Bert Glennon

Bert Lawrence Glennon (November 19, 1895 – June 29, 1967) was an American cinematographer and film director. He directed Syncopation (1929), the first film released by RKO Radio Pictures.^[1]

Biography

Glennon was born in Anaconda, Montana in 1895 and attended Stanford University, where he graduated in 1912. Before gaining fame in Hollywood, Glennon served as a pursuit pilot instructor during World War I. He began his work in film in 1912 as a stage manager for theater entrepreneur Oliver Morosco and then c. 1913 worked for Keystone and Famous Players, then was laboratory superintendent for Clune Film Corporation, for four years. In 1915 he did his first film as cinematographer The Stingaree (serial) and in 1928 he directed his first film The Perfect Crime.

Glennon was nominated for three Academy Awards in Best Cinematography for the films Stagecoach (1939), Drums Along the Mohawk (1939), and Dive Bomber (1941). He worked as a cinematographer on over 100 films for directors that included John Ford, André de Toth, Josef von Sternberg, Raoul Walsh, and Cecil B. DeMille. His son James Glennon was also an Academy Award-nominated cinematographer.

Partial filmography

As cinematographer

As director

• Gang War (1928)
• The Perfect Crime (1928)
• The Air Legion (1929)
• Syncopation (1929)
• Girl of the Port (1930)
• Around the Corner (1930)
• Paradise Island (1930)
• In Line of Duty (1931)
• South of Santa Fe (1932)

As screenwriter

• Second Wife (1930)

As actor

• The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914) (as Herbert Glennon)

References

Further reading

• Gallagher, John A. (1993). "Glennon, Bert". In Cook, Samantha (ed.). International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers. Vol. 4. Writers and Production Artists (2nd ed.). St James Press. ISBN 9781558620407. Short essay on Glennon.

External links

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