Camera
Karl Freund
EN, DE, XX, SR cinema · 137 credits
Born
16 January 1890
Died
3 May 1969 (aged 79)
Birthplace
Königinhof, Bohemia, Czech Republic
Also known as Carl Freund · Karl W. Freund
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Karl W. Freund, A.S.C. (January 16, 1890-May 3, 1969) was a cinematographer and film director. Born in Dvůr Králové (Königinhof), Bohemia, his career began in 1905 when, at age 15, he got a job as an assistant projectionist for a film company in Berlin where his family moved in 1901. He worked as a cinematographer on over 100 films, including the German Expressionist films The Golem (1920), The Last Laugh (1924) and Metropolis (1927). Freund emigrated to the United States in 1929 where he continued to shoot well remembered films such as Dracula (1931) and Key Largo (1948). He won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for The Good Earth (1937). In 1937, he went to Germany to bring his only daughter, Gerda Maria Freund, back to the United States, saving her from almost certain death in the concentration camps. Karl's ex-wife, Susette Freund (née Liepmannssohn), remained in Germany where she was interned at the Ravensbrück concentration camp and eventually taken in March, 1942 to Bernburg Euthanasia Center where she was murdered. Between 1921 and 1935, Freund also directed ten films, of which the best known are probably The Mummy (1932) starring Boris Karloff, and his last film as director, Mad Love (1935) starring Peter Lorre. Freund's only known film as an actor is Carl Dreyer's Michael (1924) in which he has a cameo as a sycophantic art dealer who saves the tobacco ashes dropped by a famous painter. At the beginning of the 1950s, he was persuaded by Desi Arnaz at Desilu to be the cinematographer in 1951 for the televisions series I Love Lucy. Critics have credited Freund for the show's lustrous black and white cinematography, but more importantly, Freund designed the "flat lighting" system for shooting sitcoms that is still in use today. This system covers the set in light, thus eliminating shadows and allowing the use of three moving cameras without having to modify the lighting in-between shots. And where Freund did not invent the three camera shooting system, he did perfect it for use with film cameras in front of a live audience. Freund and his production team also worked on other sitcoms produced at/through Desilu such as "Our Miss Brooks". Description above from the Wikipedia article Karl Freund, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known for
Filmography
The Golem
Director of Photography
I Love Lucy: The Movie
Director of Photography
Bright Leaf
Director of Photography
Montana
Director of Photography
South of St. Louis
Director of Photography
Key Largo
Director of Photography
The Decision of Christopher Blake
Director of Photography
Wallflower
Director of Photography
This Time for Keeps
Director of Photography
That Hagen Girl
Director of Photography
Undercurrent
Director of Photography
Two Smart People
Director of Photography
A Letter for Evie
Director of Photography
Without Love
Director of Photography
Dangerous Partners
Director of Photography
The Seventh Cross
Director of Photography
A Guy Named Joe
Director of Photography
The Thin Man Goes Home
Director of Photography
Cry 'Havoc'
Director of Photography
Du Barry Was a Lady
Director of Photography
Tortilla Flat
Director of Photography
A Yank at Eton
Director of Photography
The Affairs of Martha
Director of Photography
The War Against Mrs. Hadley
Director of Photography
The Chocolate Soldier
Director of Photography
Blossoms in the Dust
Director of Photography
Pride and Prejudice
Director of Photography
Green Hell
Director of Photography
The Earl of Chicago
Director of Photography
We Who Are Young
Director of Photography
Florian
Director of Photography
Comrade X
Camera Operator
Golden Boy
Director of Photography
Balalaika
Director of Photography
Tail Spin
Director of Photography
Rose of Washington Square
Director of Photography
Barricade
Director of Photography
Letter of Introduction
Director of Photography
Port of Seven Seas
Director of Photography
Three Comrades
Director of Photography
Man-Proof
Director of Photography
Conquest
Director of Photography
The Good Earth
Director of Photography
Parnell
Director of Photography
