Robert Burks

American cinematographer, Academy Award winner (1909-1968)

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Robert Burks

Born|

Leslie Robert Burks

(1909-07-04)July 4, 1909

Chino, California, U.S.

Died| May 11, 1968(1968-05-11) (aged 58)

Huntington Harbour, California, U.S.

Occupation| Cinematographer
Awards| Academy Award for Best Cinematography for To Catch a Thief (1955)

Leslie Robert Burks A.S.C. (July 4, 1909 – May 11, 1968) was an American cinematographer known for his collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock.

## Biography

[edit]

Leslie Robert Burks was born in Chino, California on July 4, 1909.[1] At the age of 19, he began working as a Special Effects Technician at Warner Bros. Burks was promoted to Assistant Cameraman in 1929, Operating Cameraman in 1934, and Special Effects Cinematographer in 1938. He was promoted to Director of Photography in 1944.[2]

At age 35, Burks became one of the youngest fully accredited Directors of Photography in the industry.[2][3] Burks left Warner Bros. with Alfred Hitchcock in 1953 to join Paramount.[4]

Burks's first credit as Director of Photography was in Jammin' the Blues (1944), a short film featuring jazz musicians.

Burks is known for his cinematography in several collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock during the 1950s and 1960s.[5] In his 25 years as a Director of Photography, Burks worked on 55 features.[3] His notable credits include The Fountainhead, Beyond the Forest, The Glass Menagerie, The Spirit of St. Louis, The Music Man, and A Patch of Blue.[6]

In 1968, Burks and his wife Elisabeth died in a fire at their home in Huntington Harbour, California. He was 58 years old at the time of his death.[3][7]

## Legacy

[edit]

### Cinematographic style

[edit]

Burks' cinematography is notable for its stylistic range.[1] Burks' background in special effects influenced his pre-production planning[citation needed]. He was known for his extensive involvement in pre-production, which was unusual for cinematographers of this time[citation needed]. He used miniature models of sets to plan lighting and camera setups.[2] He developed a reputation for accuracy and precision in often unconventional technical setups.[4] Film scholar Christopher Beach credits Burks' artistic risks for contributing to some of cinema's most visually striking films.[8]

Burks received four Academy Award nominations, including nominations for both best black and white and best color photography. His Oscar win was for To Catch a Thief, which has been called "a magnificent example of VistaVision technique."[3]

#### The Wrong Man (1956)

[edit]

Burks' cinematography in Hitchcock's The Wrong Man has been described as "bleakly neorealist," with a hard to categorize style falling "somewhere between documentary realism and Film noir, with elements of Italian neorealism and moments of modernist expressionism."[5] Hitchcock initially envisioned a highly realistic, location-shot film with a documentary feel, aligning with the film's true-story basis. However, the film ultimately involved both New York City location shooting (utilizing then-new portable Garnelite lamps) and Hollywood studio work with Burks lighting the studio scenes to match the naturalism of the location footage.[9]

"Beyond consistent lighting, Burks' style in The Wrong Man was closely tied to the film's themes and mood." He frequently used cross-hatched shadows to "invoke the dominant theme of imprisonment… of crucifixion".[9] This was complemented by extreme camera angles and wide-angle lenses which, unusually for Burks, drew attention to themselves, adding a notable noir quality. These artistic choices diverged from Hitchcock's initial realist goal.[9]

#### The Birds (1963)

[edit]

"Of the The Birds's over 1,500 shots (three times more than typical for the era), over 400 were trick or composite shots."[10] The film features numerous close-ups of Tippi Hedren, often using heavy diffusion and a lighting scheme including a frontal, slightly off-camera key light, a camera-side eyelight, and some backlight.[11]

The capture a realistic look for the birds in the film Burks proposed using real birds and special effects. Collaborating with special effects editor Brad Hoffman, Burks spent over a year manipulating existing bird footage to achieve the film's final look.[10]

Burks was involved in the final scene of the Brenner's driveway, which required 32 exposures and one of Whitlock's matte paintings.[10]

Hitchcock commented, "If Bob Burks and the rest of us hadn't been technicians themselves the film would have cost $5 million [instead of $3 million]." Brad Hoffman praised Burks' contribution, stating the film "never could have been made [without Burks]. It was his persistence in doing these shots over and over that made The Birds the classic it is today."[10]

##### Marnie (1964)

[edit]

Marnie, the final Hitchcock-Burks collaboration, experimented with extreme colors and telephoto/wide-angle lenses, eliciting diverse reactions. Some praised its experimental nature, while others found its radical style "audacious" and "visually clumsy."[citation needed] The film reflected the 1960s art cinema movement; James Morrison's International Directory of Films and Filmmakers considered its experimental style ahead of its time.[5]

The film's color palette "avoids warm and bright colors, instead emphasizing subdued tones that would allow for the selective use of two primary colors: red and yellow."[12] This was seen in flashbacks, where desaturated tones evoked suppressed memories.

