Lucien Ballard

Director Of Photography

About

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Birth Place

Miami, Oklahoma, USA

Born

May 06, 1908

Died

October 01, 1988

Cause of Death

Complications From Bicycling Accident

Biography

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Highly distinguished and versatile cinematographer of several black-and-white classics who began his career as a cutter and assistant cameraman with Paramount. After working as secondary photographer of both "Morocco" (1930) and as co-cinematographer with Von Sternberg on "The Devil Is a Woman" (1935), Ballard was moved to the front ranks for the third of his four collaborations with Jos...

Filmography

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A Time for Dying (1982)

Director of Photography

Rabbit Test (1978)

Director Of Photography

From Noon Till Three (1976)

Director Of Photography

St. Ives (1976)

Director Of Photography

Director Of Photography

Breakout (1975)

Director Of Photography

Photos & Videos

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Murder By Contract (1958) -- (Movie Clip) You Are Next

Murder By Contract (1958) -- (Movie Clip) You Talk Like A Citizen

Family & Companions

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Merle Oberon

Wife

Actor. Married 1945, divorced 1949; second wife.

Inez Ballard

Wife

Third wife; died 1982.

Biography

Highly distinguished and versatile cinematographer of several black-and-white classics who began his career as a cutter and assistant cameraman with Paramount. After working as secondary photographer of both "Morocco" (1930) and as co-cinematographer with Von Sternberg on "The Devil Is a Woman" (1935), Ballard was moved to the front ranks for the third of his four collaborations with Josef von Sternberg, "Crime and Punishment" (1935) and then worked on numerous second-echelon Columbia films during the late 1930s and early 40s. He came into his own as an acclaimed black-and-white cinematographer with Stanley Kubrick's "The Killing" (1956) and as a specialist in lush, outdoor color photography for the action and Western films of Henry Hathaway, Sam Peckinpah and Budd Boetticher with whom he worked multiple times. He lensed several films starring Merle Oberon, to whom he was married from 1945 to 1949.

Filmography

Cinematography (Feature Film)

A Time for Dying (1982)

Director of Photography

Rabbit Test (1978)

Director Of Photography

From Noon Till Three (1976)

Director Of Photography

St. Ives (1976)

Director Of Photography

Director Of Photography

Breakout (1975)

Director Of Photography

Breakheart Pass (1975)

Director Of Photography

Three the Hard Way (1974)

Director Of Photography

Thomasine and Bushrod (1974)

Director Of Photography

Lady Ice (1973)

Director Of Photography

Junior Bonner (1972)

Director of Photography

The Getaway (1972)

Director of Photography

Director of Photography

What's the Matter with Helen? (1971)

Director of Photography

A Time For Dying (1971)

Cinematographer

The Hawaiians (1970)

Director of Photography

Elvis--That's the Way It Is (1970)

Director of Photography

The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)

Director of Photography

The Wild Bunch (1969)

Director of Photography

True Grit (1969)

Director of Photography

How Sweet It Is! (1968)

Director of Photography

Will Penny (1968)

Director of Photography

The Party (1968)

Director of Photography

Hour of the Gun (1967)

Director of Photography

An Eye for an Eye (1966)

Director of Photography

Nevada Smith (1966)

Director of Photography

The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

Cinematographer

Boeing Boeing (1965)

Director of Photography

Dear Brigitte (1965)

Director of Photography

The NEW Interns (1964)

Director of Photography

Roustabout (1964)

Cinematographer

Take Her, She's Mine (1963)

Director of Photography

Wives and Lovers (1963)

Cinematographer

Wall of Noise (1963)

Director of Photography

The Caretakers (1963)

Director of Photography

Ride the High Country (1962)

Director of Photography

Marines, Let's Go! (1961)

Director of Photography

The Parent Trap (1961)

Director of Photography

Susan Slade (1961)

Director of Photography

Desire in the Dust (1960)

Director of Photography

Pay or Die (1960)

Director of Photography

The Bramble Bush (1960)

Director of Photography

The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (1960)

Director of Photography

Al Capone (1959)

Director of Photography

City of Fear (1959)

Director of Photography

Anna Lucasta (1958)

Director of Photography

Buchanan Rides Alone (1958)

Director of Photography

I Married a Woman (1958)

Director of Photography

Murder By Contract (1958)

Director of Photography

Band of Angels (1957)

Director of Photography

The Unholy Wife (1957)

Director of Photography

The Proud Ones (1956)

Director of Photography

The Killing (1956)

Director of Photography

A Kiss Before Dying (1956)

Director of Photography

The Killer Is Loose (1956)

Director of Photography

The King and Four Queens (1956)

Seven Cities of Gold (1955)

Director of Photography

White Feather (1955)

Director of Photography

The Magnificent Matador (1955)

New Faces (1954)

Prince Valiant (1954)

Director of Photography

The Raid (1954)

Director of Photography

The Glory Brigade (1953)

Director of Photography

Director of Photography

The Desert Rats (1953)

