Sunday, March 11, 2007

winton c. hoch, cinematographer

winton c. hoch (1905-1979).
(pronounced "hoke" or "huke")
the great cinematographer winton c. hoch was born in iowa and was noted for his work in color cinematography, mainly for john ford.
joseph mcbride said of him in his book searching for john ford "trained as a research physicist at the california institute of technology, known as an expert in color cinematography.... did laboratory work on color processes for the technicolor corporation in the 1930s before becoming a cameraman".
hoch started doing documentaries in the 30s and 40s and later moved on to feature films. the best examples of his work are the films with john ford: 3 godfathers 1948, she wore a yellow ribbon 1949, the quiet man 1952, and the searchers 1959.
in these films one immediately notices the subtlety of his palette. the rich colors often contrast with the desert landscapes, and give the films an otherworldly quality.
as with joseph macdonald, his ability to shoot darkness, not unlike the darkness seen in film noir, really gives another dimension to ford's direction.



3 godfathers, 1948 (d. john ford)



she wore a yellow ribbon, 1949 (d. john ford)



the searchers, 1959 (d. john ford)


some films:
-dive bomber 1941 (d. michael curtiz)
-joan of arc 1948 (d. victor fleming)
-3 godfathers 1948 (d. john ford)
-tulsa 1949 (d. stuart heisler)
-she wore a yellow ribbon 1949 (d. john ford)
-the sundowners 1950 (d. george templeton)
-halls of montezuma (1950) (d. lewis milestone)
-bird of paradise 1951 (d. delmer daves)
-the quiet man 1952 (d. john ford)
-the redhead from wyoming 1953 (d. lee sholem)
-return to paradise 1953 (d. mark robson)
-mister robers 1955 (d. john ford)
-the searchers 1959 (d. john ford)
-jet pilot 1957 (d. josef von sternberg)
-the missouri traveler 1958 (d. jerry hopper)
-the big circus 1959 (d. joseph m. newman)

books:
-searching for john ford, by joseph mcbride, st. martins press.

links:
cinematographers
all movies
oscars
wikipedia

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