Lee Garmes(1898-1978)
- Cinematographer
- Director
- Producer
One of the most innovative of pioneer cameramen, Lee Garmes started his
career on the East Coast with the New York Motion Picture Company, but
was soon persuaded by the director
Thomas H. Ince to join him in Hollywood.
Garmes quickly climbed his way up the ladder, from painter's assistant
to prop boy (future director
Henry Hathaway shared the same duties at
'Inceville'), to camera assistant. He struck up a singularly fruitful collaboration with director Malcolm St. Clair,
with whom he worked on one- and two-reel shorts. Many of these early
comedies were shot on a shoe-string budget and necessitated clever
improvisation, especially in the usage of lead-sheet reflectors
(re-directing sunlight) which substituted for proper lighting. Garmes
also introduced incandescent tungsten filament Mazda lights as a
significant cost-saving venture. In 1925, now as a fully-fledged
director of photography, Garmes went over to Paramount, first under
contract from 1925 to 1926. He perfected his craft at First National
and Warner Brothers (1927-1930), before returning to Paramount and
making a significant contribution to some of the most outstanding
black-and-white films made by the studio during the early and
mid-1930's. His most recognizable trademark was to naturally light his
sets from a northward orientation.
Said to have been influenced by the paintings of Rembrandt, Garmes
showed a great flair in the use of chiaroscuro, light and shade, which
enhanced the expressionistic European look of darkly exotic ventures
like Morocco (1930) and
Shanghai Express (1932). Both
pictures were directed by
Josef von Sternberg and starred one
of Paramount's most bankable assets,
Marlene Dietrich, flatteringly
photographed by Garmes with subdued lighting amid swirling, misty
backgrounds. "Shanghai Express" led to an Academy Award and established
Garmes as one of the top cinematographers in the business. His career
suffered a setback, however, when he was replaced by
David O. Selznick months into shooting
Gone with the Wind (1939)
(Selznick objected to the Garmes technique of soft lighting, preferring
the harsher
'picture postcard' colours). Though the first hour of GWTW was almost entirely shot by Garmes (most of it directed by George Cukor,
who was also fired), he was not credited for his efforts.
Lee Garmes imbued many more seminal films of the 1940's and 50's with
his own particular style, creating the romantic moods of
Lydia (1941), the exotic splendour of
Alexander Korda's technicolor
The Jungle Book (1942) and the
semi-documentary realism of
William Wyler's
Detective Story (1951). He became
one of few cinematographers to be given additional responsibilities in
directing and production and in 1972 became one of the first advocates
for the use of videotape in filmmaking. Garmes was twice recipient of
the Eastman Kodak Award. He served as present of the American Society
of Cinematographers from 1960 to 1961.
career on the East Coast with the New York Motion Picture Company, but
was soon persuaded by the director
Thomas H. Ince to join him in Hollywood.
Garmes quickly climbed his way up the ladder, from painter's assistant
to prop boy (future director
Henry Hathaway shared the same duties at
'Inceville'), to camera assistant. He struck up a singularly fruitful collaboration with director Malcolm St. Clair,
with whom he worked on one- and two-reel shorts. Many of these early
comedies were shot on a shoe-string budget and necessitated clever
improvisation, especially in the usage of lead-sheet reflectors
(re-directing sunlight) which substituted for proper lighting. Garmes
also introduced incandescent tungsten filament Mazda lights as a
significant cost-saving venture. In 1925, now as a fully-fledged
director of photography, Garmes went over to Paramount, first under
contract from 1925 to 1926. He perfected his craft at First National
and Warner Brothers (1927-1930), before returning to Paramount and
making a significant contribution to some of the most outstanding
black-and-white films made by the studio during the early and
mid-1930's. His most recognizable trademark was to naturally light his
sets from a northward orientation.
Said to have been influenced by the paintings of Rembrandt, Garmes
showed a great flair in the use of chiaroscuro, light and shade, which
enhanced the expressionistic European look of darkly exotic ventures
like Morocco (1930) and
Shanghai Express (1932). Both
pictures were directed by
Josef von Sternberg and starred one
of Paramount's most bankable assets,
Marlene Dietrich, flatteringly
photographed by Garmes with subdued lighting amid swirling, misty
backgrounds. "Shanghai Express" led to an Academy Award and established
Garmes as one of the top cinematographers in the business. His career
suffered a setback, however, when he was replaced by
David O. Selznick months into shooting
Gone with the Wind (1939)
(Selznick objected to the Garmes technique of soft lighting, preferring
the harsher
'picture postcard' colours). Though the first hour of GWTW was almost entirely shot by Garmes (most of it directed by George Cukor,
who was also fired), he was not credited for his efforts.
Lee Garmes imbued many more seminal films of the 1940's and 50's with
his own particular style, creating the romantic moods of
Lydia (1941), the exotic splendour of
Alexander Korda's technicolor
The Jungle Book (1942) and the
semi-documentary realism of
William Wyler's
Detective Story (1951). He became
one of few cinematographers to be given additional responsibilities in
directing and production and in 1972 became one of the first advocates
for the use of videotape in filmmaking. Garmes was twice recipient of
the Eastman Kodak Award. He served as present of the American Society
of Cinematographers from 1960 to 1961.