Freddie Young
Encyclopedia
Freddie Young OBE
, BSC
(9 October 1902 - 1 December 1998), (sometimes credited as Frederick A. Young) was one of Britain's
most distinguished and influential cinematographers. He is probably best known for his work on David Lean's
films Lawrence of Arabia
(1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965) and Ryan's Daughter
(1970), all three of which won him Academy Awards for best cinematography.
He was also director of photography on more than 130 films, including many other notable productions, such as Goodbye, Mr Chips
(1939), 49th Parallel
(1941), Lust for Life
(1956), The Inn of the Sixth Happiness
(1958), Lord Jim
(1965), Battle of Britain
(1969), Nicholas and Alexandra
(1971), and the James Bond
film You Only Live Twice
(1967). He was also the first British cinematographer to film a film in CinemaScope
.
In 2003, a survey conducted by the International Cinematographers Guild placed Young among the ten most influential cinematographers in history.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, BSC
British Society of Cinematographers
The British Society of Cinematographers was formed in 1949 by Bert Easey, 23 August 1901 - 28 February 1973, the then head of the Denham and Pinewood studio camera departments.The stated objectives at the formation of the BSC were...
(9 October 1902 - 1 December 1998), (sometimes credited as Frederick A. Young) was one of Britain's
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
most distinguished and influential cinematographers. He is probably best known for his work on David Lean's
David Lean
Sir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...
films Lawrence of Arabia
Lawrence of Arabia (film)
Lawrence of Arabia is a 1962 British film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence. It was directed by David Lean and produced by Sam Spiegel through his British company, Horizon Pictures, with the screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson. The film stars Peter O'Toole in the title role. It is widely...
(1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965) and Ryan's Daughter
Ryan's Daughter
Ryan's Daughter is a 1970 film directed by David Lean. The film, set in 1916, tells the story of a married Irish woman who has an affair with a British officer during World War I, despite opposition from her nationalist neighbours...
(1970), all three of which won him Academy Awards for best cinematography.
He was also director of photography on more than 130 films, including many other notable productions, such as Goodbye, Mr Chips
Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939 film)
Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a 1939 British film based on the novel of the same name by James Hilton. It was directed by Sam Wood, and starred Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Terry Kilburn, John Mills, and Paul Henreid. The screenplay was adapted from the novel by R. C. Sherriff, Claudine West and Eric...
(1939), 49th Parallel
49th Parallel (film)
49th Parallel is the third film made by the British writer-director team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It was released in the United States as The Invaders. Despite the title, no scene in the movie is set at the 49th parallel, which forms much of the U.S.-Canadian border...
(1941), Lust for Life
Lust for Life (film)
Lust for Life is a MGM biographical film about the life of the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, based on the 1934 novel by Irving Stone and adapted by Norman Corwin.It was directed by Vincente Minnelli and produced by John Houseman...
(1956), The Inn of the Sixth Happiness
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness is a 1958 American 20th Century Fox film based on the true story of Gladys Aylward, a tenacious British maid, who became a missionary in China during the tumultuous years leading up to World War II...
(1958), Lord Jim
Lord Jim (1965 film)
Lord Jim is a 1965 adventure film made by Columbia Pictures. It was produced and directed by Richard Brooks with Jules Buck and Peter O'Toole as associate producers, from a screenplay by Brooks...
(1965), Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain (film)
Battle of Britain is a 1969 Technicolor film directed by Guy Hamilton, and produced by Harry Saltzman and S. Benjamin Fisz. The film broadly relates the events of the Battle of Britain...
(1969), Nicholas and Alexandra
Nicholas and Alexandra
Nicholas and Alexandra is a 1971 biographical film which tells the story of the last Russian monarch, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, and his wife, Tsarina Alexandra....
(1971), and the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film You Only Live Twice
You Only Live Twice (film)
You Only Live Twice is the fifth spy film in the James Bond series, and the fifth to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film's screenplay was written by Roald Dahl, and loosely based on Ian Fleming's 1964 novel of the same name...
(1967). He was also the first British cinematographer to film a film in CinemaScope
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
.
In 2003, a survey conducted by the International Cinematographers Guild placed Young among the ten most influential cinematographers in history.
Selected films
- Victory (1928)
- Canaries Sometimes SingCanaries Sometimes SingCanaries Sometimes Sing is a 1930 British romantic comedy film, directed by Tom Walls. The film is a four-hander, starring Walls, Cathleen Nesbitt, Athole Stewart and Yvonne Arnaud...
