Otto Heller, B.S.C. (8 March 1896 – 19 February 1970) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

cinematographer long resident in the United Kingdom. He worked on more than 250 films, including '' Richard III'' (1955), '' The Ladykillers'' (1955) and ''

Peeping Tom Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. Today, she is mainly re ...

'' (1960).

Life

Otto Heller was born in a Jewish family in Prague on 8 March 1896. As a teenager, he became a projectionist in the Lucerna cinema. During World War I, he worked in a film laboratory in Vienna. After the war, he started to work as a documentary cameraman at Pragafilm. During the 1920s, he was the most requested cinematographer in Czechoslovakia. Together with

Karel Lamač Karel Lamač (27 January 1897 – 2 August 1952) was a Czech film director, actor, screenwriter, producer and singer. He directed more than 100 films in Czechoslovakia, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Life Lam ...

Anny Ondra Anny Ondra (born Anna Sophie Ondráková; 15 May 1903 – 28 February 1987) was a Czech film actress. She began her career in 1920 and appeared in Czech, German, Austrian, French and English films. In 1933, she married German boxing champion M ...

and Václav Wasserman, he made many movies both for domestic and international audience. He often worked with

Svatopluk Innemann Svatopluk Innemann (18 February 1896 – 30 October 1945) was a Czech film director, cinematographer, screenwriter, film editor and actor. He was one of the pioneers of Czech cinema. Biography and works Innemann, was a son of the Czech director R ...

Martin Frič Martin Frič (29 March 1902 – 26 August 1968) was a Czech film director, screenwriter and actor. He had more than 100 directing credits between 1929 and 1968, including feature films, shorts and documentary films. Throughout his life, F ...

and Jan S. Kolár. Because of the rise of Nazism, he left Czechoslovakia in 1938 with Lamač. In an interview for the extra materials on the Blu-ray Disk version of

The Ipcress File ''The IPCRESS File'' is Len Deighton's first spy novel, published in 1962. The story involves Cold War brainwashing, includes scenes in Lebanon and on an atoll for a United States atomic weapon test, as well as information about Joe One, the ...

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...

recollects how Otto Heller told the story of leaving

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

in 1939. His camera crew were all Germans and they kept telling him to leave but he did not believe he neeeded to go and he would refuse, saying they were having a great time doing movies. Then one day his camera operator came dressed in an SS uniform and told to him that he has joined the SS and urged Heller to go "now". Heller told Michael Caine that he "went to the toilet, went out through the toilet window and I never stoppped running till I got to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

". He became a British citizen in 1945. Heller continued to live and make movies in UK until his death. He died in London on 19 February 1970.

Selected filmography

* '' The Arrival from the Darkness'' (1921) * '' The Poisoned Light'' (1921) * '' The Cross by the Brook'' (1921) * '' White Paradise'' (1924) * '' The Lantern'' (1925) * '' The Countess from Podskalí'' (1926) * ''

The Kreutzer Sonata ''The Kreutzer Sonata'' (russian: Крейцерова соната, ) is a novella by Leo Tolstoy, named after Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata. The novella was published in 1889, and was promptly censored by the Russian authorities. The work is a ...

'' (1927) * '' Suzy Saxophone'' (1928) * '' Eve's Daughters'' (1928) * ''

Sinful and Sweet ''Sinful and Sweet'' (German: ''Sündig und süß'') is a 1929 German silent comedy film directed by Carl Lamac and starring Anny Ondra, Toni Tetzlaff and Paul Rehkopf.Bock & Bergfelder p.258 The film's sets were designed by Heinrich Richter. ...

'' (1929) * '' Street Acquaintances'' (1929) * ''

The Girl with the Whip ''The Girl with the Whip'' (German: ''Das Mädel mit der Peitsche'') is a 1929 German silent comedy film directed by Carl Lamac and starring Anny Ondra, Werner Fuetterer and Sig Arno.Prawer p.123 It was shot at the Johannisthal Studios in Berl ...