Burks' camera work was more radical than previous efforts, alternating between "tightly framed compositions shot with 50mm fixed lenses and striking camera moves, including backward and forward zooms, elaborate tracking shots pans, crane shots, Dutch angles, and even the combination zoom and dolly shot."[12]

As in The Birds, the film used extreme close-ups of Tippi Hedren. Hitchcock biographer Donald Spoto notes the director's instructions to Burks: "the camera was to come as close as possible, the lenses were almost to make love to her. For a scene in which she is kissed by Sean Connery, the close-up is so tight, the frame filled so fully with pressing lips, that the tone is virtually pornographic."[11]

### Burks and Hitchcock

[edit]

Burks is best known for his collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock, serving as Cinematographer on twelve of Hitchcock's films in the 1950s and 1960s.[13] Burks' special effects experience is said to have complemented Hitchcock's own interest in special effects.[2]

Their partnership began with Hitchcock's 1951 Strangers on a Train, earning Burks his first Oscar nomination.[14] Their collaborations also included: I Confess (1953), Dial M for Murder (1954, 3-D, Warner Color), Rear Window (1954, Technicolor), To Catch a Thief (1955, VistaVision, Technicolor), The Trouble with Harry (1955, VistaVision, Technicolor), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956, VistaVision, Technicolor), The Wrong Man (1956), Vertigo (1958, VistaVision, Technicolor), North by Northwest (1959, VistaVision, Technicolor), The Birds (1963, Technicolor), and Marnie (1964, Technicolor).[3]

#### Other collaborators

[edit]

Besides Hitchcock, Burks worked with several other directors on multiple projects:[5]

* Delmer Daves: To the Victor, A Kiss in the Dark, and Task Force
* Don Siegel: Hitler Lives! and Star in the Night
* King Vidor: The Fountainhead and Beyond the Forest
* Gordon Douglas: Come Fill the Cup, Mara Maru, and So This is Love (The Grace Moore Story)
* John Farrow: Hondo, The Boy from Oklahoma
* Robert Mulligan: The Rat Race and The Great Imposter

Burks had a working relationship with operative cameraman Leonard J. South, who collaborated with him on all twelve Hitchcock films. Another Hitchcock collaborator, screenwriter John Michael Hayes, stated that Burks "gave Hitchcock marvelous ideas [and] contributed greatly to every picture [he shot] during those years."[15]

### Other important works

[edit]

Early in his career as a DP at Warner Bros., Burks worked with directors on projects including Task Force (Delmer Daves, 1948), The Fountainhead (King Vidor, 1949), Beyond the Forest (Vidor, 1949), The Glass Menagerie (Irving Rapper, 1950), and The Enforcer (Bretaigne Windust and Raoul Walsh, 1950). His cinematography on The Fountainhead was recognized by the Motion Picture Academy as one of the ten best photographed black and white films of 1949.[2]

## Filmography

[edit]

### Films as special effects photographer[5]

[edit]

* Marked Woman, 1937
* Brother Orchid, 1940
* A Dispatch from Reuters, 1940
* They Drive by Night, 1940
* The Story of Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet, 1940
* King's Row, 1941
* Highway West, 1941
* In This Our Life, 1942
* Arsenic and Old Lace, 1944
* Pride of the Marines, 1945
* God Is My Co-Pilot, 1945
* Night and Day, 1946
* The Verdict, 1946
* The Two Mrs. Carrolls, 1947
* My Wild Irish Rose, 1947
* Possessed, 1947
* The Unfaithful, 1947
* Cry Wolf, 1947
* The Unsuspected, 1947
* The Woman in White, 1948
* Key Largo, 1948
* Romance on the High Seas, 1948
* Smart Girls Don't Talk, 1948
* John Loves Mary, 1949
* The Younger Brothers, 1949
* The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima, 1952

### Films as cinematographer:[5]

[edit]

* Jammin' the Blues, 1944
* Make Your Own Bed, 1944
* Escape in the Desert, 1945
* Hitler Lives!, 1945
* Star in the Night, 1945
* To the Victor, 1948
* A Kiss in the Dark, 1948
* Task Force, 1949
* The Fountainhead, 1949
* Beyond the Forest, 1949
* The Glass Menagerie, 1950
* Room for One More, 1951
* Close to My Heart, 1951
* The Enforcer, 1951
* Strangers on a Train, 1951
* Tomorrow is Another Day, 1951
* Come Fill the Cup, 1951
* Mara Maru, 1952
* I Confess, 1953
* The Desert Song, 1953
* Hondo, 1953
* The Boy from Oklahoma, 1953
* So This Is Love, 1953
* Dial M for Murder, 1954
* Rear Window, 1954
* To Catch a Thief, 1955
* The Trouble with Harry, 1955
* The Man Who Knew Too Much, 1956
* The Vagabond King, 1956
* The Wrong Man, 1956
* The Spirit of St. Louis, 1957
* Vertigo, 1958
* The Black Orchid, 1958
* North By Northwest, 1959
* But Not for Me, 1959
* The Rat Race, 1960
* The Great Impostor, 1960
* The Pleasure of His Company, 1961
* The Music Man, 1962
* The Birds, 1963
* Marnie, 1964
* Once a Thief, 1965
* A Patch of Blue, 1965
* A Covenant with Death, 1966
* Waterhole #3, 1967

