John Wayne Kilted

[macwilkin]

John Ford worked with her on at least two pictures, and I suspect that was enough, as The Quiet Man isn't listed in Kalmus's film credits.

Nope, it was Winston Hoch that worked with Ford as cinematographer on his technocolor films: The Quiet Man, She wore a Yellow Ribbon and The Searchers.

T.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Nope, it was Winston Hoch that worked with Ford as cinematographer on his technocolor films: The Quiet Man, She wore a Yellow Ribbon and The Searchers.

T.

Correct, but Natalie Kalmus was Ford's "Technicolor Director" not his cinematographer, although I believe she may have lensed one or two silents/early talkies using the Technicolor process (Herbert Kalmus patented his colour process in 1905/1912) which were produced by the Technicolor Corp. to promote its coloured film process. If this is so, then she was probably the first woman cinematographer. However--

Natalie's job was to advise cinematographers on film stock. But, being the pushy broad that she was (David O. Selznick had her barred from the set during the shooting of GWTW) she inevitably ended up trying to run the show-- costumes, sets, backgrounds (she preferred "neutral shades"), makeup and lighting. And, according to one Hollywood old timer, she could make life pretty miserable if she didn't get her way-- after all, she and her husband "owned" Technicolor.

In 1948 Natalie Kalmus was the Technicolor Director on the film The Swordsman, a swashbuckler (starring Larry Parks) and set in Scotland! Lots of kilts in this picture, and every bit as historically accurate as Braveheart or Rob Roy.

Natalie Kalmus was pretty much out of the motion picture business by 1948, when she tried (unsuccessfully) to sue her husband for divorce (they actually had been divorced since 1921, but this will give you an idea about what sort of a woman she was) and sued Technicolor Inc. in 1950 and again in 1951. She lost both times.