Charles Rosher(1885-1974)
- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Additional Crew
Among the foremost technical innovators in his field, a charter member
of the American Society of Cinematographers, English-born Charles
Rosher had initially aimed for a diplomatic career. Fortunately, he
chose a different career option and attended lessons in photography at
the London Polytechnic in Regent Street. He must have been a keen
student, for he found himself apprenticed to noted portrait
photographers David Blount and Howard Farmer, soon afterward becoming
assistant to Richard Neville Speaight (1875-1938), the official Royal
photographer. Having learned the art of still photography, Rosher
departed England for the United States sometime in late 1908, equipped
with a Williamson camera.
In 1910, Rosher found his first job in the fledgling film industry
through a connection forged with an English compatriot, the pioneer
producer David Horsley: as
principal cameraman for Horsley's East Coast-based Centaur Film Company
(which made Rosher Hollywood's first ever full-time cinematographer).
Centaur was renamed Nestor Studios upon its permanent relocation to
California in 1911, setting up at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and
Gower Street. Essentially all of Rosher's early work consisted of one
and two reelers, invariably made for Nestor's chief director,
Al Christie. Some were comedies, many were
'quota quickie' westerns, such as
The Indian Raiders (1912), for
which Nestor imported genuine Indians from New Mexico.
In 1913, Rosher accompanied directors
Raoul Walsh and
Christy Cabanne on his famous expedition
to Mexico to shoot the feature film
The Life of General Villa (1914).
The rebel leader Pancho Villa had
agreed to grant exclusive rights to filming of his battles against the
Federales by the Mutual Film Corporation, in exchange for a fee of
$25,000 and 20% of all revenues from the picture. There were a number
of hazards experienced by Rosher during this adventure, including
capture by enemy forces, and at times coercive interference from Villa,
who fancied himself as a filmmaker.
Upon his return to the other side of the border, Rosher had a brief
spell with Universal (which had absorbed Nestor), followed by two years
with the Lasky Feature Play Company (which later became Paramount). He
then worked at United Artists from 1919 to 1928, becoming the favourite
cinematographer of the company's biggest asset,
Mary Pickford, lighting her in such a way
that her true age never interfered with the image of the ingénue she
persisted in portraying on screen. During this period, Rosher also
developed his own unique visual style, which married artistry with
technical know-how. He was much acclaimed for the sharpness and clarity
of his photography, for the effects he achieved by combining natural
and artificial light, photographing people against reflecting surfaces
(glass, water), double exposure effects, split screen techniques, and
so on. Rosher also patented several inventions, including a system for
developing black & white film, ABC Pyro (A=pyro,B=sulfite,C=carbonate).
In 1929 Rosher became co-recipient (with
Karl Struss) of the first-ever Oscar for
cinematography bestowed by the Academy, for a film made
at Fox: Sunrise (1927) - still regarded
today as one of the finest examples of 1920's filmmaking. With its many
scenes bathed in light or twilight, it has also been likened to a
cinematic French impressionism. Rosher himself recalled this as one of
the most difficult assignments of his career, particularly in terms of
lighting such tricky scenes as the moonlit, fog-bound swamp,
necessitating a very mobile camera. "Sunrise", inevitably, ended up
winning the top award for 'unique and artistic production'. Two years
later, after a falling out with Pickford during filming of
Coquette (1929) , Rosher went his own
way. He was never out of a job for long, working variously for RKO
(1932-33), MGM (1930,1934) and Warner Brothers (1937-41).
Though he had made his reputation with black & white photography,
Rosher easily adapted to the medium of colour. He enjoyed a major
resurgence in the second half of his career, shooting some of the most
sumptuous technicolor musicals
(Ziegfeld Follies (1945),
Show Boat (1951)) and dramas
(The Yearling (1946),Scaramouche (1952))
during his tenure at MGM, which lasted from 1942 to 1954. He won his
second Oscar for "Yearling" and became the only ever recipient of a
fellowship by the Society of Motion Picture Engineers. Rosher retired
in 1955, except for occasional lectures and guest appearances at film
festivals. He settled down on a 1,600-acre plantation he had acquired
at Port Antonio on Jamaica, formerly owned by
Errol Flynn. He died in 1974 in
Portugal, after a fall, at the respectable age of 88.
of the American Society of Cinematographers, English-born Charles
Rosher had initially aimed for a diplomatic career. Fortunately, he
chose a different career option and attended lessons in photography at
the London Polytechnic in Regent Street. He must have been a keen
student, for he found himself apprenticed to noted portrait
photographers David Blount and Howard Farmer, soon afterward becoming
assistant to Richard Neville Speaight (1875-1938), the official Royal
photographer. Having learned the art of still photography, Rosher
departed England for the United States sometime in late 1908, equipped
with a Williamson camera.