Camille
Director of Photography
The Great Ziegfeld
Director of Photography
Mad Love
Director
Gift of Gab
Director
Madame Spy
Director
I Give My Love
Director
Uncertain Lady
Director
The Kiss Before the Mirror
Director of Photography
The Mummy
Director
Murders in the Rue Morgue
Director of Photography
Air Mail
Director of Photography
Scandal for Sale
Director of Photography
Afraid to Talk
Director of Photography
Back Street
Director of Photography
Dracula
Director of Photography, Co-Director
Up for Murder
Director of Photography
Personal Maid
Director of Photography
Strictly Dishonorable
Director of Photography
The Bad Sister
Director of Photography
All Quiet on the Western Front
Director of Photography
The Boudoir Diplomat
Director of Photography
The Lottery Bride
Director of Photography
Sleeping Partners
Director of Photography
Fräulein Else
Director of Photography
A Knight in London
Director of Photography
Lady Juan
Director of Photography
Metropolis
Director of Photography, Camera Operator
Berlin: Symphony of a Great City
Producer, Director of Photography
Manon Lescaut
Director of Photography
Tartuffe
Director of Photography
Adventures of a Ten Mark Note
Production Supervisor
Variety
Director of Photography
Michael
as LeBlanc - Art Dealer, Director of Photography
The Last Laugh
Director of Photography
The Finances of the Grand Duke
Director of Photography
Der Tiger des Zirkus Farini
1923
The Tiger of the Farini Circus
Director of Photography
Die Austreibung
1923
The Expulsion
Director of Photography
Herzog Ferrantes Ende
Director of Photography
Das blinde Glück
Director of Photography
The Burning Soil
Director of Photography
Lucrezia Borgia
Director of Photography
Marizza
Director of Photography
The Rats
Director of Photography
The Lost Shadow
Director of Photography
Torgus
Director of Photography
The Boy in Blue
Director of Photography
The Golem: How He Came into the World
Director of Photography
The Head of Janus
Director of Photography
The Spiders: Part 2 - The Diamond Ship
Director of Photography
Catherine the Great
1920
Catherine the Great
Cinematography
The Hunchback and the Dancer
Director of Photography
Panic in the House of Ardon
Director of Photography
Satan
Director of Photography
Die Nacht auf Goldenhall
1920
Die Nacht auf Goldenhall
Director of Photography
The Spiders: Part 1 - The Golden Sea
Director of Photography
Augen
1919
Eyes
Cinematography, Camera Department Manager
Phantome des Lebens
Director of Photography
Die Arche. 2. Teil: Die letzten Menschen
1919
Die Arche. 2. Teil: Die letzten Menschen
Director of Photography
Die Arche
1919
The Arc
Director of Photography
Intoxication
Director of Photography
Die Heimkehr des Odysseus
1918
The Return of Odysseus
Director of Photography
Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier
1918
Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier
Director of Photography
Die Dame, der Teufel und die Probiermamsell
1918
Die Dame, der Teufel und die Probiermamsell
Director of Photography
Die blaue Laterne
Director of Photography
Countess Kitchenmaid
Director of Photography
Auf Probe gestellt
1918
Auf Probe gestellt
Director of Photography
Das Maskenfest des Lebens
1918
Das Maskenfest des Lebens
Director of Photography
Das Geschlecht derer von Ringwall
Director of Photography
Gefangene Seele
Director of Photography
The Giant's Fist
Director of Photography
Der Liebesbrief der Königin
Director of Photography
Die Claudi vom Geiserhof
1917
Die Claudi vom Geiserhof
Director of Photography
Christa Hartungen
1917
Christa Hartungen
Director of Photography
Die Ehe der Luise Rohrbach
Director of Photography
The White Roses
Director of Photography
Little Angel's Wedding
Camera Operator
The Robber Bride
Director of Photography
Frau Eva
1916
Mrs. Eva
Director of Photography
Das wandernde Licht
Director of Photography
Der Mann im Spiegel
1916
The Man in the Mirror
Director of Photography
Bummelstudenten
1916
Bummelstudenten
Director of Photography
Zapata's Gang
Director of Photography
Little Angel
Director of Photography
The Hound of the Baskervilles
Director of Photography
A Venetian Night
Director of Photography
Das Feuer
1914
Das Feuer
Director of Photography
The Film Prima Donna
Director of Photography
The Suffragette
Director of Photography
Jadna majka
1912
Poor Mother
Director of Photography