Nicholas Musuraca,
A.S.C. (October 25, 1892 – September 3, 1975) was a
motion-picture
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
cinematographer best remembered for his work at
RKO Pictures in the 1940s, including many of
Val Lewton
Val Lewton (May 7, 1904 – March 14, 1951) was a Russian-American novelist, film producer and screenwriter best known for a string of low-budget horror films he produced for RKO Pictures in the 1940s. His son, also named Val Lewton, was a pain ...
's series of B-picture horror films.
Biography
Born in 1892, Nicola Musuraca left his home in Riace, province of Reggio di Calabria, Italy, and emigrated to the United States in 1907. He and his father, Cosimo Musuraca, boarded the Italian steamer ''Re d'Italia'' in July 1907, sailing from Naples on July 18 and arriving at the Port of New York on August 3, 1907. There, they were transferred to
Ellis Island
Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mil ...
with their fellow steerage passenger where they underwent federal immigrant inspection. Upon being admitted the father and son set out for
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
to join Cosimo's brother, Francesco.
He began his film career as the
chauffeur for
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...
producer
J. Stuart Blackton. He worked behind the scenes on numerous silent and
B-movie action films before becoming one of
RKO Radio Pictures
RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...
prime directors of photography in the 1930s. ''
Stranger on the Third Floor'' (1940) is sometimes considered the first film-noir.
While working regularly at RKO, he joined
Val Lewton
Val Lewton (May 7, 1904 – March 14, 1951) was a Russian-American novelist, film producer and screenwriter best known for a string of low-budget horror films he produced for RKO Pictures in the 1940s. His son, also named Val Lewton, was a pain ...
's unit making low-budget horror-films, being responsible for the cinematography of five of the films produced by Lewton's unit.
Musuraca collaborated with director
Jacques Tourneur
Jacques Tourneur (; November 12, 1904 – December 19, 1977) was a French film director known for the classic film noir ''Out of the Past'' and a series of low-budget horror films he made for RKO Studios, including ''Cat People (1942 film), Cat ...
on ''
Cat People'' (1942) and, after the end of Lewton's time at RKO, ''
Out of the Past
''Out of the Past'' (billed in the United Kingdom as ''Build My Gallows High'') is a 1947 film noir directed by Jacques Tourneur and starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, and Kirk Douglas. The film was adapted by Daniel Mainwaring (using the pse ...
'' (1947). He was nominated for a 1947
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
for his work on ''
I Remember Mama''. After working briefly at
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
in the late 1950s, Musuraca joined
Desilu
Desilu Productions () was an American television production company founded and co-owned by husband and wife Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. The company is best known for shows such as '' I Love Lucy'', ''The Lucy Show'', ''Mannix'', ''The Untouchab ...
, where he spent his last active years in TV work including the television series ''
F Troop
''F Troop'' is a satirical American television sitcom Western about U.S. soldiers and Native Americans in the Wild West during the 1860s that originally aired for two seasons on ABC. It debuted in the United States on September 14, 1965, and ...
''.
According to
Eric Schaefer:
:Nicholas Musuraca's name remains unjustly obscure among the ranks of cinematographers from Hollywood's golden age. In his prime years at RKO during the 1940s, Musuraca shuttled back and forth between A- and B-films, prestige pictures, and genre potboilers. For this reason, and because many of the motion pictures photographed by Musuraca have attained a classic or landmark status only recently, he remains a neglected master.
:Along with
Gregg Toland
Gregg Wesley Toland, A.S.C. (May 29, 1904 – September 28, 1948) was an American cinematographer known for his innovative use of techniques such as deep focus, examples of which can be found in his work on Orson Welles' ''Citizen Kane'' (19 ...
's work on ''
Citizen Kane'' (1941), Musuraca's cinematography for ''
Stranger on the Third Floor'' (1940) defined the visual conventions for the
film noir and codified the RKO look for the 1940s. Musuraca's photography begins and ends with shadows, owing a major debt to
German Expressionism
German Expressionism () consisted of several related creative movements in Germany before the First World War that reached a peak in Berlin during the 1920s. These developments were part of a larger Expressionist movement in north and central ...
, and can be seen as the leading factor in the resurrection of the style in Hollywood in the 1940s. The dominant tone in his work is black, a stylistic bias that lent itself to the
film noir and the moody
horror films of
Val Lewton
Val Lewton (May 7, 1904 – March 14, 1951) was a Russian-American novelist, film producer and screenwriter best known for a string of low-budget horror films he produced for RKO Pictures in the 1940s. His son, also named Val Lewton, was a pain ...
.