'' (1929) * '' Sin of a Beautiful Woman'' (1929) * '' Prague Seamstresses'' (1929) * '' The Caviar Princess'' (1930) * '' The Cabinet of Doctor Larifari'' (1930) * '' Fairground People'' (1930) * '' St. Wenceslas'' (1930) * '' The Typist'' (1931) * ''

Die Fledermaus ' (, ''The Flittermouse'' or ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874. Background The original li ...

'' (1931) * '' The Private Secretary'' (1931) * '' Mamsell Nitouche'' (1932) * '' The Ringer'' (1932) * '' Kiki'' (1932) * '' A Night in Paradise'' (1932) * ''

The Love Hotel ''The Love Hotel'' (german: Das verliebte Hotel) is a 1933 German comedy film directed by Carl Lamac and starring Anny Ondra, Mathias Wieman and Peter Voß.Bock & Bergfelder p. 348 It was shot at the Bavaria Studios in Munich. The film's sets we ...

'' (1933) * '' Daughter of the Regiment'' (1933) * '' Public Not Admitted'' (1933) * '' Polish Blood'' (1934) * '' The Switched Bride'' (1934) * ''

Little Dorrit ''Little Dorrit'' is a novel by Charles Dickens, originally published in serial form between 1855 and 1857. The story features Amy Dorrit, youngest child of her family, born and raised in the Marshalsea prison for debtors in London. Arthur Cl ...

'' (1934) * '' A Woman Who Knows What She Wants'' (1934) * '' The Young Count'' (1935) * '' Raging Barbora'' (1935) * '' Knockout'' (1935) * '' Dreams Come True'' (1936) * '' Tomorrow We Live'' (1936) * '' Secret Lives'' (1937) * ''

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...

'' (1940) * '' Gaiety George'' (1946) * '' They Made Me a Fugitive'' (1947) * '' Golden Arrow'' (1949) * '' The Queen of Spades'' (1949) * '' I'll Get You for This'' (1951) * ''

The Rainbow Jacket ''The Rainbow Jacket'' is a 1954 British drama film directed by Basil Dearden, and featuring Robert Morley, Kay Walsh, Bill Owen, Honor Blackman and Sid James. It was made at Ealing Studios produced by Michael Balcon and Michael Relph and sho ...

'' (1954) * '' The Divided Heart'' (1954) * '' The Ladykillers'' (1955) * '' Richard III'' (1955) * '' The Vicious Circle'' (1957) * '' The Silent Enemy'' (1958) * ''

'' (1960) * ''

Victim Victim(s) or The Victim may refer to: People * Crime victim * Victim, in psychotherapy, a posited role in the Karpman drama triangle model of transactional analysis Films and television * ''The Victim'' (1916 film), an American silent film by ...

'' (1961) * '' Light in the Piazza'' (1962) * ''

The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb ''The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb'' is a 1964 British horror film produced, written and directed by Michael Carreras, starring Terence Morgan, Ronald Howard, Fred Clark and introducing Jeanne Roland. Plot "Egypt in the year 1900". The mummy ...

'' (1964) * '' Woman of Straw'' (1964) * ''

'' (1965) * '' Masquerade'' (1965) * ''

That Riviera Touch ''That Riviera Touch'' is a 1966 British comedy film directed by Cliff Owen and starring Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise. It is the second feature-length film made by the comedy duo Morecambe and Wise. The film opened at the Leicester Square T ...

'' (1966) * ''

Alfie Alfie may refer to: Theatre and film * ''Alfie'' (play), a 1963 play by Bill Naughton * ''Alfie'' (1966 film), a film based on the play starring Michael Caine * ''Alfie'' (2004 film), a remake of the 1966 film * ''Alfie'' (2013 film), an Indi ...

'' (1966) * '' Funeral in Berlin'' (1966) * ''

Billion Dollar Brain ''Billion Dollar Brain'' is a 1967 British espionage film directed by Ken Russell and based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Len Deighton. The film features Michael Caine as secret agent Harry Palmer, the anti-hero protagonist. The "b ...

'' (1967) * '' Duffy'' (1968) * '' Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?'' (1969) * '' Bloomfield'' (1971)

References

External links

* 1896 births 1970 deaths Best Cinematography BAFTA Award winners Mass media people from Prague People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Czech Jews Czech cinematographers {{Cinematographer-stub