In 1910, Rosher found his first job in the fledgling film industry
through a connection forged with an English compatriot, the pioneer
producer David Horsley: as
principal cameraman for Horsley's East Coast-based Centaur Film Company
(which made Rosher Hollywood's first ever full-time cinematographer).
Centaur was renamed Nestor Studios upon its permanent relocation to
California in 1911, setting up at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and
Gower Street. Essentially all of Rosher's early work consisted of one
and two reelers, invariably made for Nestor's chief director,
Al Christie. Some were comedies, many were
'quota quickie' westerns, such as
The Indian Raiders (1912), for
which Nestor imported genuine Indians from New Mexico.
In 1913, Rosher accompanied directors
Raoul Walsh and
Christy Cabanne on his famous expedition
to Mexico to shoot the feature film
The Life of General Villa (1914).
The rebel leader Pancho Villa had
agreed to grant exclusive rights to filming of his battles against the
Federales by the Mutual Film Corporation, in exchange for a fee of
$25,000 and 20% of all revenues from the picture. There were a number
of hazards experienced by Rosher during this adventure, including
capture by enemy forces, and at times coercive interference from Villa,
who fancied himself as a filmmaker.
Upon his return to the other side of the border, Rosher had a brief
spell with Universal (which had absorbed Nestor), followed by two years
with the Lasky Feature Play Company (which later became Paramount). He
then worked at United Artists from 1919 to 1928, becoming the favourite
cinematographer of the company's biggest asset,
Mary Pickford, lighting her in such a way
that her true age never interfered with the image of the ingénue she
persisted in portraying on screen. During this period, Rosher also
developed his own unique visual style, which married artistry with
technical know-how. He was much acclaimed for the sharpness and clarity
of his photography, for the effects he achieved by combining natural
and artificial light, photographing people against reflecting surfaces
(glass, water), double exposure effects, split screen techniques, and
so on. Rosher also patented several inventions, including a system for
developing black & white film, ABC Pyro (A=pyro,B=sulfite,C=carbonate).
In 1929 Rosher became co-recipient (with
Karl Struss) of the first-ever Oscar for
cinematography bestowed by the Academy, for a film made
at Fox: Sunrise (1927) - still regarded
today as one of the finest examples of 1920's filmmaking. With its many
scenes bathed in light or twilight, it has also been likened to a
cinematic French impressionism. Rosher himself recalled this as one of
the most difficult assignments of his career, particularly in terms of
lighting such tricky scenes as the moonlit, fog-bound swamp,
necessitating a very mobile camera. "Sunrise", inevitably, ended up
winning the top award for 'unique and artistic production'. Two years
later, after a falling out with Pickford during filming of
Coquette (1929) , Rosher went his own
way. He was never out of a job for long, working variously for RKO
(1932-33), MGM (1930,1934) and Warner Brothers (1937-41).
Though he had made his reputation with black & white photography,
Rosher easily adapted to the medium of colour. He enjoyed a major
resurgence in the second half of his career, shooting some of the most
sumptuous technicolor musicals
(Ziegfeld Follies (1945),
Show Boat (1951)) and dramas
(The Yearling (1946),Scaramouche (1952))
during his tenure at MGM, which lasted from 1942 to 1954. He won his
second Oscar for "Yearling" and became the only ever recipient of a
fellowship by the Society of Motion Picture Engineers. Rosher retired
in 1955, except for occasional lectures and guest appearances at film
festivals. He settled down on a 1,600-acre plantation he had acquired
at Port Antonio on Jamaica, formerly owned by
Errol Flynn. He died in 1974 in
Portugal, after a fall, at the respectable age of 88.