Robert Krasker

A somewhat underrated figure in cinematographic history, Australian-born Robert Krasker handled some of the most memorable films made in Britain after the Second World War. In his youth he attended art classes in Paris and studied photography at the Photohaendler Schule in Dresden. He briefly worked for Paramount in Paris before joining Alexander Korda's London Films at Denham Studios in 1932.

As a camera operator, Krasker cut his teeth on Technicolor spectacles like The Four Feathers (1939) and The Thief of Bagdad (1940).

From 1942, he worked as director of photography, showing his flair in all photographic media, from the softly lit, subtle black & white of Brief Encounter (1945) to the gaudy 'cartoon colour' pageantry of Henry V (1944).

He adopted a suitably harsher, almost semi-documentary look working with director Carol Reed on Odd Man Out (1947) and The Third Man (1949). Both films are characterised by expressionistic camera angles, chiaroscuro lighting and conspicuous close-ups.

Krasker deservedly won an Oscar for his work on 'The Third Man' and went on to shoot the visually glorious Senso (1954) for Luchino Visconti in Italy, in turn followed by one of the best-looking epics of the 50s: El Cid (1961) -- with its famous long shot of the dead hero, riding away tied upright to his horse.

Krasker's style of photography went out of fashion with the increasing popularity of the New Wave in the 1960s.

He was proposed by producer Harry Saltzman as director of photography for "Billion Dollar Brain" (1967), but his initial interview with director Ken Russell was disastrous - Russell, perhaps to assert himself over Saltzman, was insulting about Krasker's work on the recent film, "The Trap". Krasker replied that Russell needed a documentary cameraman and turned the film down, never working on a feature film again. He did photograph a couple of short films and several commercials later on, though.