:But even within the confines of the studio system Musuraca succeeded in transposing his style to other genres. The western ''
Blood on the Moon'' (1948) and
George Stevens
George Cooper Stevens (December 18, 1904 – March 8, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer.Obituary '' Variety'', March 12, 1975, page 79. Films he produced were nominated for the Academy Award for ...
's nostalgic family drama ''
I Remember Mama'' (1948) are both infused with the same shadowy visuals that Musuraca brought to the horror film in ''
Cat People'' (1942) and the
film noir in ''
The Locket The Locket may refer to:
*The Locket (1946 film), an American film directed by John Brahm
* ''The Locket'' (1970 film), a Spanish film directed by Rafael Gil
* ''The Locket'' (2002 film), an American television film directed by Karen Arthur
* "The L ...
'' (1946). Through the conventions of varying genres and the differing requirements of numerous directors, Musuraca maintained a uniform personal aesthetic".
Selected filmography
* ''
The Glorious Adventure'' (1922)
* ''
A Gipsy Cavalier
''A Gipsy Cavalier'' is a 1922 British historical drama film directed by J. Stuart Blackton and starring Georges Carpentier, Flora le Breton and Rex McDougall. It was one of three films made in Britain during the early 1920s by the British-born ...
'' (1922)
* ''
The Virgin Queen'' (1923)
* ''
On the Banks of the Wabash
"On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" was among the best-selling songs of the 19th century, earning over $100,000 from sheet-music revenues. Written and composed by American songwriter Paul Dresser, it was published by the Tin Pan Alley f ...
'' (1923)
* ''
Bride of the Storm'' (1926)
* ''
His New York Wife'' (1926)
* ''
Shameful Behavior?'' (1926)
* ''
The Passionate Quest'' (1926)
* ''
The Sonora Kid'' (1927)
* ''
South Sea Love'' (1927)
* ''
Lightning Lariats
''Lightning Lariats'' is a 1927 American silent film, silent Western (genre), Western film directed by Robert De Lacey and starring Tom Tyler, Dorothy Dunbar and Frankie Darro.
Plot
Following a revolution in his Balkan country, King Alexis esca ...
'' (1927)
* ''
Tom's Gang
''Tom's Gang'' is a 1927 American silent Western film directed by Robert De Lacey and starring Tom Tyler, Sharon Lynn and Frankie Darro.Langman, p. 459
Cast
* Tom Tyler as Dave Collins
* Sharon Lynn as Lucille Rogers
* Frankie Darro as Sp ...
'' (1927)
* ''
The Desert Pirate
''The Desert Pirate'' is a 1927 American silent Western film directed by James Dugan and starring Tom Tyler, Frankie Darro and Duane Thompson.Katchmerp.967
Cast
* Tom Tyler as Tom Corrigan
* Frankie Darro as Jimmy Rand
* Duane Thompson as A ...
'' (1927)
* ''
The Cherokee Kid
''The Cherokee Kid'' is a 1996 American Television film, made for television Western (genre), western film directed by Paris Barclay for HBO. The film's stars were Sinbad (entertainer), Sinbad, James Coburn, Burt Reynolds, Gregory Hines, A Mart ...
'' (1927)
* ''
Splitting the Breeze'' (1927)
* ''
When the Law Rides
''When the Law Rides'' is a 1928 American silent Western film directed by Robert De Lacey and starring Tom Tyler, Jane Reid and Frankie Darro.Langman, p. 504
Cast
* Tom Tyler as Tom O'Malley
* Jane Reid as Becky Ross
* Frankie Darro as Fra ...
'' (1928)
* ''
Phantom of the Range'' (1928)
* ''
Dog Justice'' (1928)
* ''
Fangs of the Wild'' (1928)
* ''
The Avenging Rider
''The Avenging Rider'' is a 1943 American Western film directed by Sam Nelson and starring Tim Holt
Charles John "Tim" Holt III (February 5, 1919 – February 15, 1973) was an American actor. He was a popular Western star during the 1940 ...
'' (1928)
*''
The Charge of the Gauchos'' (1928)
* ''
Rough Ridin' Red'' (1928)
*''
Orphan of the Sage'' (1928)
* ''
Red Riders of Canada
''Red Riders of Canada'' is a 1928 American silent Western film directed by Robert De Lacey and starring Patsy Ruth Miller, Rex Lease and Harry Woods.Munden, p. 641
Cast
* Patsy Ruth Miller as Joan Duval
* Charles Byer as RCMP Sergeant B ...
'' (1928)
* ''
Idaho Red'' (1929)
* ''
The Pride of Pawnee
''The Pride of Pawnee'' is a 1929 American silent Western film directed by Robert De Lacey and starring Tom Tyler, Ethlyne Clair and Barney Furey.Darby p.399
Cast
* Tom Tyler as Kirk Stockton
* Ethlyne Clair as Madge Wilson
* Barney Furey ...