(1930) - Rookery Nook (1930)
- White Cargo (1930)
- Carnival (1931)
- The Chance of a Night TimeThe Chance of a Night TimeThe Chance of a Night Time is a 1931 British comedy film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Ralph Lynn, Winifred Shotter and Kenneth Kove...
(1931) - The Speckled BandThe Speckled Band (1931 film)The Speckled Band is a 1931 British film directed by Jack Raymond and an adaption of Arthur Conan Doyle's story The Adventure of the Speckled Band.- Plot summary :...
(1931) - The Blue DanubeThe Blue Danube (film)The Blue Danube is a 1932 British romance film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Brigitte Helm, Joseph Schildkraut and Desmond Jeans. Its plot, based on a short story by Doris Zinkeisen, concerns a Hungarian gypsy who leaves his girlfriend for a countess, but soon begins to suffer heartache....
(1932) - Good Night, ViennaGood Night, ViennaGoodnight, Vienna is a 1932 British musical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Jack Buchanan and Anna Neagle and Gina Malo. Two lovers in Vienna are separated by the First World War, but are later reunited....
(1932) - Bitter SweetBitter Sweet (1933 film)Bitter Sweet is a musical romance film directed by Herbert Wilcox and released by United Artists in 1933. It was the first film adaptation of Noel Coward's 1929 operetta Bitter Sweet. It starred Anna Neagle and Fernand Gravey, with Ivy St. Helier reviving her stage role as Manon.It tells the story...
(1933) - A Cuckoo in the Nest (1933)
- Nell Gwynn (1934)
- Peg of Old DruryPeg of Old DruryPeg of Old Drury is a 1935 British historical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Cedric Hardwicke and Margaretta Scott. The film is a biopic of eighteenth century Irish actress Peg Woffington. It was based on the play Masks and Faces by Charles Reade and Tom Taylor.-Cast:*...
(1935) - Escape Me NeverEscape Me Never (1935 film)Escape Me Never is a 1935 British drama film directed by Paul Czinner and starring Elisabeth Bergner, Hugh Sinclair and Griffith Jones. It is an adaptation of the play Escape Me Never by Margaret Kennedy...
(1935) - When Knights Were BoldWhen Knights Were Bold (1936 film)When Knights Were Bold is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Jack Raymond and starring Jack Buchanan, Fay Wray and Garry Marsh. Sir Guy de Vere inherits his father's estate while serving with the British army in India. He returns home to take up his new role, but is greeted with hostility by...
(1936) - The FrogThe FrogThe Frog is a 1937 British crime film directed by Jack Raymond and starring Noah Beery, Jack Hawkins and Richard Ainley. The police are on the trail of a criminal mastermind who goes by the name of The Frog. It was based on a novel by Edgar Wallace...
(1936) - LimelightLimelight (1936 film)Limelight is a 1936 British, black-and-white, drama, musical, romance film directed by Herbert Wilcox starring Anna Neagle, Arthur Tracy, Jean Winton, and Ronald Shiner as the Assistant State Manager. It was produced by Herbert Wilcox Productions and British and Dominions Film Corporation....
(1936) - Two's CompanyTwo's Company (film)Two's Company is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Tim Whelan and starring Ned Sparks, Gordon Harker and Mary Brian. An American millionaire rents a country house from an English aristocrat and the two constantly fight...
(1936) - Victoria the GreatVictoria the GreatVictoria the Great is a 1937 British historical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Anton Walbrook and Walter Rilla. The film biography of Queen Victoria concentrating initially on the early years of her reign with her marriage to Prince Albert and her subsequent rule after...
(1937) - Millions (1937)
- Sixty Glorious YearsSixty Glorious YearsSixty Glorious Years is a 1938 British film directed by Herbert Wilcox. The film is a sequel to the 1937 film Victoria the Great.The film is also known as Queen of Destiny in the US.- Cast :*Anna Neagle as Queen Victoria...
(1938) - Nurse Edith CavellNurse Edith CavellNurse Edith Cavell is a 1939 American film directed by Herbert Wilcox.The film was nominated at the 1939 Oscars for Best Original Score.- Cast :*Anna Neagle as Nurse Edith Cavell*Edna May Oliver as Countess de Mavon*George Sanders as Capt. Heinrichs...
(1939) - Goodbye, Mr. ChipsGoodbye, Mr. Chips (1939 film)Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a 1939 British film based on the novel of the same name by James Hilton. It was directed by Sam Wood, and starred Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Terry Kilburn, John Mills, and Paul Henreid. The screenplay was adapted from the novel by R. C. Sherriff, Claudine West and Eric...
