Walter L. Griffin
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Walter L. Griffin was a founder 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 ...
. Griffin started working in pictures in 1912 and spent a year and a half in the lab before he first cranked a camera for
Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
. In 1915, he joined the Exposition Players’ Corporation, official cinematographers of the
Panama–Pacific International Exposition The Panama–Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California, United States, from February 20 to December 4, 1915. Its stated purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely s ...
in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, where he headed photographic and lab operations. When the exposition closed in 1916, he spent four months in Colorado, making scenic films for the Denver Tourist Bureau. Returning to Hollywood, Griffin signed on with the
National Film Corporation National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...
, where he shot some 25 comedies featuring National’s owner, William “Smiling Bill” Parsons. His best-remembered film is the Lon Chaney vehicle
Nomads of the North ''Nomads of the North'' is a 1920 American drama film of the North Woods co-directed and co-written by David Hartford and James Oliver Curwood, and featuring Lon Chaney, Betty Blythe, and Lewis Stone. The film was based on Curwood's own 1919 n ...
(1920), which was filmed for the National Film Corporation but was released through the Associated First National Exhibitors Circuit after Parsons’ untimely death caused the NFC to close. Through the early 1920s, Griffin ground out low-budget Westerns starring Bob Custer, Franklyn Farnum and
Al Hoxie Al Hoxie (1901–1982) was an American film actor. The younger brother of Jack Hoxie, he starred in a number of silent westerns.Katchmer p.170 Selected filmography * '' Ruth of the Rockies (1920) * ''Thunderbolt Jack'' (1920) * '' The Queen of S ...
. In the mid-1920s, he gave up wide-open spaces for the great indoors and shot a number modest melodramas, such as Rose of the Bowery (1927) and
The Heart of Broadway ''The Heart of Broadway'' is a 1928 American silent melodrama film directed by Duke Worne and starring Pauline Garon. It was produced by Worne and distributed by Rayart Pictures. Cast *Pauline Garon as Roberta Clemmons *Robert Agnew as Billy Win ...
(1928). His last known credit as a cinematographer is City of Purple Dreams (1928).


Cinematographer

* '' The City of Purple Dreams'' (1928) (as Walter Griffin) * '' Sweet Sixteen'' (1928) (as Walter Griffin) * ''
The Midnight Adventure ''The Midnight Adventure'' is a 1928 American silent mystery film directed by Duke Worne and starring Cullen Landis, Edna Murphy and Ernest Hilliard.Weaver p.201 Synopsis Guests a country mansion all fall under suspicion when a murder is commit ...
'' (1928) (as Walter Griffin) * ''
Danger Patrol ''Danger Patrol'' is a 1937 American drama film directed by Lew Landers from a screenplay by Sy Bartlett based on a story by Helen Vreeland and Hilda Vincent. Produced and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures, it was released on December 3, 1937 ...
'' (1928) (as Walter Griffen) * '' The Phantom of the Turf'' (1928) (as Walter Griffin) * ''The Heart of Broadway'' (1928) (as Walter Griffen) * '' Heroes in Blue'' (1927) (as Walter Griffin) *'' The Wheel of Destiny'' (1927) (as Walter Griffen) *''
The Cruise of the Hellion ''The Cruise of the Hellion'' is a 1927 American silent film, silent drama film directed by Duke Worne and starring Donald Keith (actor), Donald Keith, Edna Murphy and Tom Santschi.Munden p.157 Cast * Donald Keith (actor), Donald Keith as Jack H ...
'' (1927) (as Walter Griffin) * '' Romantic Rogue'' (1927) (as Walter Griffen) * '' The Lost Limited'' (1927) (as Walter Griffin) * '' God's Great Wilderness'' (1927) * '' Rose of the Bowery'' (1927) (as Walter Griffin) * ''Perils of the Rail'' (1926) (as Walter Griffin) * '' The Man in the Shadow'' (1926) (as Walter Griffin) * ''Dame Chance'' (1926) (as Walter Griffin) * ''Jack O'Hearts'' (1926) (as Walter Griffin) * '' Then Came the Woman'' (1926) (as Walter Griffin) * ''Border Justice'' (1925) (as Walter Griffin) * ''Cold Nerve'' (1925) (as Walter Griffin) * ''
Riding Romance ''Riding Romance'' is a 1925 American silent Western film directed by J.P. McGowan and starring Al Hoxie, Marjorie Bonner and Steve Clemente.Langman, p. 375 Cast * Al Hoxie as Lawton, the Stranger * Marjorie Bonner as Beth Brandon * Arthur ...
'' (1925) (as Walter Griffin) * '' Barriers of the Law'' (1925) * ''Border Intrigue'' (1925) (as Walter Griffin) *'' Outwitted'' (1925) (as Walter Griffin) * ''
Flashing Spurs ''Flashing Spurs'' is a 1924 American silent Western film directed by B. Reeves Eason and starring Bob Custer, Edward Coxen, and Marguerite Clayton, who has a dual role of twin sisters. A Texas Ranger investigates a woman he believes is mixed u ...
'' (1924) (as Walter Griffen) * '' Trigger Fingers'' (1924) (as Walter Griffin) * ''Western Vengeance'' (1924) (as Walter Griffin) * ''The Whipping Boss'' (1924) (as Walter Griffin) * ''Blue Water'' (1924) * ''Crossed Trails'' (1924) (as Walter Griffin) * ''Baffled'' (1924) * ''Two Fisted Tenderfoot'' (1924) (as Walter Griffin) * '' A Desperate Adventure'' (1924) (as Walter Griffin) * ''
The Silent Partner ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (1923) (as Walter Griffin) * ''A Dangerous Adventure'' (1922) * '' The Rapids'' (1922) * ''The Golden Snare'' (1921) (as Walter Griffin) * '' Hearts and Masks'' (1921) (as Walter Griffin) * ''
Nomads of the North ''Nomads of the North'' is a 1920 American drama film of the North Woods co-directed and co-written by David Hartford and James Oliver Curwood, and featuring Lon Chaney, Betty Blythe, and Lewis Stone. The film was based on Curwood's own 1919 n ...
'' (1920) * ''Parted Curtains'' (1920) * ''The Confession'' (1920) * ''The Long Arm of Mannister'' (1919) * ''The Boomerang'' (1919) (as Walter Griffin) * ''Modern Husbands'' (1919) (as Walter Griffin) * ''The Long Lane's Turning'' (1919) (as W. Griffin) * '' The Girl of My Dreams'' (1918) * ''The Man of Bronze'' (1918) * '' Inside the Lines'' (1918) * ''
The Spotted Lily ''The Spotted Lily'' is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Harry Solter and starring Ella Hall, Jack Nelson and George Beranger.Spehr & Lundquist p.10 Prints and/or fragments were found in the Dawson Film Find in 1978. Cast * Ella Ha ...
'' (1917) * ''Story of Jewel City'' (1915)


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Walter L. American cinematographers 1889 births 1954 deaths