Director of Photography

O. Henry's Full House (1952)

Photographer of "The Clarion Call"

Return of the Texan (1952)

Director of Photography

Night Without Sleep (1952)

Director of Photography

Diplomatic Courier (1952)

Director of Photography

Don't Bother to Knock (1952)

Director of Photography

Fixed Bayonets! (1951)

Director of Photography

The House on Telegraph Hill (1951)

Director of Photography

Let's Make It Legal (1951)

Director of Photography

Berlin Express (1948)

Director of Photography

Night Song (1948)

Director of Photography

Temptation (1946)

Director of Photography

This Love of Ours (1945)

Director of Photography

Director of Photography

Sweet and Low-Down (1944)

Director of Photography

The Lodger (1944)

Director of Photography

Tonight We Raid Calais (1943)

Director of Photography

The Outlaw (1943)

Holy Matrimony (1943)

Director of Photography

Bomber's Moon (1943)

Director of Photography

Whispering Ghosts (1942)

Director of Photography

Moontide (1942)

Director of Photography

The Undying Monster (1942)

Director of Photography

Orchestra Wives (1942)

Director of Photography

Wild Geese Calling (1941)

Director of Photography

Swamp Water (1941)

Director of Photography

The Villain Still Pursued Her (1940)

Director of Photography

Coast Guard (1939)

The Thundering West (1939)

Outside These Walls (1939)

Blind Alley (1939)

Let Us Live (1939)

Texas Stampede (1939)

Penitentiary (1938)

Rio Grande (1938)

Flight to Fame (1938)

Highway Patrol (1938)

The Lone Wolf in Paris (1938)

Squadron of Honor (1938)

The Devil's Playground (1937)

I Promise to Pay (1937)

Racketeers in Exile (1937)

Life Begins with Love (1937)

The Shadow (1937)

Venus Makes Trouble (1937)

Girls Can Play (1937)

The Final Hour (1936)

Craig's Wife (1936)

The King Steps Out (1936)

The Devil Is a Woman (1935)

Crime and Punishment (1935)

Big Executive (1933)

Assistant Camera

This Is the Night (1932)

Assistant Camera

One Hour with You (1932)

Assistant Camera

Broken Lullaby (1932)

Assistant Camera

Blonde Venus (1932)

Assistant Camera

The Beloved Bachelor (1931)

Assistant Camera

I Take This Woman (1931)

Assistant Camera

Addl Photographer

Film Production - Main (Feature Film)

Mikey and Nicky (1976)

Life Events

1929

Worked as roustabout, doing physical labor on Clara Bow film, "Dangerous Curves"

1929

Joined Paramount as cutter and assistant cameraman

1930

Did additional photography on "Morocco"

1935

First film as solo director of photography, "Crime and Punishment"

1962

First TV film as cinematographer, "Six-Gun Law"

Videos

Murder By Contract (1958) -- (Movie Clip) You Are Next Claude (Vince Edwards) has done nothing but wait and work out since his first interview with Moon (Michael Granger) so he's ready when the call comes, keeping track of his goal of buying a house, and his first victim, in a barber shop, is wholly un-credited, in director Irving Lerner's acclaimed Murder By Contract, 1958.

Murder By Contract (1958) -- (Movie Clip) You Talk Like A Citizen Finally satisfied that neither he nor his minders (Philip Pine, Herschel Bernardi) are being watched, hit-man Claude (Vince Edwards) has agreed to be shown his target, a grand-jury witness in a guarded Coldwater Canyon home, and he's not happy to learn who she is (Caprice Toriel), in Murder By Contract, 1958.

Wild Bunch, The (1969) -- (Movie Clip) Shall We Gather At The River Part of Sam Peckinpah's preposterous opening, in which the prayer meeting enters the incipient shootout, Crazy Lee (Bo Hopkins) abuses hostages, and rivals Thornton (Robert Ryan) and Pike (William Holden) miss shots at each other, in The Wild Bunch, 1969.

Kiss Before Dying, A (1956) -- (Movie Clip) If Certain Details Were Omitted Characters discussed but never seen before the murder (disguised as suicide) of Dory (Joanne Woodward), George MacReady her father, Virginia Leith her sister, Howard Petrie the police chief and Jeffrey Hunter, whom we have met, as the college tutor and weirdly, we learn, also part-time cop Gordon, with the culprit (Robert Wagner as “Bud” Corliss) lurking in Tucson’s El Presidio Park, in A Kiss Before Dying, 1956.

Wild Bunch, The (1969) -- (Movie Clip) You're My Judas Goat After the disastrous failed bank-heist ambush, bounty broker Harrigan (Albert Dekker), working for the railroad, chews out the goofy crew (Strother Martin and L.Q. Jones as Coffer and C.T.) and threatens to send their angered leader Thornton (Robert Ryan), the former partner of the hunted Pike, back to prison, in Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch, 1969.

