Conrad Hall

Conrad L. Hall
On the set of Jennifer 8 (1992)
Born	Conrad Lafcadio Hall (1926-06-21)June 21, 1926 Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia
Died	January 4, 2003(2003-01-04) (aged 76) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Other names	Connie
Occupation	Cinematographer
Years active	1949–2003
Title	ASC
Spouses	Virginia Schwartz ​ ​ (m. 1952; div. 1969)​ Katharine Ross ​ ​ (m. 1969; div. 1974)​ Susan Kowarsh-Hall ​ (before 2003)​
Children	3, including Conrad W. Hall
Father	James Norman Hall
Awards	Full list

Conrad Lafcadio Hall, ASC (June 21, 1926 – January 4, 2003) was a French Polynesian-born American cinematographer. Named after writers Joseph Conrad and Lafcadio Hearn, he became widely prominent as a cinematographer earning numerous accolades including three Academy Awards (with ten nominations), three BAFTA Awards and five American Society of Cinematographers Awards.

Hall won three Academy Awards for Best Cinematography for his work on Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), American Beauty (1999), and Road to Perdition (2002). He was also Oscar-nominated for Morituri (1965), The Professionals (1966), In Cold Blood (1967), The Day of the Locust (1975), Tequila Sunrise (1988), Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993), and A Civil Action (1998). He is also known for Cool Hand Luke (1967), Fat City (1972), and Marathon Man (1976).

In 2003, Hall was judged to be one of history's ten most influential cinematographers in a survey of the members of the International Cinematographers Guild. He has been given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Early life and education

Conrad L Hall was born on June 21, 1926, in Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia. His father was James Norman Hall, an ace pilot and captain in the Lafayette Escadrille that fought for France in World War I. James also co-wrote the 1932 novel Mutiny on the Bounty. His mother was Sarah ("Lala") Winchester Hall, who was half Polynesian. Growing up during the relative infancy of cinema, Hall never was around cameras, and the idea of going to the movies was a foreign concept. In his early-mid teens, Hall attended Cate School, a boarding preparatory school near Santa Barbara, California.

After graduating, Hall was told by his father to find his path in life. Hall attended the University of Southern California, intending to study journalism, but ended up doing poorly and instead went to USC's School of Cinema-Television (now the USC School of Cinematic Arts). He wasn't sure this was the right decision, but that since this was a new art form it would be interesting to start from the bottom. Hall attended the School of Cinema at a time when Slavko Vorkapić was the head of the program; Hall later recalled that “He taught me that film-making was a new visual language. He taught the principles, and left the rest up to us”. After creating his first shots in school he fell in love with the art and wanted to continue telling his stories through imagery. A few people that visited the school during his education included John Huston and Orson Welles. After graduation in 1949, Hall expected to get a job right out of college. At the time, however, Hollywood only allowed the camera crew to be filled with people that were on the International Photographers Guild roster.

Career

1949–1966

After graduation Hall collaborated with his classmates, Marvin R. Weinstein and Jack C. Couffer, to create Canyon Films in 1949. In the beginning they made advertising commercials and documentaries and did pickup shots for features. In 1956 Canyon Films acquired a short film, My Brother Down There, which allowed Hall to enter into the cameraman position and become part of the International Photographers Guild. However, the Guild made Canyon Films hire an established Guild Cameraman for My Brother Down There, denying Hall credit, even though he shot the entire film. Instead he was credited as the visual consultant, after United Artists released the film under the new title Running Target.

Once Running Target was finished Canyon Films dissolved, and its members went off on their own paths. Since Hall was part of the Guild, he was able to work as an assistant cameraman at the side of many influential cinematographers such as Hall Mohr, Ernie Haller, Burnie Guffey and Ted McCord, who were all part of the ASC. Following a year of working as an assistant cameraman, he was awarded the chance to be the camera operator on the television series Stoney Burke. In 1963, he began filming another television series called The Outer Limits. Then, in 1964, he shot his first feature-length black and white film, Wild Seed, which was made in roughly 24 days with producer Albert S. Ruddy.

