Michel Kelber (9 April 1908 – 23 October 1996) was a French
cinematographer
The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
. Beginning in the late 1920s, he worked on more than a hundred film productions during a lengthy career. Born in
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
, then part of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
, he studied
art
Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas.
There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
and
architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...
in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. He started worked as an assistant cameraman in 1928, before progressing to cinematographer four years later. He worked with leading directors such as
Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent film, silent era to the end of the 1960s. ...
,
René Clair
René Clair (11 November 1898 – 15 March 1981), born René-Lucien Chomette, was a French filmmaker and writer. He first established his reputation in the 1920s as a director of silent films in which comedy was often mingled with fantasy. He wen ...
,
Julien Duvivier
Julien Duvivier (; 8 October 1896 – 29 October 1967) was a French film director and screenwriter. He was prominent in French cinema in the years 1930–1960. Amongst his most original films, chiefly notable are ''La Bandera (film), La Bandera'', ...
and
Claude Autant-Lara
Claude Autant-Lara (; 5 August 1901 – 5 February 2000) was a French film director and later Member of the European Parliament (MEP).
Biography
Born at Luzarches in Val-d'Oise, Autant-Lara was educated in France and at London's Mill Hill Sc ...
.Langman p.68 He also worked for periods in Spain, including during the wartime
German occupation of France
The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...
.
Selected filmography
* ''
The Concierge's Daughters
''The Concierge's Daughters'' (French: ''Les filles de la concierge'') is a 1934 French comedy film directed by Jacques Tourneur and starring Jeanne Cheirel, Paul Azaïs and Josette Day.Waldman p.135
The film's sets were designed by the art di ...
'' (1934)
* ''
Gold in the Street
''Gold in the Street'' (French: ''L'Or dans la rue'' ) is a 1934 French comedy film directed by Curtis Bernhardt, written by Henry Koster and Henri Decoin, and starring Danielle Darrieux.The A to Z of French Cinema p.119
The film's sets were desi ...
Baccara
Baccara was a female vocal duo formed in 1977 by Spanish artists Mayte Mateos (born 7 February 1951) and María Mendiola (4 April 1952 – 11 September 2021). The duo rapidly achieved international success with their debut single "Yes Sir, I Ca ...
Adventure in Paris
''Adventure in Paris'' (French: ''Aventure à Paris'') is a 1936 French comedy film directed by Marc Allégret and starring Jules Berry, Lucien Baroux and Danièle Parola.Parish p.35
The film's sets were designed by the art director Eugène Lou ...
'' (1936)
* ''
Forty Little Mothers
''Forty Little Mothers'' is a 1940 American comedy-drama film directed by Busby Berkeley and starring Eddie Cantor.
Plot
Out-of-work professor Gilbert Jordan Thompson stops a suicidal stranger named Marian Edwards from jumping off a pier and he ...
Life Dances On
''Life Dances On'' or ''Christine'' or ''Dance Program'' (French: ''Un carnet de bal'') is a 1937 French drama film directed by Julien Duvivier and starring Marie Bell, Françoise Rosay and Louis Jouvet. It was partly shot at the Neuilly Studio ...
'' (1937)
* ''
The Courier of Lyon
''The Courier of Lyon'' (French: ''L'affaire du courrier de Lyon'') is a 1937 French historical drama film directed by Claude Autant-Lara and Maurice Lehmann and starring Pierre Blanchar, Dita Parlo and Jacques Copeau.The A to Z of French Cinema p ...
'' (1937)
* ''
I Was an Adventuress
''I Was an Adventuress'' is a 1940 American drama film directed by Gregory Ratoff, starring Vera Zorina, Richard Greene, Erich von Stroheim, and Peter Lorre. Actress/ballerina Countess Tanya Vronsky (Vera Zorina) works as decoy for two internati ...
'' (1938)
* ''
Rasputin
Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin (; rus, links=no, Григорий Ефимович Распутин ; – ) was a Russian mystic and self-proclaimed holy man who befriended the family of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, thus ga ...
Girls in Distress
''Girls in Distress'' (french: Jeunes filles en détresse) is a 1939 French drama film directed by G. W. Pabst and starring Marcelle Chantal, Micheline Presle and André Lugue.Rentschler p.282
The film's sets were designed by the art director ...
Savage Brigade
''Savage Brigade'' (French: ''La Brigade sauvage'') is a 1939 French drama film directed by Marcel L'Herbier and starring Véra Korène, Charles Vanel and Florence Marly. The film was completed by Jean Dréville.The White Slave'' (1939)
* '' Thunder Over Paris'' (1940)
* ''
Goyescas
''Goyescas'', Op. 11, subtitled ''Los majos enamorados'' (''The Gallants in Love''), is a piano suite written in 1911 by Spanish composer Enrique Granados. It was inspired by the work of the Spanish artist Francisco Goya. The piano pieces have no ...
