CINEFILER

Harold Rosson

Born
April 6, 1895
Died
September 6, 1988
From Wikipedia Harold G. "Hal" Rosson, A.S.C. (April 6, 1895 – September 6, 1988) was an American cinematographer who worked during the early and classical Hollywood cinema. He is best known for his work on the 1939 fantasy film The Wizard of Oz. Harold Rosson began his film career in 1908 as an actor at the Vitagraph Studios in the Flatbush area of Brooklyn, New York City. He became the assistant to Irvin Willat at the Mark Dintenfass Studios. In 1912 he divided his time as an office boy in a stockbrokers firm and as an assistant, extra, and handyman at the Famous Players Studio in New York. His first film for Famous Players was David Harum (1915). In December 1914, Rosson moved to California and joined Metro Pictures. During World War I, he served in the United States Army. After his demobilization, he went to work on the Marion Davies film The Dark Star. He was offered a contract with the Davies Company. In 1920 he was signed by Mary Pickford, working primarily with her brother Jack Pickford. In the 1930s, Rosson signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed the photography for some of the studio's most popular films including Treasure Island (1934), The Wizard of Oz, Duel in the Sun, and Singin' in the Rain (1952). In 1936, Rosson and fellow cinematographer W. Howard Greene were awarded an Honorary Oscar for the color cinematography of the 1936 David O. Selznick production The Garden of Allah. Rosson later said it was the first time he attempted to film in color. After a very long and successful career in Hollywood, Rosson retired in 1958. He briefly came out of retirement in 1966 for the Howard Hawks film El Dorado starring John Wayne. Rosson was married twice, with both marriages ending in divorce, and had no children. While shooting the film Bombshell in 1933, actress Jean Harlow proposed to Rosson. The two had worked together previously on Red-Headed Woman, Dinner at Eight, Hold Your Man, and Red Dust and had struck up a friendship. On September 17, 1933, the two were married in Yuma, Arizona. In an interview with Leicester Wagner, Harlow recalled that she and Rosson grew closer after the death of her second husband, Paul Bern, and he encouraged her to go out and socialize. Rosson and Harlow separated in May 1934 with Harlow charging that Rosson was "rude, sullen and irritable". She was granted a divorce in March 1935. On October 11, 1936, Rosson married socialite Yvonne Crellin in Beverly Hills. They divorced in June 1945. On September 6, 1988, Rosson died, age 93, at his home in Palm Beach, Florida. He is buried in Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Known For
The Wizard of Oz
(1939)
Director of Photography
Red Dust
(1932)
Director of Photography
Singin' in the Rain
(1952)
Director of Photography
El Dorado
(1966)
Director of Photography
The Asphalt Jungle
(1950)
Director of Photography
Ulysses
(1954)
Director of Photography
Tarzan the Ape Man
(1932)
Director of Photography
On the Town
(1949)
Director of Photography
The Enemy Below
(1957)
Director of Photography
Duel in the Sun
(1946)
Director of Photography
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
(1944)
Director of Photography
The Bad Seed
(1956)
Director of Photography
The Red Badge of Courage
(1951)
Director of Photography
Boom Town
(1940)
Director of Photography
Captains Courageous
(1937)
Director of Photography
Treasure Island
(1934)
Director of Photography
Full Filmography
Camera
Oliver Twist
(1916)
Director of Photography
The American Consul
(1917)
Director of Photography
Panthea
(1917)
Director of Photography
The Cinema Murder
(1919)
Director of Photography
Buried Treasure
(1921)
Director of Photography
Dark Secrets
(1923)
Director of Photography
Zaza
(1923)
Director of Photography
The Glimpses of the Moon
(1923)
Director of Photography
Manhandled
(1924)
Director of Photography
Too Many Kisses
(1925)
Director of Photography
A Man Must Live
(1925)
Director of Photography
Almost a Lady
(1926)
Director of Photography
Up in Mabel's Room
(1926)
Director of Photography
Rough House Rosie
(1927)
Director of Photography
Evening Clothes
(1927)
Director of Photography