Hall's breakthrough came with Morituri in 1965, for which he received his first Oscar nomination. In the following year Hall shot Incubus, The Professionals, and Harper, which was his first color film. His first collaboration with director Richard Brooks on The Professionals was put in motion by assistant director Tom Shaw, who worked with Hall on Wild Seed and recommended him to Brooks; the work resulted in his second Oscar nomination.

1967–1976

Their second collaboration, 1967's In Cold Blood, resulted in yet another Oscar nomination. It is notable for the documentary feel and location shots, which were rare at the time. In that same year, Hall shot Cool Hand Luke and Divorce American Style. Cool Hand Luke is known for being shot in Panavision, which contributed to its lush color palette. In 1968, Hall filmed Hell in the Pacific for director John Boorman, which was not a box-office success but has since become a cult classic.

In 1969, Hall received his first Oscar for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. To make Butch Cassidy visually compatible with the time period, he used experimental techniques, such as overexposing the negatives in order to mute the primary colors when printing it back (Hunter, 2003). The result was considered an innovative success. He made two other films that year, The Happy Ending and Tell them Willie Boy is Here. In 1972, Hall shot Fat City, with director John Huston. Fat City was known for its grainy texture to reflect the harsh reality of the storyline. In 1973 he shot the police thriller Electra Glide in Blue, followed by Smile and The Day of the Locust in 1975, the latter of which earned him his fifth Oscar nomination. In 1976 he shot Marathon Man with director John Schlesinger which was one of the first to use the Steadicam technique (although it was not the first to be released).

1987–2002

After shooting 18 films in 12 years, Hall took an 11-year break. Around the same time he teamed up with noted cinematographer Haskell Wexler to make a commercial production company (Vinson, 1987). This allowed him to not only be the cameraman on his own work, but also the director. The break for him was about understanding and learning from others about their unique techniques. As Hall stated: "At heart I am more than a cinematographer. I'm a filmmaker." This led to his exploration of writing, such as an adaptation of the novel The Wild Palms.

Hall returned to the film industry in 1987 to shoot Black Widow. In 1988, Hall became part of the union crew for Tequila Sunrise after a few complications. His work resulted in a sixth Oscar nomination. Also in 1988, the ASC gave Hall an outstanding achievement award. After his work on Tequila Sunrise, he picked up his old pace, making Class Action (1991), Jennifer 8 (1992), Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993) and Love Affair (1994) one after the other. Searching for Bobby Fischer received an Oscar nomination for cinematography, his seventh.

In 1994, Hall was honored with the lifetime achievement award from the American Society of Cinematographers. In 1998, he shot Without Limits and was Oscar nominated for A Civil Action, followed by his second win for American Beauty in 1999. American Beauty, his first collaboration with director Sam Mendes, highlighted his "unique use of the hand-held camera to capture the film's heightened reality and almost dream-like atmosphere". His final film was Road to Perdition in 2002, a second collaboration with Mendes, for which he was posthumously awarded another Academy Award. In total, he won three Oscars throughout his 50-year career.

Personal life

Hall married Virginia Schwartz in 1952. They had three children, Conrad W. Hall, Kate Hall-Feist and Naia Hall-West, before they divorced in 1969. Hall met actress Katharine Ross on the set of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and became her third of five husbands in 1969. Hall and Ross separated in 1973, finalizing their divorce in 1975 so that she could marry her fourth husband. His third marriage was to costume designer Susan Kowarsh-Hall, whom he worked with on Road to Perdition (2002), from an unknown date until his death.

Death

Hall died from bladder cancer at Santa Monica Hospital on January 4, 2003, at the age of 76. His Oscar for Road to Perdition (2002), which is dedicated to Hall, was posthumously accepted by his son Conrad W. Hall, also a cinematographer.

Hall was and still is affectionately referred to as "Connie" by his peers and associates.

