Biography
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.
Camera 107
1960s
- 1960
The Golem
Director of Photography
1950s
- 1953
I Love Lucy: The Movie
Director of Photography
- 1950
1940s
- 1949
- 1948
The Decision of Christopher Blake
Director of Photography
Wallflower
Director of Photography
- 1947
That Hagen Girl
Director of Photography
This Time for Keeps
Director of Photography
- 1946
A Letter for Evie
Director of Photography
Two Smart People
Director of Photography
- 1945
Dangerous Partners
Director of Photography
- 1944
The Seventh Cross
Director of Photography
A Guy Named Joe
Director of Photography
- 1943
- 1942
A Yank at Eton
Director of Photography
The War Against Mrs. Hadley
Director of Photography
The Affairs of Martha
Director of Photography
Tortilla Flat
Director of Photography
- 1941
The Chocolate Soldier
Director of Photography
Blossoms in the Dust
Director of Photography
- 1940
Comrade X
Camera Operator
We Who Are Young
Director of Photography
Florian
Director of Photography
Green Hell
Director of Photography
1930s
- 1939
Balalaika
Director of Photography
Barricade
Director of Photography
Golden Boy
Director of Photography
Rose of Washington Square
Director of Photography
Tail Spin
Director of Photography
- 1938
Port of Seven Seas
Director of Photography
Three Comrades
Director of Photography
Man-Proof
Director of Photography
- 1937
Conquest
Director of Photography
Parnell
Director of Photography
- 1936
- 1933
The Kiss Before the Mirror
Director of Photography
- 1932
Afraid to Talk
Director of Photography
Air Mail
Director of Photography
Back Street
Director of Photography
Scandal for Sale
Director of Photography
Murders in the Rue Morgue
Director of Photography
- 1931
Strictly Dishonorable
Director of Photography
Personal Maid
Director of Photography
Up for Murder
Director of Photography
The Bad Sister
Director of Photography
- 1930
The Boudoir Diplomat
Director of Photography
The Lottery Bride
Director of Photography
Sleeping Partners
Director of Photography
1920s
- 1929
Fräulein Else
Director of Photography
- 1928
A Knight in London
Director of Photography
Lady Juan
Director of Photography
- 1927
- 1926
Manon Lescaut
Director of Photography
Tartuffe
Director of Photography
- 1925
Variety
Director of Photography
- 1924
Michael
Director of Photography
The Finances of the Grand Duke
Director of Photography
- 1922
Herzog Ferrantes Ende
Director of Photography
Lucrezia Borgia
Director of Photography
The Burning Soil
Director of Photography
Marizza
Director of Photography
Das blinde Glück
Director of Photography
- 1921
Torgus
Director of Photography
The Rats
Director of Photography
The Boy in Blue
Director of Photography
The Lost Shadow
Director of Photography
- 1920
The Golem: How He Came into the World
Director of Photography
Panic in the House of Ardon
Director of Photography
The Head of Janus
Director of Photography
The Hunchback and the Dancer
Director of Photography
The Spiders: Part 2 - The Diamond Ship
Director of Photography
Satan
Director of Photography
1910s
- 1919
Intoxication
Director of Photography
Phantome des Lebens
Director of Photography
- 1918
Die blaue Laterne
Director of Photography
Das Geschlecht derer von Ringwall
Director of Photography
Countess Kitchenmaid
Director of Photography
- 1917
The Giant's Fist
Director of Photography
Gefangene Seele
Director of Photography
Der Liebesbrief der Königin
Director of Photography
Die Ehe der Luise Rohrbach
Director of Photography
- 1916
The White Roses
Director of Photography
Das wandernde Licht
Director of Photography
Little Angel's Wedding
Camera Operator
- 1914
The Hound of the Baskervilles
Director of Photography
A Venetian Night
Director of Photography
Zapata's Gang
Director of Photography
Little Angel
Director of Photography
- 1913
The Film Prima Donna
Director of Photography
Directed 9
1930s
- 1935
Mad Love
Director
- 1934
Gift of Gab
Director
I Give My Love
Director
Uncertain Lady
Director
The Countess of Monte Cristo
Director
Madame Spy
Director
- 1933
Moonlight and Pretzels
Director
- 1932
- 1931
Produced 3
1920s
- 1927
- 1926
Madame Wants No Children
Producer
Adventures of a Ten Mark Note
Production Supervisor
Acted in 1
1920s
- 1924
Michael
LeBlanc - Art Dealer