William H. Daniels
William H. Daniels ( born December 1, 1901 in Cleveland, Ohio, † June 14, 1970 in Los Angeles, California ) was an American cinematographer. He became known as " Garbo cameraman".
Career
William Daniels began his career in 1917 as a camera assistant in the Triangle, and rose in 1918 to cinematographer of the Universal, where he was responsible for most of the films of Erich von Stroheim. Together with Irving Thalberg, he joined the newly founded MGM in 1924, where he worked until 1943. He met Greta Garbo first at the filming of The Torrent and immediately recognized the special qualities of her face. He insisted to take the actress in close up shots ( close- ups ) and renounced mostly on filming the shots and long shots. Due to the timidity of the actress he was against the studio that the filming would be locked in the studio for all visitors. He also gave her his instructions almost in whispers, but remains at a basis of trust, which far exceeded the cooperation of most other stars with her cameraman. With the exception of Maria Walevska from 1937, Daniels was responsible for all major productions of Garbo. For this film, he was indispensable, since the filming of Marie -Antoinette with Norma Shearer continually delayed and Shearer was willing to under any circumstances, to waive Daniels.
Within a short time of Daniel rose to the most in-demand cinematographer of the studio and many female stars strove for his services. He turned to Joan Crawford, Marion Davies, Jeanette MacDonald, Myrna Loy and Norma Shearer. Daniels was instrumental in the typical MGM look: very soft skylight, spacious, bright illumination, many close up shots and almost no shadows. After a long period of illness Daniels moved again in 1947 to Universal, where he worked for the unusually intense chiaroscuro photography of the film The Naked City by Jules Dassin won the 1948 Oscar for best cinematography in a black-and-white film. It was the second nomination after 1930. 1958 and 1961 was followed by one further nomination for this award, this time in the category of camera work for a color film. He worked until recently as a cameraman.
From 1961 to 1963, president of the American Society of Cinematographers.