(1939) - Busman's HoneymoonBusman's Honeymoon (film)Busman's Honeymoon is a 1940 British detective film directed by Arthur B. Woods. An adaptation of the Lord Peter Wimsey story Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers, it starred Robert Montgomery, Constance Cummings, Leslie Banks, Seymour Hicks, Robert Newton and Googie Withers....
(1940) - Contraband (1940)
- 49th Parallel49th Parallel (film)49th Parallel is the third film made by the British writer-director team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It was released in the United States as The Invaders. Despite the title, no scene in the movie is set at the 49th parallel, which forms much of the U.S.-Canadian border...
(1941) - The Young Mr. Pitt (1942)
- Caesar and CleopatraCaesar and Cleopatra (1945 film)Caesar and Cleopatra is a 1945 British, Technicolor, biographical, romantic comedy film directed by Gabriel Pascal and starring Claude Rains and Vivien Leigh. It was adapted from a 1901 play, Caesar and Cleopatra by George Bernard Shaw...
(1945) - BedeliaBedelia (film)Bedelia is a 1946 British drama film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Margaret Lockwood, Ian Hunter and Barry K. Barnes. It is an adaptation of the novel Bedelia by Vera Caspary with events moved from the United States to England and Monaco....
(1946) - So Well RememberedSo Well RememberedSo Well Remembered is a 1947 British film starring John Mills, Martha Scott, and Trevor Howard. The film was based on the James Hilton novel of the same name and tells the story of a reformer and the woman he marries in a fictional Lancashire mill town. Hilton also narrated...
(1947) - While I LiveWhile I LiveWhile I Live is a 1947 British drama film, directed by John Harlow. While I Live is best remembered for its musical theme "The Dream of Olwen" composed by Charles Williams, reprised at intervals throughout the film, which became hugely popular in its time and is still regularly performed...
(1947) - The Winslow BoyThe Winslow Boy (1948 film)The Winslow Boy is a 1948 film adaptation of Terence Rattigan's play The Winslow Boy. It was made by De Grunwald Productions and distributed by the British Lion Film Corporation. It was directed by Anthony Asquith and produced by Anatole de Grunwald with Teddy Baird as associate producer. The...
(1948) - Treasure IslandTreasure Island (1950 film)Treasure Island is a 1950 Disney adventure film, adapted from the Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Treasure Island. It starred Bobby Driscoll as Jim Hawkins, and Robert Newton as Long John Silver...
(1950) - IvanhoeIvanhoe (1952 film)Ivanhoe is a 1952 historical film made by MGM. It was directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Pandro S. Berman. The cast featured Robert Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders, Emlyn Williams, Finlay Currie and Felix Aylmer...
(1952) - MogamboMogamboMogambo is a 1953 film directed by John Ford, featuring Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly and Donald Sinden. The film was adapted by John Lee Mahin from the play by Wilson Collison....
(1953) - Knights of the Round TableKnights of the Round Table (film)Knights of the Round Table is a 1953 Technicolor Cinemascope historical film made by MGM. Directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Pandro S. Berman, it was the first film in Cinemascope made by that studio...
(1953) - Lust for LifeLust for Life (film)Lust for Life is a MGM biographical film about the life of the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, based on the 1934 novel by Irving Stone and adapted by Norman Corwin.It was directed by Vincente Minnelli and produced by John Houseman...
(1956) - Invitation to the DanceInvitation to the Dance (film)Invitation to the Dance is a 1956 anthology film consisting of three distinct stories, all starring and directed by Gene Kelly.The film is unusual in that it has no spoken dialogue, with the characters performing their roles entirely through dance and mime...
(1956) - Bhowani JunctionBhowani Junction (film)Bhowani Junction is a 1956 film adaptation of the 1952 novel Bhowani Junction by John Masters made by MGM. The film was directed by George Cukor and produced by Pandro S...
(1956) - Island in the SunIsland in the Sun (film)Island in the Sun is a 1957 film that stars an ensemble cast including James Mason, Joan Fontaine, Dorothy Dandridge, Joan Collins, Michael Rennie and Harry Belafonte. The cast includes also Diana Wynyard, Patricia Owens and Stephen Boyd. The film is about race relations and interracial romance...
(1957) - The Barretts of Wimpole StreetThe Barretts of Wimpole Street (1957 film)The Barretts of Wimpole Street is a 1957 film originating from the United Kingdom, and was a re-make of the earlier 1934 version by the same director, Sidney Franklin. Both films are based on the play The Barretts of Wimpole Street by Rudolf Besier...