Wild Bunch, The (1969) -- (Movie Clip) Even The Worst Of Us Riding into the home village of Angel (Jaime Sanchez), the bunch (William Holden as Pike leads Ernest Borgnine, Ben Johnson and Warren Oates) gets a grim update from Chano Urueta, a leading Mexican director and producer since the 1930’s, as crusty Don Jose, in Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch, 1969.

Wild Bunch, The (1969) -- (Movie Clip) He Was After The Girl We’ve just met the grossly corrupt federal general Mapache (Emilio Fernandez) who’s taken over the Mexican home village of Angel (Jaime Sanchez) where Pike, Dutch, Sykes and the gang (William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Edmond O’Brien, Ben Johnson, Warren Oates) are hiding when Teresa (Sonia Amelio), his former fianceè appears, sparking more trouble, with Fernando Wagner as the German agent, in Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch, 1969.

Rise And Fall Of Legs Diamond, The (1960) -- (Movie Clip) Charge It To A-R Now in 1920's Miami with some cash, Jack (Ray Danton), not yet nick-named, figures out how to get an introduction to racketeer Arnold Rothstein (Robert Lowery), in The Rise And Fall Of Legs Diamond, 1961, directed by Budd Boetticher.

Rise And Fall Of Legs Diamond, The (1960) -- (Movie Clip) He Didn't Use His Head Pacey and crisp opening from director Budd Boetticher, introducing Ray Danton in his signature performance in the title role, Warren Oates his tagalong brother, Karen Steele a fascinated dance instructor, in the loose bio-pic The Rise And Fall Of Legs Diamond, 1960.

Wild Bunch, The (1969) -- (Movie Clip) Plain And Fancy They After the bank job, still in military disguise, the Gorch's (Warren Oates, Ben Johnson) tangle with Pike (William Holden) and Angel (Jaime Sanchez), and bad news about the loot sends Sykes (Edmond O'Brien) into a rant, in Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch, 1969.

Seven Cities Of Gold (1955) -- (Movie Clip) The Glory Of Spain Interesting introduction of three principals (and two historical figures), Anthony Quinn as Spanish Captain Portola and Richard Egan his fictional lieutenant, in a reckless rush to Mexico City, causing an accident and meeting Father Junipero Serra (Michael Rennie), in 20th Century-Fox’s Seven Cities Of Gold, 1955.

Seven Cities Of Gold (1955) -- (Movie Clip) Burn It Into Your Heart Preparing to depart Mexico City for California, 1769, Father Junipero Serra (Michael Rennie) goes rogue with the Spanish colonial rank-and-file, cueing grumbling from Captain Portola and (fictional) Lt. Mendoza (Anthony Quinn, Richard Egan), with top career-Assistant Director Robert D. Webb directing, in Seven Cities Of Gold, 1955.

Laura - (Re-issue Trailer) A police detective (Dana Andrews) falls in love with the woman (Gene Tierney) whose murder he's investigating in Laura (1944), directed by Otto Preminger.

Elvis: That's The Way It Is -- (Original Trailer) The King of Rock 'n' Roll prepares himself for one of his biggest Vegas shows ever in Elvis--That's The Way It Is (1970).

From Noon Till Three - (Original Trailer) Charles Bronson is a two-bit outlaw who becomes a legend when he's mistakenly reported dead in From Noon Till Three (1976).

Midnight Mary - (Original Trailer) Loretta Young is an abused orphan who sinks into a life of crime in the pre-code drama Midnight Mary (1933).

Breakheart Pass - (Original Trailer) A U.S. Marshall (Charles Bronson) tries to bring in a captured outlaw during a treacherous train ride through Breakheart Pass (1976).

Boeing Boeing - (Original Trailer) A playboy (Tony Curtis) uses airline schedules to maintain "exclusive" relationships with three flight attendants at the same time in Boeing Boeing (1965) co-starring Jerry Lewis.

Berlin Express - (Re-issueTrailer) Allied agents fight an underground Nazi group in post-war Europe in Jacques Tourneur's Berlin Express (1948) starring Robert Ryan, Merle Oberon and Paul Lukas.

O. Henry's Full House - (Original Trailer) Five stories reveal O. Henry's gift for the surprise ending with the help of five directors and a host of stars in O. Henry's Full House (1952).

Morocco - (Original Trailer) Marlene Dietrich plays a nightclub singer who falls hard for a Foreign Legionnaire (Gary Cooper) in her first American film Morocco (1930).

Sons of Katie Elder, The - (Original Trailer) John Wayne stars in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) about four sons of a ranch owner out to avenge his death.

True Grit - (Original Trailer) John Wayne was awarded Best Actor playing a drunken U.S. Marshal who gets in touch with his True Grit (1969).

Take Her, She's Mine - (Original Trailer) James Stewart attempts to protect his college-age daughter from trouble which leads to scandal in Take Her, She's Mine (1963).

Companions

Merle Oberon

Wife

Actor. Married 1945, divorced 1949; second wife.

Inez Ballard

Wife

Third wife; died 1982.

Bibliography

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