'' (1942)
* ''
Intrigue
Intrigue may refer to:
TV and film
* ''Intrigue'' (1920 film), a 1920 German silent drama film
* ''Intrigue'' (1942 film), a Spanish film
* ''Intrigue'' (1947 film), 1947 film directed by Edwin L. Marin
* ''The Intrigue'', 1916 silent film dra ...
House of Cards
A house of cards (also known as a card tower or card castle) is a structure created by stacking playing cards on top of each other, often in the shape of a pyramid. "House of cards" is also an Expression (language), expression that dates back to ...
The Phantom and Dona Juanita
''The Phantom and Dona Juanita'' (Spanish:''El fantasma y Doña Juanita'') is a 1945 Spanish comedy film directed by Rafael Gil and starring Antonio Casal, Mary Delgado and Juan Espantaleón.de España p.119
The film's sets were designed by Enriqu ...
'' (1945)
* ''
Bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...
'' (1945)
* ''
White Mission
''White Mission'' (Spanish: ''Misión blanca'') is a 1946 Spanish drama film directed by Juan de Orduña and starring Manuel Luna, Jorge Mistral and Fernando Rey. The film was shot on location in Spanish GuineaBentley, Bernard. ''A Companion to ...
'' (1946)
* ''
Ruy Blas
''Ruy Blas'' is a tragic drama by Victor Hugo. It was the first play presented at the Théâtre de la Renaissance and opened on November 8, 1838. Though considered by many to be Hugo’s best drama, the play was initially met with only average ...
'' (1948)
* ''
Les Parents terribles
''Les Parents terribles'' is a 1938 French play written by Jean Cocteau. Despite initial problems with censorship, it was revived on the French stage several times after its original production, and in 1948 a film adaptation directed by Cocteau ...
The Straw Lover
''The Straw Lover'' (French: ''L'Amant de paille'') is a 1951 French comedy film directed by Gilles Grangier and starring Jean-Pierre Aumont, Gaby Sylvia and Alfred Adam. Louis de Funès plays a psychiatrist. The film based on Georges Feydeau's ...
'' (1951)
* ''
The Great Galeoto
''The Great Galeoto'' (Spanish: ''El gran Galeoto'') is a 1951 Spanish drama film directed by Rafael Gil and starring Ana Mariscal and Rafael Durán.de España p.119
Synopsis
Ernesto is a young musician who, when his father dies, is forced to ...
'' (1951)
* ''
Love and Desire
''Love and Desire'' (French: ''Le désir et l'amour'') is a 1951 French-Spanish drama film directed by Henri Decoin and Luis María Delgado and starring Martine Carol, Antonio Vilar and Carmen Sevilla. It was based on the 1929 novel of the same ti ...
'' (1951)
* ''
Our Lady of Fatima
Our or OUR may refer to:
* The possessive form of " we"
* Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany
* Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium
* Our, Jura, a commune in France
* Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a government utility regulato ...
'' (1951)
* ''
From Madrid to Heaven
''From Madrid to Heaven'' ( es, De Madrid al cielo, links=no) is a 1952 Spanish musical comedy film directed by Rafael Gil and starring María de los Ángeles Morales, Gustavo Rojo and Manolo Morán.Bentley p.118 It is set in early 20th-century Mad ...
'' (1952)
* ''
Lovers of Toledo
''Lovers of Toledo'' (french: Les amants de Tolède) is a 1953 historical film directed by Henri Decoin and Fernando Palacios and starring Alida Valli, Pedro Armendáriz and Françoise Arnoul. It was a co-production between France, Italy and Sp ...
'' (1953)
* ''
The Lovers of Midnight
''Lovers of Midnight''
(French: ''Les Amants de minuit'') is a 1953 French drama film directed by Roger Richebé and starring Dany Robin, Jean Marais and Louis Seigner.Nobody Will Know
''Nobody Will Know'' (Spanish: ''Nadie lo sabrá'') is a 1953 Spanish comedy film directed by Ramón Torrado and starring Fernando Fernán Gómez, Julia Martínez and Julia Caba Alba.García p.105 Complications ensue when a modest bank clerk becom ...
'' (1953)
* ''
The Beautiful Otero
''The Beautiful Otero'' (French: ''La belle Otero'', Italian: ''La bella Otero'') is a 1954 French-Italian historical drama film directed by Richard Pottier and starring María Félix, Jacques Berthier and Louis Seigner.The Biopic in Contempora ...