A Gentleman of Paris
(1927)
Director of Photography
Service for Ladies
(1927)
Director of Photography
Getting Gertie's Garter
(1927)
Director of Photography
Man Bait
(1927)
Director of Photography
The Docks of New York
(1928)
Director of Photography
The Drag Net
(1928)
Director of Photography
Three Week Ends
(1928)
Director of Photography
The Sawdust Paradise
(1928)
Director of Photography
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
(1928)
Director of Photography
Abie's Irish Rose
(1928)
Director of Photography
Trent's Last Case
(1929)
Director of Photography
South Sea Rose
(1929)
Director of Photography
The Case of Lena Smith
(1929)
Director of Photography
Madam Satan
(1930)
Director of Photography
Passion Flower
(1930)
Director of Photography
This Mad World
(1930)
Director of Photography
The Squaw Man
(1931)
Director of Photography
The Cuban Love Song
(1931)
Director of Photography
Men Call It Love
(1931)
Director of Photography
Sporting Blood
(1931)
Director of Photography
Son of India
(1931)
Director of Photography
Red Dust
(1932)
Director of Photography
Kongo
(1932)
Director of Photography
Red-Headed Woman
(1932)
Director of Photography
Downstairs
(1932)
Director of Photography
Tarzan the Ape Man
(1932)
Director of Photography
Penthouse
(1933)
Director of Photography
Hold Your Man
(1933)
Director of Photography
Turn Back the Clock
(1933)
Director of Photography
Bombshell
(1933)
Director of Photography
The Barbarian
(1933)
Director of Photography
The Scarlet Pimpernel
(1934)
Director of Photography
This Side of Heaven
(1934)
Director of Photography
The Cat and the Fiddle
(1934)
Director of Photography
Treasure Island
(1934)
Director of Photography
The Ghost Goes West
(1935)
Director of Photography
The Devil is a Sissy
(1936)
Director of Photography
As You Like It
(1936)
Director of Photography
The Man Who Could Work Miracles
(1936)
Director of Photography
They Gave Him a Gun
(1937)
Director of Photography
The Emperor's Candlesticks
(1937)
Director of Photography
Captains Courageous
(1937)
Director of Photography
Double Wedding
(1937)
Director of Photography
That Mothers Might Live
(1938)
Director of Photography
Too Hot to Handle
(1938)
Director of Photography
The Wizard of Oz
(1939)
Director of Photography
Forgotten Victory
(1939)
Director of Photography
Boom Town
(1940)
Director of Photography
I Take This Woman
(1940)
Director of Photography
Dr. Kildare Goes Home
(1940)
Director of Photography
Johnny Eager
(1941)
Director of Photography
Washington Melodrama
(1941)
Director of Photography
Somewhere I'll Find You
(1942)
Director of Photography
Tennessee Johnson
(1942)
Director of Photography
Slightly Dangerous
(1943)
Director of Photography
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
(1944)
Director of Photography
An American Romance
(1944)
Director of Photography
Between Two Women
(1945)
Director of Photography
Duel in the Sun
(1946)
Director of Photography
Three Wise Fools
(1946)
Director of Photography
No Leave, No Love
(1946)
Director of Photography
The Hucksters
(1947)
Director of Photography
Living in a Big Way
(1947)
Director of Photography
Homecoming
(1948)
Director of Photography
Command Decision
(1948)
Director of Photography
The Stratton Story
(1949)
Director of Photography
Any Number Can Play
(1949)
Director of Photography
On the Town
(1949)
Director of Photography
The Asphalt Jungle
(1950)
Director of Photography
Key to the City
(1950)
Director of Photography
To Please a Lady
(1950)
Director of Photography
The Red Badge of Courage
(1951)
Director of Photography
Love Is Better Than Ever
(1952)
Director of Photography
Lone Star
(1952)
Director of Photography
Singin' in the Rain
(1952)
Director of Photography
The Actress
(1953)
Director of Photography
The Story of Three Loves
(1953)
Director of Photography
I Love Melvin
(1953)
Director of Photography
Ulysses
(1954)
Director of Photography
Mambo
(1954)
Director of Photography
Strange Lady in Town
(1955)
Director of Photography
The Bad Seed
(1956)
Director of Photography
Toward the Unknown
(1956)
Director of Photography
The Enemy Below
(1957)
Director of Photography
El Dorado
(1966)
Director of Photography
Acting
Crew
Data provided by TMDB