Ralph Hammeras
Ralph Hammeras ( born March 24, 1894 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, † February 3, 1970 in Los Angeles, California ) was an American film technician, cinematographer and production designer who was nominated three times for an Oscar.
Life
Hammeras began in the mid 1920s as a film technician and production designer and was involved in the production of numerous silent and sound films -.
He made his debut in 1925 with the fantasy film The Lost World (1925 ) by Harry O. Hoyt and Willis O'Brien Deputy technical director and research staff. After that, he was a cameraman in 1927 in The World in Flames (1927 ) by Alfred Santell and responsible for the technical effects in the love life of Helen of Troy (1927 ) by Alexander Korda. In the movie The Uncrowned Queen (1929 ) by Frank Lloyd he was Deputy Chamber and man in charge of mechanical effects in Sky Hawk (1929 ) by John G. Blystone.
In the first Oscar ceremony in 1929 he was nominated for his overall performance for the awarded only in the year Oscar for best technical effects ( Best Engineering Effects). However, the award went to Roy Pomeroy.
For the scene image in Just Imagine (1930 ) he was nominated along with Stephen Goosson at the Academy Awards in 1931 for the Academy Award for Best Production Design.
Then he was again responsible for the special effects in Body and Soul (1931 ) by Alfred Santell and A Connecticut Yankee (1931 ) by David Butler, The ship of Satan (1935 ) by Harry Lachman, In Old Chicago ( 1937) by Henry King, Four men - An oath (1938 ) by John Ford, Suez ( 1938) by Allan Dwan and The Great Dictator (1940 ) by Charles Chaplin.
After working as a cameraman in the short film Always on the Bench ( 1941) by Roy Mack he was in the films White Oleander ( 1946) by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and Anna and the King of Siam ( 1946) by John Cromwell both for special effects as responsible for the miniatures.
For the 1948 film directed by Henry King Deep Waters, he was again nominated for the Academy Awards in 1949 for an Academy Award, this time best in the category along with Fred Sersen, Edward Snyder and Roger Heman Sr. visual effects, whereby it but again no Oscar obtained.
In which he was most active as a film technician for technical and visual effects and worked most recently at the movies 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ( 1954) directed by Richard Fleischer, The Black Scorpion ( 1957) by Edward Ludwig, Attack of the Giant Claw ( 1957) by Fred F. Sears and Cleopatra (1963). His last work as a cameraman he had in My Dog, Buddy ( 1960) by Ray Kellogg.