Nicholas Musuraca
Nicholas Musuraca, Nick Musuraca ( born October 25, 1892 in Riace, Italy, † September 3, 1975 in Los Angeles, California, USA) was an Italian- burly cameraman for Hollywood film with some significant achievements in the 1940s.
Life
Musuraca made mainly as a name from the German film expressionism of the 20s -influenced black and white photographer in the service of RKO Pictures. About the film pioneer J. Stuart Blackton, for whom he had worked in the early 1910s as a chauffeur, Musuraca joined the film. His actual career began in 1913 as a projectionist and worked in the following years as an editor and assistant director at the New York production company, Vitagraph. 1918 Nicholas moved Musuraca on for easy camera man, five years later he was allowed to photograph the first time a movie as a director of photography.
Until the late 30s Musuraca photographed throughout B- and C- films, including a plethora of series westerns, comedies and melodramas. After he was allowed in 1939 ' photograph on the side of the famous colleague Karl Freund Rouben Mamoulians adaptation of Clifford Odets play Golden Boy, Musuraca could also work for higher-quality films. Above all, his moody black and white photography to Jacques Tourneur's horror classic Cat People could put his considerable talent for lighting and shadow effects demonstrated in the Musuraca, brought him recognition. He then photographed Robert Siodmak's 1945 thriller The Spiral Staircase. This time, its expressionistic seemingly camera movements evoked subliminally lurking dangers evocative moods. Of his later works, especially the camera work of Robert Wise's Western night on the prairie and George Stevens Familienmelodram secret of a mother is remarkable. For this performance Musuraca received a 1949 Oscar nomination.
In addition, Nicholas Musuraca photographed a number of routine Western with Tim Holt and early 50s two minor works of Fritz Lang. Since his departure from the movie 1958 Nicholas Musuraca has focused on working for television and photographed especially a number of series. In 1966, he retired into private life.