Homer A. Scott (October 1, 1880 – December 23, 1956) was a founding member of the
American Society of Cinematographers
The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), founded in Hollywood in 1919, is a cultural, educational, and professional organization that is neither a labor union nor a guild. The society was organized to advance the science and art of cinem ...
(A.S.C.) and was their president from 1925-1926. He was also a member and director of its predecessor organization, The Static Club of America.
Mexican Revolution
![BattleOfNacoFilm](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/BattleOfNacoFilm.jpg)
Little is known of Homer Scott's early work before 1911-1912, when he made several trips from El Paso, Texas into Mexico to photograph and film both sides of the
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...
. His war photographs were syndicated by Newspaper Enterprise Association, and he also furnished images for the ''
New York Herald
The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the ''New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''.
His ...
'', ''
Collier's
''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Collie ...
'', and ''
Leslie's Weekly
''Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper'', later renamed ''Leslie's Weekly'', was an American illustrated literary and news magazine founded in 1855 and published until 1922. It was one of several magazines started by publisher and illustrator Frank ...
''. During one trip, Scott was arrested and nearly executed as a spy. His work is in major collections including the
Getty Images
Getty Images Holdings, Inc. is an American visual media company and is a supplier of stock images, editorial photography, video and music for business and consumers, with a library of over 477 million assets. It targets three markets— creative ...
and was included in an exhibition titled "Mexico: Photography and Revolution" in 2011 in
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
.
He also worked as a staff photographer for the ''El Paso Herald''. In August 1912, Scott traveled to Buffalo, NY, to attend the funeral of his father, William W. Scott, then returned to El Paso.
Early movies
News items from December 1913 indicate Scott was filming with
Buck Connors
Buck Connors (November 22, 1880 – February 4, 1947) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1912 and 1941. He is the son of William L Conner and Leah Bowen. He was born in Streator, La Salle County, Illinois,Ariz ...
at
Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Named in honor of William Wallace Smith Bliss, LTC William Bliss (1815–1853), a mathematics professor who was the son-in-law of President ...
, Texas for the newly formed
Albuquerque Film Company Perhaps the film was ''The First Law of Nature'', a 3-reel film with
Dot Farley
Dorothea "Dot" Farley (February 6, 1881 – May 2, 1971) was an American film actress who appeared in 280 motion pictures between 1910 and 1950. She was also known as Dorothy Farley.
Biography
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Dorothea Farley was t ...
and Buck Connors which was the Albuquerque Company's first release. Scott's first known cinematography work in Southern California was ''The Key to Yesterday'' for
Carlyle Blackwell
Carlyle Blackwell (January 20, 1884 – June 17, 1955) was an American silent film actor, director and producer.
Early years
Blackwell was born in Troy, Pennsylvania. He studied at Cornell University before J. Stewart Blackton discovered him an ...
's Favorite Players Film Company in 1914. Scott filmed the four features produced by that company before the company folded in 1915.
For three years Homer Scott was closely associated with director
William Desmond Taylor
William Desmond Taylor (born William Cunningham Deane-Tanner, 26 April 1872 – 1 February 1922) was an Anglo-Irish-American film director and actor. A popular figure in the growing Hollywood motion picture colony of the 1910s and early 1920s, ...
. Scott and Taylor both went from Favorite Players, to
American Film
The cinema of the United States, consisting mainly of major film studios (also known as Hollywood) along with some independent film, has had a large effect on the global film industry since the early 20th century. The dominant style of Ame ...
, to Pallas-Morosco, to
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
, and back to Pallas-Morosco (which had been absorbed by
Famous Players-Lasky
Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company—originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays—and t ...
). Their collaboration lasted from 1915-1918.
Scott freelanced for several years, and in 1920 filmed noted underwater scenes in
Annette Kellerman
Annette Marie Sarah Kellermann (6 July 1887 – 6 November 1975) was an Australian professional swimmer, vaudeville star, film actress, and writer.
Kellermann was one of the first women to wear a one-piece bathing costume, instead of the then ...
's ''What Women Love'' (1920) and
Maurice Tourneur Maurice may refer to:
People
*Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr
*Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor
*Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and Lo ...
's ''Deep Waters'' (1920).
In 1921
Mack Sennett
Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'.
Born in Danville, Quebec, in 1880, he started in films in the ...
hired Scott as cameraman for
Mabel Normand
Amabel Ethelreid Normand (November 9, 1893 – February 23, 1930), better known as Mabel Normand, was an American silent film actress, screenwriter, director, and producer. She was a popular star and collaborator of Mack Sennett in their K ...
, and Scott filmed her features ''
Molly O
''Molly O'' is a 1921 American silent comedy film starring Mabel Normand and directed by F. Richard Jones.
Cast
* Mabel Normand as Molly O'
* George Nichols as Tim O'Dair
*Anna Dodge as Mrs. Tim O'Dair (as Anna Hernandez)
*Albert Hackett as ...
'' (1921), ''
Suzanna'' (1923), and ''
The Extra Girl
''The Extra Girl'' is a 1923 American silent comedy film directed by F. Richard Jones and starring Mabel Normand. '' (1923), plus other features for Sennett.
Shooting for the Warner Bros.
In 1923 Scott filmed ''Little Church Around the Corner'', ''
Main Street'', and ''
Where the North Begins
''Where the North Begins'' is a 1923 American silent drama film produced and distributed by Warner Bros. This was the third film for up-and-coming canine actor Rin Tin Tin. The film survives today and lapsed into the public domain on January 1 ...
'' for
Warner Brothers
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...
.
Later life
Scott's name has not been found in the credits of feature films after 1923, but trade publications and publicity items indicate he did camerawork for ''
The Lost World
The lost world is a subgenre of the fantasy or science fiction genres that involves the discovery of an unknown Earth civilization. It began as a subgenre of the late- Victorian adventure romance and remains popular into the 21st century.
The g ...
'' (1925), ''
Tiger Shark
The tiger shark (''Galeocerdo cuvier'') is a species of requiem shark and the last extant member of the family Galeocerdonidae. It is a large macropredator, capable of attaining a length over . Populations are found in many tropical and tempera ...
'' (1932), ''
Bird of Paradise'' (1932), and ''Below the Sea'' (1933).
Harold Lloyd
Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many silent comedy films.Obituary ''Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55.
One of the most influential film co ...
has indicated Scott worked for him as second cameraman.
Scott moved to a ranch near
Newcastle, California
Newcastle is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Placer County, California, Placer County, California. Nestled in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada foothills, Newcastle is located northeas ...
in the mid-1930s, and resided there until his death in
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
on December 23, 1956. He was buried at
East Lawn Memorial Park
East Lawn Memorial Park is a cemetery in East Sacramento, California. It is owned by East Lawn Memorial Parks & Mortuaries, which also owns two other Sacramento area cemeteries. Founded in 1904, it is the resting place of several former Mayo ...
.
Selected filmography
*''
Davy Crockett
David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier, and politician. He is often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Re ...
'' (1916)
*''
Big Timber'' (1917)
*''
The Light of Western Stars'' (1918)
*''
Main Street'' (1923)
*''
The Extra Girl
''The Extra Girl'' is a 1923 American silent comedy film directed by F. Richard Jones and starring Mabel Normand. '' (1923)
References
External links
*.
Photographersat the Getty Research Institute
Exhibit Honors Mexican Revolution’s Anonymous Heroes, ''Latin American Herald Tribune''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Homer
1880 births
1956 deaths
American cinematographers
American Society of Cinematographers
Photographers from New York City