'' (1929)
* ''
The Red Sword
''The Red Sword'' is a 1929 American silent adventure film directed by Robert G. Vignola and starring William Collier Jr., Marian Nixon and Carmel Myers. The film was produced and distributed by FBO Pictures, shortly before it was taken over b ...
'' (1929)
*''
The Freckled Rascal
''The Freckled Rascal'' is a 1929 American silent Western film directed by Louis King and starring Buzz Barton, Milburn Morante and Lotus Thompson.
Cast
* Buzz Barton as Red Hepner
* Milburn Morante as Hank Robbins
* Thomas G. Lingham as ...
'' (1929)
* ''
'' (1929)
* ''
The Cuckoos'' (1930)
* ''
Half Shot at Sunrise
''Half Shot at Sunrise'' is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy film starring the comedy duo Wheeler & Woolsey and Dorothy Lee. Their fourth film together, it was the second starring vehicle for the two, following the success of '' The Cuckoos'', w ...
'' (1930)
* ''
Cracked Nuts'' (1931)
* ''
Smart Woman'' (1931)
* ''
Headline Shooter
''Headline Shooter'' is a 1933 American pre-Code drama about the life of a newsreel photographer. Director Otto Brower intertwined the screenplay written by Agnes Christine Johnston, Allen Rivkin, and Arthur Kober, with actual newsreel footage ...
'' (1933)
* ''
Long Lost Father'' (1934)
* ''
Where Sinners Meet
''Where Sinners Meet'' is a 1934 American pre-Code romantic comedy film directed by J. Walter Ruben and starring Diana Wynyard, Clive Brook and Billie Burke. It was adapted by writer Henry William Hanemann from Clara Beranger's 1927 movie ''The L ...
'' (1934)
* ''
Romance in Manhattan'' (1935)
* ''
Border Cafe'' (1937)
* ''
Night Spot'' (1938)
* ''
Five Came Back
''Five Came Back'' is a 1939 American black-and-white melodrama from RKO Radio Pictures produced by Robert Sisk, directed by John Farrow, written by Jerry Cady, Dalton Trumbo, and Nathanael West, and starring Chester Morris and Lucille Ball. ...
'' (1939)
* ''
Sorority House'' (1939)
* ''
Golden Boy'' (1939, with
Karl Freund)
* ''
Stranger on the Third Floor'' (1940)
* ''
Tom Brown's School Days
''Tom Brown's School Days'' (sometimes written ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'', also published under the titles ''Tom Brown at Rugby'', ''School Days at Rugby'', and ''Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby'') is an 1857 novel by Thomas Hughes. The stor ...
'' (1940)
* ''
Little Men
''Little Men,'' or ''Life at Plumfield with Jo's Boys,'' is a children's novel by American author Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888), which was first published in 1871 by Roberts Brothers. The book reprises characters from her 1868–69 two-volume ...
'' (1940)
* ''
The Gay Falcon
''The Gay Falcon'' is a 1941 B film, the first in a series of 16 films about a suave detective nicknamed The Falcon. Intended to replace the earlier The Saint detective series, the first film took its title from the lead character, Gay Laurenc ...
'' (1941)
* ''
The Tuttles of Tahiti
''The Tuttles of Tahiti'' is a 1942 American adventure comedy romance film directed by Charles Vidor and starring Charles Laughton and Jon Hall. It was based on the novel ''No More Gas'' by James Norman Hall and Charles Nordhoff.
Plot
When mer ...
'' (1942)
* ''
Cat People'' (1942)
* ''
The Seventh Victim
''The Seventh Victim'' is a 1943 American horror film noir directed by Mark Robson and starring Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Isabel Jewell, Kim Hunter, and Hugh Beaumont. Written by DeWitt Bodeen and Charles O'Neal, and produced by Val Lewton f ...
'' (1943)
* ''
Forever and a Day'' (1943)
* ''
The Ghost Ship'' (1943)
* ''
Gangway for Tomorrow
Broadly speaking, a gangway is a passageway through which to enter or leave. Gangway may refer specifically refer to:
Passageways
* Gangway (nautical), a passage between the quarterdeck and the forecastle of a ship, and by extension, a passage th ...
'' (1943)
* ''
The Girl Rush
''The Girl Rush'' is a 1955 American musical comedy film starring Rosalind Russell, filmed in Technicolor and VistaVision, and released by Paramount Pictures. '' (1944)
* ''
The Curse of the Cat People
''The Curse of the Cat People'' is a 1944 American psychological fantasy thriller filmEggert, Brian (October 22, 2017)"The Curse of the Cat People" Deep Focus Review. Retrieved 2019-03-16. directed by Gunther von Fritsch and Robert Wise, produce ...