'' (1954)
* ''
The Red and the Black
''Le Rouge et le Noir'' (; meaning ''The Red and the Black'') is a historical psychological novel in two volumes by Stendhal, published in 1830. It chronicles the attempts of a provincial young man to rise socially beyond his modest upbringing t ...
'' (1954)
* ''
French Cancan
''French Cancan'' (also known as ''Only the French Can'') is a 1955 French-Italian musical film written and directed by Jean Renoir and starring Jean Gabin and Francoise Arnoul.
Where Renoir's previous film ''Le Carosse d’or'' had celebrated ...
'' (1955)
* ''
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (french: Notre-Dame de Paris, translation=''Our Lady of Paris'', originally titled ''Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482'') is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. It focuses on the unfortunate story o ...
'' (1956)
* ''
Calle Mayor
''Main Street'' ( es, Calle Mayor) is a 1956 Spanish drama film directed by Juan Antonio Bardem starring Betsy Blair and José Suárez. It is based on a Carlos Arniches play titled '' La señorita de Trévelez''. Shooting locations were Palencia ...
Magnificent Sinner
''Magnificent Sinner'' (original French title: ''Katia'') is a 1959 French film by director Robert Siodmak about the romance between Tsar Alexander II of Russia and the then-schoolgirl Catherine Dolgorukov, who later became his mistress and final ...
'' (1959)
* ''
College Boarding House
''College Boarding House'' (Spanish: ''La casa de la Troya'') is a 1959 Spanish comedy film directed by Rafael Gil and starring Ana Esmeralda, Arturo Fernández and Pepe Rubio.Bentley p.142
Cast
* Ana Esmeralda as Carmiña Castro
* Arturo F ...
'' (1959)
* ''
John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...
'' (1959)
* ''
Litri and His Shadow
''Litri and His Shadow'' (Spanish:''El Litri y su sombra'') is a 1960 Spanish drama film directed by Rafael Gil and starring Miguel Báez Espuny "El Litri", Katia Loritz and Ismael Merlo.Bentley p.142 It is set in the world of bullfighting.
Cast
* ...
A View from the Bridge
''A View from the Bridge'' is a play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was first staged on September 29, 1955, as a one-act verse drama with ''A Memory of Two Mondays'' at the Coronet Theatre on Broadway. The run was unsuccessful, and M ...
'' (1962)
* ''
In the French Style
''In the French Style'' is a 1963 French-American romance film released by Columbia Pictures directed by Robert Parrish and stars Jean Seberg, Stanley Baker and Philippe Forquet. It was based on a short story by Irwin Shaw.
Plot
The young Americ ...
'' (1963)
* ''
Mata Hari, Agent H21
''Mata Hari, Agent H21'' (Italian:''Mata-Hari, agente segreto H21'') is a 1964 French-Italian spy film directed by Jean-Louis Richard and starring Jeanne Moreau, Jean-Louis Trintignant and Claude Rich.Craig p.74 It portrays the activities of the F ...
'' (1964)
* ''
Nights of Farewell
''Nights of Farewell'' (russian: Третья молодость) is a 1965 Soviet-French drama film directed by Isaak Menaker and Jean Dréville.
Plot
The film tells about the young dancer Marius Petipa, who is invited to St. Petersburg, which ...
'' (1965)
* ''
A Woman in White
''A Woman in White'' (French: ''Le Journal d'une femme en blanc'') is a 1965 French-Italian drama film directed by Claude Autant-Lara and starring Marie-José Nat, Jean Valmont and Claude Gensac. It was written by Jean Aurenche and André Soubir ...
'' (1965)
* ''
Johnny Banco
''Johnny Banco'' is a 1967 comedy crime film directed by Yves Allégret and starring Horst Buchholz, Sylva Koscina and Michel de Ré.Bock & Bergfelder p.67 It was made as a co-production between France, Italy and West Germany.
It was shot at the ...
'' (1967)
* ''
The Story of a Three-Day Pass
''The Story of a Three-Day Pass'' (French title: ') is a 1967 film written and directed by Melvin Van Peebles, based on his French-language novel '. It stars Harry Baird as a black American soldier who is demoted for fraternizing with a white sho ...
'' (1968)
* ''
Blood in the Bullring
''Blood in the Bullring'' (Spanish:''Sangre en el ruedo'') is a 1969 Spanish drama film directed by Rafael Gil and starring Alberto Closas, Ángel Teruel and Francisco Rabal.Bentley p.169
Synopsis
The son of a famous bullfighter tries to solve an ...
'' (1969)
References
Bibliography
* Larry Langman. ''Destination Hollywood: The Influence of Europeans on American Filmmaking''. McFarland, 2000.