## Academy Awards

[edit]

* Nominee - Best Black and White Photography Strangers on a Train \- 1951
* Nominee - Best Color Photography Rear Window \- 1954
* Winner - Best Color Photography To Catch a Thief \- 1955
* Nominee - Best Black and White Photography A Patch of Blue - 1965

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Whitty, Stephen (2016). The Alfred Hitchcock Encyclopedia. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 62–63.62-63&rft.pub=Rowman+&+Littlefield&rft.date=2016&rft.aulast=Whitty&rft.aufirst=Stephen&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Robert+Burks" class="Z3988">
2. ^ a b c d e Beach, Christopher (2015). A Hidden History of Film Style, Cinematographers, Directors, and the Collaborative Process. University of California Press. pp. 129–131.129-131&rft.pub=University+of+California+Press&rft.date=2015&rft.aulast=Beach&rft.aufirst=Christopher&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Robert+Burks" class="Z3988">
3. ^ a b c d e Turner, George (1998). "Great Relationships: Robert Burks and Alfred Hitchcock". American Cinematographer. 79: 72–74 - via ProQuest.72-74&rft.date=1998&rft.aulast=Turner&rft.aufirst=George&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Robert+Burks" class="Z3988">
4. ^ a b Beach, Christopher (2015). A Hidden History of Film Style, Cinematographers, Directors, and the Collaborative Process. Oakland: University of California Press. p. 135.
5. ^ a b c d e f Morrison, James (2006). International Directory of Films and Filmmakers. Detroit: St. James Press. pp. 135–136 - via Gale Cengage Learning.135-136&rft.pub=St.+James+Press&rft.date=2006&rft.aulast=Morrison&rft.aufirst=James&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Robert+Burks" class="Z3988">
6. ^ "Robert Burks Biography". Internet Encyclopedia of Cinematographers. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
7. ^ "Robert Burks Obituary". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2015. Archived from the original on September 29, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
8. ^ Beach, Christopher (2015). A Hidden History of Film Style, Cinematographers, Directors, and the Collaborative Process. Oakland: University of California Press. p. 152.
9. ^ a b c Beach, Christopher (2015). A Hidden History of Film Style, Cinematographers, Directors, and the Collaborative Process. Oakland: University of California Press. pp. 132–134.132-134&rft.pub=University+of+California+Press&rft.date=2015&rft.aulast=Beach&rft.aufirst=Christopher&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Robert+Burks" class="Z3988">
10. ^ a b c d Beach, Christopher (2015). A Hidden History of Film Style, Cinematographers, Directors, and the Collaborative Process. University of California Press. pp. 144–146.144-146&rft.pub=University+of+California+Press&rft.date=2015&rft.aulast=Beach&rft.aufirst=Christopher&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Robert+Burks" class="Z3988">
11. ^ a b Pizello, Stephen (2012). "Hitchcock Blonde". American Cinematographer. 10: 76–85 - via ProQuest.76-85&rft.date=2012&rft.aulast=Pizello&rft.aufirst=Stephen&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Robert+Burks" class="Z3988">
12. ^ a b Beach, Christopher (2015). A Hidden History of Film Style, Cinematographers, Directors, and the Collaborative Process. Oakland: University of California Press. pp. 146–150.146-150&rft.pub=University+of+California+Press&rft.date=2015&rft.aulast=Beach&rft.aufirst=Christopher&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Robert+Burks" class="Z3988">
13. ^ Beach, Christopher (2015). A Hidden History of Film Style, Cinematographers, Directors, and the Collaborative Process. Oakland: University of California Press. pp. 27–28.27-28&rft.pub=University+of+California+Press&rft.date=2015&rft.aulast=Beach&rft.aufirst=Christopher&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Robert+Burks" class="Z3988">
14. ^ Beach, Christopher (2015). A Hidden History of Film Style: Cinematographers, Directors, and the Collaborative Process. Oakland: University of California Press. p. 116.
15. ^ Beach, Christopher (2015). A Hidden History of Film Style, Cinematographers, Directors, and the Collaborative Process. Oakland: University of California Press. "128–129"

## External links and further reading

[edit]

* Robert Burks at IMDb
* Robert Burks at Find a Grave
* "Hitchcock Blonde" by Stephen Pizzello. American Cinematographer; Oct 2012; 93,10; Screen Studies Collection

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