John J. Mescall

John J. Mescall ( born January 10, 1899 in Litchfield, Illinois, † February 10, 1962 in Los Angeles, California ) was an American cinematographer.

Life

John Mescall worked the end of the second decade of the twentieth century in Hollywood as a laboratory assistant before becoming a cinematographer in 1920. During the silent film era Mescall stood among others, for two films Ernst Lubitsch's behind the camera in 1926 at the comedy So This Is Paris and 1927 for the romance Old Heidelberg, the film adaptation of a popular operetta.

During the 1930s Mescall worked six times with director James Whale. Whales In The Invisible Mescall was responsible for the visual effects, but was not mentioned in the credits. After the film version of the musical Show Boat in 1937 was followed by a further cooperation with Mescalls Whale during the filming of The Road Back, the sequel to the Western Front. The film is based on the novel The Road Back by Erich Maria Remarque.

Mid-1940s Mescall increasingly devoted himself to the special effects and was only sporadically behind the camera. For his work on the comedy favorite to dictation with Rosalind Russell and Fred MacMurray in 1943 he was nominated for an Oscar. One last time before his death led Mescall the camera in 1957 for Roger Corman movie Messenger of Horror ( Not of This Earth).

Filmography (selection)

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