John Alton

Camera

John Alton

Born October 5, 1901 · Sopron, Austria-Hungary

Died June 2, 1996 · aged 94

​John Alton A.S.C. (October 5, 1901 – June 2, 1996), born Johann Altmann, in Sopron/Ödenburg, Kingdom of Hungary, Austria-Hungary, was an American cinematographer. Alton won an Academy Award for the cinematography of An American in Paris (1951), becoming the first Hungarian-born person to do so. He photographed some of the most famous film noirs of the classic period. He started out in Los Angeles…

Known For

Birdman of AlcatrazBirdman of Alcatraz · 1962
Birdman of Alcatraz
7.51962
MovieDramaCrime
After killing a prison guard, convict Robert Stroud faces life imprisonment in solitary confinement. Driven nearly mad by loneliness and despair, Stroud's life gains new meaning when he happens upon a helpless baby sparrow in the exercise yard and nurses it back to health. Despite having only a third grade education, Stroud goes on to become a renowned ornithologist and achieves a greater sense of freedom and purpose behind bars than most people find in the outside world.
An American in ParisAn American in Paris · 1951
An American in Paris
7.01951
MovieMusicRomance
Jerry Mulligan is an exuberant American expatriate in Paris trying to make a reputation as a painter. His friend Adam is a struggling concert pianist who's a long time associate of a famous French singer, Henri Baurel. A lonely society woman, Milo Roberts, takes Jerry under her wing and supports him, but is interested in more than his art.
Father of the BrideFather of the Bride · 1950
Father of the Bride
7.01950
MovieComedyRomance
Proud father Stanley Banks remembers the day his daughter, Kay, got married. Starting when she announces her engagement through to the wedding itself, we learn of all the surprises and disasters along the way.
The Brothers KaramazovThe Brothers Karamazov · 1958
The Brothers Karamazov
6.51958
MovieDramaHistory
Ryevsk, Russia, 1870. Tensions abound in the Karamazov family. Fyodor is a wealthy libertine who holds his purse strings tightly. His four grown sons include Dmitri, the eldest, an elegant officer, always broke and at odds with his father, betrothed to Katya, herself lovely and rich. The other brothers include a sterile aesthete, a factotum who is a bastard, and a monk. Family tensions erupt when Dmitri falls in love with one of his father's mistresses, the coquette Grushenka. Two brothers see Dmitri's jealousy of their father as an opportunity to inherit sooner. Acts of violence lead to the story's conclusion: trials of honor, conscience, forgiveness, and redemption.
Elmer GantryElmer Gantry · 1960
Elmer Gantry
7.31960
MovieDrama
A charismatic charlatan begins a business — and eventually romantic — relationship with a roadside evangelist to sell religion to 1920s America. Based on Sinclair Lewis' novel of the same name.
The Big ComboThe Big Combo · 1955
The Big Combo
7.01955
MovieDramaCrime
Police Lt. Leonard Diamond vies to bring a clever, well connected, and sadistic gangster to justice all the while obsessing over the gangster's girlfriend.
AmaliaAmalia · 1936
Amalia
10.01936
MovieDramaRomance
The romance between Amalia Sáenz de Olabarrieta –a widow living in Buenos Aires– and the young Unitarian Eduardo Belgrano. Based on the novel by José Mármol.
He Walked by NightHe Walked by Night · 1949
He Walked by Night
6.71949
MovieThrillerCrime
Roy Martin aka Roy Morgan is a burglar and former war-time Radio & Electronics Engineer who listens in to radio police calls, allowing him to stay one step ahead of the cops.

Filmography

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Mission: ImpossibleMission: Impossible · 1966
Mission: Impossible
7.61966
SeriesAction & AdventureCrime
Mission: Impossible is an American television series that was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicles the missions of a team of secret government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force. In the first season, the team is led by Dan Briggs, played by Steven Hill; Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, takes charge for the remaining seasons. A hallmark of the series shows Briggs or Phelps receiving his instructions on a recording that then self-destructs, followed by the theme music composed by Lalo Schifrin. The series aired on the CBS network from September 1966 to March 1973, then returned to television for two seasons on ABC, from 1988 to 1990, retaining only Graves in the cast. It later inspired a popular series of theatrical motion pictures starring Tom Cruise, beginning in 1996.

Director of Photography