British cinematographer (1915?2014)
Oswald Morris
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Born
| Oswald Norman Morris
(
1915-11-22
)
22 November 1915
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Died
| 17 March 2014
(2014-03-17)
(aged 98)
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Nationality
| British
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Occupation
| Cinematographer
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Years active
| 1932?1982
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Oswald Norman Morris
,
OBE
DFC
AFC
BSC
(22 November 1915 ? 17 March 2014) was a British
cinematographer
. Known to his colleagues by the nicknames "Os" or "Ossie",
[1]
Morris's career in cinematography spanned six decades.
Life and career
[
edit
]
Morris was raised in
Middlesex
(now the
London borough
of
Hillingdon
) and attended the
Bishopshalt School
. His interest in film began at an early age; during summer vacations, he would work as a
projectionist
at the local cinema. After leaving school in 1932, he began working in the film industry at
Wembley Studios
as an unpaid
gofer
for
Michael Powell
, among others, eventually graduating to the positions of
clapper boy
and camera assistant on
quota quickies
. By his 20s, Morris was a
camera operator
, first at Wembley, and later at
Elstree Studios
.
[2]
His career was interrupted by
World War II
, during which he served as a radio operator and navigator before becoming a
bomber
pilot
with the
Royal Air Force
,
[3]
[4]
[5]
flying
Lancaster bomber
raids over Italy, France and Germany. He completed 30 operational tours before being transferred to Transport Command for the duration of the war. Prior to his discharge and the resumption of his career, Morris participated in the
Berlin Airlift
.
[2]
He achieved the rank of
flight lieutenant
and winning both the
Distinguished Flying Cross
and the
Air Force Cross
.
[2]
[6]
[7]
After his war service, Morris worked at
Pinewood Studios
as an assistant to such people as
Ronald Neame
and
David Lean
at their company,
Cineguild
. He was the camera operator for Lean's
Oliver Twist
(1948). He first acted as director of photography on
Golden Salamander
(1950). Neame called Morris "probably the greatest cameraman in the world."
[1]
Morris collaborated with director
John Huston
on eight films, beginning with
Moulin Rouge
(1952) and also including
Moby Dick
(1956). Although his previous experience with
Technicolor
had been limited, Morris devised many stylish effects for
Moulin Rouge
by employing diffused and filtered light, fog and bold color choices, and his innovations drew critical praise. For
Moby Dick
, Morris developed what David Peloquin has called a "retro-silvered pictorial" that "was designed to capture the look of nineteenth-century whaling prints with their muted colors and silver sheen."
[8]
Morris wrote in his autobiography that he and Huston wanted a "soft wash" effect "in which we would etch in the characters." To achieve this, in prints for the original release, colour was effectively printed over a black-and-white image using two negatives.
[9]
As cinematographer for
John Osborne
's
The Entertainer
(1960), his name was incorporated into the story in a scene in which a radio transmission mentions the fictional Sergeant Ossie Morris.
Morris received three nominations for the
Academy Award for Best Cinematography
for his work on the musicals
Oliver!
(1968),
Fiddler on the Roof
(1971) and
The Wiz
(1978), winning for
Fiddler on the Roof
. Morris' brother
Reginald H. Morris
was also a cinematographer based in Canada.
[10]
Morris was a fellow of the
Royal Photographic Society
and was named an officer of the
Order of the British Empire
in 1998. He published his
memoirs
,
Huston, We Have a Problem: A Kaleidoscope of Filmmaking Memories
(
ISBN
978-0810857063
), in 2006. In his later years, Morris participated in a film course at
Bournemouth University
.
[2]
Morris was married twice. His first marriage to the former Connie Sharp produced three children, Gillian, Christine and Roger. The marriage lasted from 1939 until she died in 1963.
[11]
In 1966, Morris married Lee Turner, a member of the continuity production staff on the
Franco Zeffirelli
film of
The Taming of the Shrew
(1967). This marriage lasted until she died in 2003.
Morris was among the interviewees in the book
Conversations with Cinematographers
by David A. Ellis.
