known For
Rio Bravo
(1959)
Director of Photography
To Kill a Mockingbird
(1962)
Director of Photography
Blackboard Jungle
(1955)
Director of Photography
Red River
(1948)
Director of Photography
Hatari!
(1962)
Director of Photography
Operation Petticoat
(1959)
Director of Photography
Witness for the Prosecution
(1957)
Director of Photography
Pollyanna
(1960)
Director of Photography
The Great Race
(1965)
Director of Photography
King Creole
(1958)
Director of Photography
Ruby Gentry
(1952)
Director of Photography
The Thing from Another World
(1951)
Director of Photography
Gun Crazy
(1950)
Director of Photography
Tobruk
(1967)
Director of Photography
Run Silent, Run Deep
(1958)
Director of Photography
Darling Lili
(1970)
Director of Photography
Full Filmography
Camera
North of the Rio Grande
(1937)
Director of Photography
Hopalong Rides Again
(1937)
Director of Photography
The Mysterious Rider
(1938)
Director of Photography
Partners of the Plains
(1938)
Director of Photography
Cassidy of Bar 20
(1938)
Director of Photography
In Old Mexico
(1938)
Director of Photography
Heritage of the Desert
(1939)
Director of Photography
Renegade Trail
(1939)
Director of Photography
Silver on the Sage
(1939)
Director of Photography
Law of the Pampas
(1939)
Director of Photography
Light of Western Stars
(1940)
Director of Photography
The Showdown
(1940)
Director of Photography
Santa Fe Marshal
(1940)
Director of Photography
Stagecoach War
(1940)
Director of Photography
In Old Colorado
(1941)
Director of Photography
American Empire
(1942)
Director of Photography
Tombstone: The Town Too Tough to Die
(1942)
Director of Photography
Buckskin Frontier
(1943)
Director of Photography
False Colors
(1943)
Director of Photography
The Woman of the Town
(1943)
Director of Photography
The Kansan
(1943)
Director of Photography
Tarzan's Desert Mystery
(1943)
Director of Photography
A Walk in the Sun
(1945)
Director of Photography
Ramrod
(1947)
Director of Photography
Red River
(1948)
Director of Photography
Four Faces West
(1948)
Director of Photography
Bad Men of Tombstone
(1949)
Director of Photography
Guilty Bystander
(1950)
Director of Photography
The Man Who Cheated Himself
(1950)
Director of Photography
Southside 1-1000
(1950)
Director of Photography
Gun Crazy
(1950)
Director of Photography
The Kangaroo Kid
(1950)
Director of Photography
Tarzan and the Slave Girl
(1950)
Director of Photography
The Thing from Another World
(1951)
Director of Photography
The Big Sky
(1952)
Director of Photography
The Ring
(1952)
Director of Photography
Ruby Gentry
(1952)
Director of Photography
Riot in Cell Block 11
(1954)
Director of Photography
Blackboard Jungle
(1955)
Director of Photography
Land of the Pharaohs
(1955)
Director of Photography
Lust for Life
(1956)
Director of Photography
Witness for the Prosecution
(1957)
Director of Photography
Something of Value
(1957)
Director of Photography
This Could Be the Night
(1957)
Director of Photography
King Creole
(1958)
Director of Photography
Run Silent, Run Deep
(1958)
Director of Photography
Rio Bravo
(1959)
Director of Photography
Operation Petticoat
(1959)
Director of Photography
Day of the Outlaw
(1959)
Director of Photography
Sunrise at Campobello
(1960)
Director of Photography
Pollyanna
(1960)
Director of Photography
To Kill a Mockingbird
(1962)
Director of Photography
Hatari!
(1962)
Director of Photography
The Spiral Road
(1962)
Director of Photography
A Gathering of Eagles
(1963)
Director of Photography
Man's Favorite Sport?
(1964)
Director of Photography
The Great Race
(1965)
Director of Photography
Dear Heart
(1965)
Director of Photography
Quick, Before It Melts
(1965)
Director of Photography
Hawaii
(1966)
Director of Photography
Tobruk
(1967)
Director of Photography
Darling Lili
(1970)
Director of Photography
Crew
Rustlers' Valley
(1937)
Cinematography
Texas Trail
(1937)
Cinematography
Heart of Arizona
(1938)
Cinematography
Bar 20 Justice
(1938)
Cinematography
Pride of the West
(1938)
Cinematography
The Frontiersmen
(1938)
Cinematography
Sunset Trail
(1939)
Cinematography
Range War
(1939)
Cinematography
Hidden Gold
(1940)
Cinematography
Three Men from Texas
(1940)
Cinematography
Doomed Caravan
(1941)
Cinematography
Border Vigilantes
(1941)
Cinematography
Pirates on Horseback
(1941)
Cinematography
Wide Open Town
(1941)
Cinematography
Riders of the Timberline
(1941)
Cinematography
Stick to Your Guns
(1941)
Cinematography
Twilight on the Trail
(1941)
Cinematography
Secret of the Wastelands
(1941)
Cinematography
Lost Canyon
(1942)
Cinematography
Undercover Man
(1942)
Cinematography
Hoppy Serves a Writ
(1943)
Cinematography
Border Patrol
(1943)
Cinematography
Leather Burners
(1943)
Cinematography
Colt Comrades
(1943)
Cinematography
Bar 20
(1943)
Cinematography
Riders of the Deadline
(1943)
Cinematography
Texas Masquerade
(1944)
Cinematography
Lumberjack
(1944)
Cinematography
Mystery Man
(1944)
Cinematography
Forty Thieves
(1944)
Cinematography
The Last Hunt
(1956)
Cinematography
Directing