(1957) - The Inn of the Sixth HappinessThe Inn of the Sixth HappinessThe Inn of the Sixth Happiness is a 1958 American 20th Century Fox film based on the true story of Gladys Aylward, a tenacious British maid, who became a missionary in China during the tumultuous years leading up to World War II...
(1958) - Indiscreet (1958)
- I Accuse!I Accuse!I Accuse! is a 1958 biographical drama film directed by and starring José Ferrer. The film is based on the true story of the Dreyfus Case, in which a Jewish captain in the French Army is falsely accused of treason.-Plot synopsis:...
(1958) - Solomon and ShebaSolomon and ShebaSolomon and Sheba is a 1959 Biblical epic film made by Edward Small Productions and distributed by United Artists. The film stars Yul Brynner, Gina Lollobrigida, George Sanders and Marisa Pavan, with David Farrar, Harry Andrews, Jack Gwillim, Laurence Naismith, William Devlin, Jean Anderson and...
(1959) - The Greengage SummerThe Greengage SummerThe Greengage Summer is a 1961 British drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Kenneth More and Susannah York . It was based on the novel, Greengage Summer, by Rumer Godden...
(1961) - Lawrence of ArabiaLawrence of Arabia (film)Lawrence of Arabia is a 1962 British film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence. It was directed by David Lean and produced by Sam Spiegel through his British company, Horizon Pictures, with the screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson. The film stars Peter O'Toole in the title role. It is widely...
(1962) - Lord JimLord Jim (1965 film)Lord Jim is a 1965 adventure film made by Columbia Pictures. It was produced and directed by Richard Brooks with Jules Buck and Peter O'Toole as associate producers, from a screenplay by Brooks...
(1965) - Rotten to the Core (1965)
- Doctor Zhivago (1965)
- The Deadly AffairThe Deadly AffairThe Deadly Affair is a 1966 British espionage–thriller film, based on John le Carré's first novel Call for the Dead. The film stars James Mason, Harry Andrews, Simone Signoret and Maximilian Schell and was directed by Sidney Lumet from a script by Paul Dehn. In it George Smiley, the central...
(1966) - You Only Live TwiceYou Only Live Twice (film)You Only Live Twice is the fifth spy film in the James Bond series, and the fifth to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film's screenplay was written by Roald Dahl, and loosely based on Ian Fleming's 1964 novel of the same name...
(1967) - Battle of BritainBattle of Britain (film)Battle of Britain is a 1969 Technicolor film directed by Guy Hamilton, and produced by Harry Saltzman and S. Benjamin Fisz. The film broadly relates the events of the Battle of Britain...
(1969) - Ryan's DaughterRyan's DaughterRyan's Daughter is a 1970 film directed by David Lean. The film, set in 1916, tells the story of a married Irish woman who has an affair with a British officer during World War I, despite opposition from her nationalist neighbours...
(1970) - Nicholas and AlexandraNicholas and AlexandraNicholas and Alexandra is a 1971 biographical film which tells the story of the last Russian monarch, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, and his wife, Tsarina Alexandra....
(1971) - The AsphyxThe AsphyxThe Asphyx is a 1972 British horror film directed by Peter Newbrook. Also known as Spirit of the Dead and The Horror of Death, it stars Robert Stephens and Robert Powell.-Plot:...
(1973) - LutherLuther (1973 film)Luther is the 1973 film of John Osborne's biographical play, presenting the life of Martin Luther. It was one of eight in the first season of the American Film Theater's series of plays made into films. It was produced by Ely Landau, directed by British director Guy Green, and filmed at Shepperton...
(1973) - The Blue BirdThe Blue Bird (1976 film)The Blue Bird is a 1976 American/Soviet fantasy film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Hugh Whitemore, Alfred Hayes, and Aleksei Kapler is based on L'Oiseau bleu by Maurice Maeterlinck. It was the fifth screen adaptation of the play, following two silent films, the studio's 1940 version...
(1976) - StevieStevie (1978 film)Stevie is a 1978 British biographical film directed by Robert Enders and starring Glenda Jackson, Trevor Howard, Mona Washbourne and Alec McCowen. It was based on the play Stevie by Hugh Whitemore. The film depicts the life of the British poet Stevie Smith....
(1978) - Rough Cut (1980)
External links
. Biography and filmography- The Making of Lawrence of Arabia, Digitised BAFTA Journal, Winter 1962-3, including article by Freddie Young