Ralph Hammeras

Ralph Hammeras (born March 24, 1894 in Minneapolis , Minnesota , † February 3, 1970 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American film technician , cameraman and production designer who was nominated three times for an Oscar .

Life

Hammeras began as a film technician and production designer in the mid-1920s and was involved in the production of numerous silent and sound films .

He made his debut in 1925 with the fantasy film The Lost World (1925) by Harry O. Hoyt and Willis O'Brien, assistant technical director and researcher. After that, in 1927 he was cameraman in Die Welt in Flammen (1927) by Alfred Santell and responsible for the technical effects in The Love Life of Beautiful Helena (1927) by Alexander Korda . In the film The Uncrowned Queen (1929) by Frank Lloyd , he was assistant chamberlain and responsible for mechanical effects in Sky Hawk (1929) by John G. Blystone .

At the first Academy Awards in 1929 , he was nominated for his overall performance for the Oscar for Best Engineering Effects, which was only awarded that year . However, the award went to Roy Pomeroy .

For the production design in Just Imagine (1930) he was nominated together with Stephen Goosson at the Academy Awards in 1931 for the Oscar in the category of best production design.

He was then again responsible for the special effects in Body and Soul (1931) by Alfred Santell and A Connecticut Yankee (1931) by David Butler , Das Schiff des Satans (1935) by Harry Lachman , In Old Chicago (1937) by Henry King , Four Men - One Oath (1938) by John Ford , Suez (1938) by Allan Dwan, and The Great Dictator (1940) by Charles Chaplin .

After working as a cameraman in the short film Always on the Bench (1941) by Roy Mack , he was in the films White Oleander (1946) by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and Anna and the King of Siam (1946) by John Cromwell both for the special effects as well as responsible for the miniatures.

For the film Deep Waters directed by Henry King in 1948 , he was nominated again for an Oscar at the 1949 Academy Awards, this time together with Fred Sersen , Edward Snyder and Roger Heman senior in the category of best visual effects , although this time he did not receive an Oscar .

In the he worked mostly as a film technician for technical and visual effects and most recently worked on the films 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) by Richard Fleischer , The Black Scorpion (1957) by Edward Ludwig , Attack der Riesenkralle (1957) by Fred F. Sears and Cleopatra (1963). His last work as a cameraman was in My Dog, Buddy (1960) by Ray Kellogg .

Web links

• Ralph Hammeras in the Internet Movie Database (English)