Filmography

Film

Screenriter

• Running Target (1956)

Cinematographer

Year	Title	Director	Notes
1958	Edge of Fury	Robert J. Gurney Jr. Irving Lerner	With Jack Couffer and Marvin R. Weinstein
1965	Wild Seed	Brian G. Hutton
	Morituri	Bernhard Wicki
1966	Harper	Jack Smight
	Incubus	Leslie Stevens
	The Professionals	Richard Brooks
1967	Divorce American Style	Bud Yorkin
	Cool Hand Luke	Stuart Rosenberg
	In Cold Blood	Richard Brooks
1968	Hell in the Pacific	John Boorman
	Rogue's Gallery	Leonard Horn
1969	Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid	George Roy Hill
	Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here	Abraham Polonsky
	The Happy Ending	Richard Brooks
1972	Fat City	John Huston
1973	Electra Glide in Blue	James William Guercio
1974	Catch My Soul	Patrick McGoohan
1975	Smile	Michael Ritchie
	The Day of the Locust	John Schlesinger
1976	Marathon Man
1987	Black Widow	Bob Rafelson
1988	Tequila Sunrise	Robert Towne
1991	Class Action	Michael Apted
1992	Jennifer 8	Bruce Robinson
1993	Searching for Bobby Fischer	Steven Zaillian
1994	Love Affair	Glenn Gordon Caron
1996	Faithful	Paul Mazursky	Uncredited
1998	Without Limits	Robert Towne
	A Civil Action	Steven Zaillian
1999	American Beauty	Sam Mendes
2002	Road to Perdition

Short film

Year	Title	Director	Notes
1960	Islands of the Sea	Ben Sharpsteen	Documentary short
1969	A Christmas Memory	Frank Perry	Segment of Trilogy; Shared credit with Jordan Cronenweth and Vincent Saizis
1977	Plymouth Fury		With Haskell Wexler
1991	Sharkskin	Dan Perri

Television

Year	Title	Director	Notes
1963	Stoney Burke	Leslie Stevens Robert Butler Leonard Horn Tom Gries William A. Graham Laslo Benedek	10 episodes
1963-64	The Outer Limits	Byron Haskin Laslo Benedek Leonard Horn Gerd Oswald Abner Biberman Alan Crosland Jr. John Brahm	15 episodes
1966	ABC Stage 67	Frank Berry	Episode "A Christmas Memory"

TV movies

Year	Title	Director	Notes
1964	The Unknown	Gerd Oswald
	Fanfare for a Death Scene	Leslie Stevens	With Monroe P. Askins
	The Ghost of Sierra de Cobre	Joseph Stefano
1977	It Happened One Christmas	Donald Wrye

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards

Year	Category	Title	Result
1965	Best Cinematography	Morituri	Nominated
1966		The Professionals	Nominated
1967		In Cold Blood	Nominated
1969		Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid	Won
1975		The Day of the Locust	Nominated
1988		Tequila Sunrise	Nominated
1993		Searching for Bobby Fischer	Nominated
1998		A Civil Action	Nominated
1999		American Beauty	Won
2002		Road to Perdition (posthumous)	Won

BAFTA Awards

Year	Category	Title	Result
1969	Best Cinematography	Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid	Won
1999		American Beauty	Won
2002		Road to Perdition (posthumous)	Won

American Society of Cinematographers

Year	Category	Title	Result
1988	Outstanding Cinematography	Tequila Sunrise	Won
1993		Searching for Bobby Fischer	Won
1994		Love Affair	Nominated
1999		American Beauty	Won
2002		Road to Perdition (posthumous)	Won
1994	Lifetime Achievement Award		Won

Las Vegas Film Critics Society

Year	Category	Title	Result
1999	Best Cinematography	American Beauty	Nominated
2002		Road to Perdition (posthumous)	Won

Los Angeles Film Critics Association

Year	Category	Title	Result
1999	Best Cinematography	American Beauty	Nominated
2002		Road to Perdition (posthumous)	Nominated

Online Film Critics Society

Year	Category	Title	Result
1999	Best Cinematography	American Beauty	Nominated
2002		Road to Perdition (posthumous)	Nominated

Satellite Awards

Year	Category	Title	Result
1999	Best Cinematography	American Beauty	Nominated
2002		Road to Perdition (posthumous)	Won

Other awards

Year	Award	Category	Title	Result
2002	Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association	Best Cinematography (posthumous)	Road to Perdition	Won
	Gold Derby Awards	Best Cinematography (posthumous)		Nominated
	New York Film Critics Circle	Best Cinematographer (posthumous)		Nominated
	Phoenix Film Critics Society	Best Cinematography (posthumous)		Nominated

External links

• Conrad Hall at IMDb
• Interview with Conrad Hall
• Interview and retrospective at American Society of Cinematographers site