Person
George Hurrell Sr.
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Classically trained as a painter, Hurrell employed fine art techniques in his compositions. Beginning in 1930, Hurrell worked as a portrait photographer for most of the major Holl…
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Classically trained as a painter, Hurrell employed fine art techniques in his compositions. Beginning in 1930, Hurrell worked as a portrait photographer for most of the major Hollywood motion picture studios, first with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. While most of the country suffered during the Great Depression in the 1930s, the movie industry thrived. During this time especially, Hurrell's photographs did more than just promote a film or a celebrity; for many, the glamour, romance, and drama of these photos provided a momentary mental escape from difficult times. Hurrell is credited with creating the standard for the idealized Hollywood glamour portrait. Always an innovator, he invented the boom light and developed several-now standard-lighting techniques. Hurrell's signature use of precision lighting, spotlights, shadows, and hand-retouching on the negatives produced romantic portraits that became his trademark style and the definition of glamour for the movie industry. The very notion is so familiar, and the images that most perfectly illustrate the concept are so readily conjured, that most movie fans are unaware that one man - a single photographer - is largely responsible for the look and feel of the classic film-glamour ideal.
Filmography
Movies and shows, newest first
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2008
Glamour vs. Paparazzi
Movie Self (archive footage)
- 1995
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1978
Rabbit Test
Movie Still Photographer
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1971
The Mephisto Waltz
Movie Still Photographer
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1940
They Drive by Night
Movie Still Photographer
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1936
Romeo and Juliet
Movie Still Photographer
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1935
Escapade
Movie Still Photographer
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1933
Secrets
Movie Still Photographer
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1932
Red-Headed Woman
Movie Still Photographer
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1932
Letty Lynton
Movie Still Photographer
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1931
Possessed
Movie Still Photographer
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1930
The Unholy Three
Movie Still Photographer
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1930
Free and Easy
Movie Still Photographer