Morris died on March 17, 2014, at the age of 98 at his home in
Fontmell Magna
, Dorset, England.
[12]
His survivors included his three children, 10 grandchildren, and 18 great-grandchildren.
[2]
Honours
[
edit
]
In June 2009, the recently completed central building of the
National Film and Television School
was officially named the Oswald Morris Building in his honour.
Additional credits
[
edit
]
Awards and nominations
[
edit
]
- 1953
British Society of Cinematographers
Golden Camera (
Moulin Rouge
,
winner
)
- 1956 British Society of Cinematographers Golden Camera (
Moby Dick
, nominee)
- 1965
BAFTA
for Best British Cinematography, Black-and-White (
The Pumpkin Eater
,
winner
)
- 1966 British Society of Cinematographers Golden Camera (
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
,
winner
)
- 1966 BAFTA for Best British Cinematography, Black-and-White (
The Hill
,
winner
)
- 1967 British Society of Cinematographers Golden Camera (
The Taming of the Shrew
,
winner
)
- 1967 BAFTA for Best British Cinematography, Black-and-White (
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
,
winner
)
- 1969
Academy Award
for
Best Cinematography
(
Oliver!
, nominee)
- 1971 British Society of Cinematographers Golden Camera (
Fiddler on the Roof
,
winner
)
- 1972 Academy Award for
Best Cinematography
(
Fiddler on the Roof
,
winner
)
- 1972 BAFTA for Best Cinematography (
Fiddler on the Roof
, nominee)
- 1974 BAFTA for Best Cinematography (
Sleuth
, nominee)
- 1976 BAFTA for Best Cinematography (
The Man Who Would Be King
, nominee)
- 1979 Academy Award for Best Cinematography (
The Wiz
, nominee)
- 1999
American Society of Cinematographers International Award
(
winner
)
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Sweet, Matthew (19 October 2003).
"Ronald Neame (2003 interview at the National Film Theatre)"
.
British Film Institute
. Archived from
the original
on 18 August 2006
. Retrieved
27 November
2016
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Oswald Morris obituary; Oscar-winning British cinematographer who worked on a wide range of film classics.
Baxter, Brian.
The Guardian
. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ^
Oswald Morris, Oscar-winning cinematographer, dies at 98.
The Washington Post
via
Internet Archive
. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^
Oswald Morris dies at 98; award-winning British cinematographer
Los Angeles Times
via
Internet Archive
. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^
Oswald Morris, Artful Cinematographer, Is Dead at 98.
The New York Times
via
Internet Archive
. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^
The Oscars Connection!
Royal Air Force Museum
. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^
Great Cinematographers; Oswald Morris
www.cinematographers.nl. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^
Peloquin, David (June 2017).
"John Huston's 1956 Film Moby Dick: A 60th-Anniversary Appreciation"
.
Leviathan
.
19
(2): 111?4.
doi
:
10.1353/lvn.2017.0030
.
S2CID
149346554
.
- ^
Morris, Oswald; Bull, Geoffrey (2006).
Huston, We Have a Problem: A Kaleidoscope of Filmmaking Memories
. Lanham, Maryland & Oxford, UK: Scarecrow Press. pp. 83?4.
ISBN
9780810857063
.
- ^
Dennis McLellan,
"Oswald Morris, Oscar-winning cinematographer, dies at 98"
.
Washington Post
, 21 March 2014.
- ^
Hayward, Anthony (21 March 2014).
"Oswald Morris: Cinematographer who developed a fruitful relationship with John Huston and worked on a host of classic films"
.
The Independent
.
Archived
from the original on 24 May 2022
. Retrieved
27 November
2016
.
- ^
"Oswald Morris dies at 98; award-winning British cinematographer"
.
Los Angeles Times
. 18 March 2014.
External links
[
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]
Awards for Oswald Morris
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1928?1950
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1951?1975
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1976?2000
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2001?present
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1953?1975
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1976?2000
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2001?present
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International
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National
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People
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Other
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