'' (1944)
* ''
China Sky'' (1945)
* ''
Back to Bataan
''Back to Bataan'' is a 1945 American black-and-white World War II war film drama from RKO Radio Pictures, produced by Robert Fellows, directed by Edward Dmytryk, that stars John Wayne and Anthony Quinn. The film depicts events (some fictionalize ...
'' (1945)
* ''
Bedlam'' (1946)
* ''
The Spiral Staircase'' (1946)
* ''
Deadline at Dawn
''Deadline at Dawn'' is a 1946 American film noir, the only film directed by stage director Harold Clurman. It was written by Clifford Odets and based on a novel of the same name by Cornell Woolrich (as William Irish). The RKO Pictures film rele ...
'' (1946)
* ''
The Locket The Locket may refer to:
*The Locket (1946 film), an American film directed by John Brahm
* ''The Locket'' (1970 film), a Spanish film directed by Rafael Gil
* ''The Locket'' (2002 film), an American television film directed by Karen Arthur
* "The L ...
'' (1946)
* ''
Out of the Past
''Out of the Past'' (billed in the United Kingdom as ''Build My Gallows High'') is a 1947 film noir directed by Jacques Tourneur and starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, and Kirk Douglas. The film was adapted by Daniel Mainwaring (using the pse ...
'' (1947)
* ''
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
''The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer'' (released as ''Bachelor Knight'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1947 American screwball romantic comedy-drama film directed by Irving Reis and written by Sidney Sheldon. The film stars Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, a ...
'' (1947)
* ''
I Remember Mama'' (1948)
* ''
Blood on the Moon'' (1948)
* ''
I Married a Communist
''I Married a Communist'' is a Philip Roth novel concerning the rise and fall of Ira Ringold, known as "Iron Rinn." The story is narrated by Nathan Zuckerman, and is one of a trio of Zuckerman novels Roth wrote in the 1990s depicting the postwar ...
'' (1949)
* ''
Where Danger Lives
''Where Danger Lives'' is a 1950 film noir thriller directed by John Farrow and starring Robert Mitchum, Faith Domergue and Claude Rains.
Plot
Dr. Jeff Cameron (Mitchum) treats a mentally disturbed attempted suicide victim (Domergue). She signs ...
'' (1950)
* ''
Born to Be Bad'' (1950)
* ''
Hunt the Man Down
''Hunt the Man Down'' is a 1951 American crime film directed by George Archainbaud and starring Gig Young.
Plot
Public defender Paul Bennett dedicates himself to defending a destitute man accused of murder. Piano player Richard Kincaid was broug ...
'' (1950)
* ''
The Whip Hand
''The Whip Hand'' is a 1951 American film directed by William Cameron Menzies and starring Carla Balenda and Elliott Reid.
Plot
Journalist Matt Corbin (Elliott Reid) is traveling through Wisconsin on a fishing trip and comes across a nearly d ...
'' (1951)
* ''
A Girl in Every Port'' (1952)
* ''
Roadblock
A roadblock is a temporary installation set up to control or block traffic along a road. The reasons for one could be:
*Roadworks
*Temporary road closure during special events
*Police chase
*Robbery
* Sobriety checkpoint
In peaceful circumstances ...
'' (1951)
* ''
Clash by Night
''Clash by Night'' is a 1952 American film noir drama directed by Fritz Lang and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Paul Douglas, Robert Ryan, Marilyn Monroe and Keith Andes. The film is based on the 1941 play by Clifford Odets, adapted for the scre ...
'' (1952)
* ''
Split Second'' (1953)
* ''
Devil's Canyon'' (1953)
* ''
The Hitch-Hiker'' (1953)
* ''
The Blue Gardenia
''The Blue Gardenia'' is a 1953 American film noir directed by Fritz Lang from a screenplay by Charles Hoffman, based on the novella ''The Gardenia'' by Vera Caspary. The film stars Anne Baxter, Richard Conte, and Ann Sothern. An independent p ...
'' (1953)
* ''
Susan Slept Here'' (1954)
* ''
Man on the Prowl'' (1957)
* ''
The Story of Mankind
''The Story of Mankind'' is a book written and illustrated by Dutch-American journalist, professor, and author Hendrik Willem van Loon. It was published in 1921. In 1922, it was awarded the Newbery Medal for an outstanding contribution to children ...
'' (1957)
* ''
Too Much, Too Soon
''Too Much, Too Soon'' is a 1958 biographical film about Diana Barrymore produced by Warner Bros. It was directed by Art Napoleon and produced by Henry Blanke from a screenplay by Art Napoleon and Jo Napoleon, based on the autobiography by Dian ...
'' (1958)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Musuraca, Nicholas
1892 births
1975 deaths
Italian cinematographers