American Cinematographer - February 1994 - 45

knew

exactly how I wanted it to
play, but you are never sure it
will work until you watch the
projected images reflect off the
screen.

When I

saw

the film for

the first time, I became hooked on
the power of visual imagery and
its effectiveness in

rated

the

script. Then they put
slips of paper into a hat. One said
"producer," another "director,"
on

a

Photographers Guild. "In order
to appease the union, we made a

Filmmakers visited the

deal to hire a Guild cameraman,"
Hall says. "I shot the picture, but
the Guild cameraman got the
screen credit. I was
given a credit
as visual consultant." The film
was released
by United Artists
under the title Running Target.

telling

story."
students

regularly. On

one

such

occasion, John Huston showed
them dailies of The Red

Badge of

Courage. Orson Welles

was an¬

other influence

on

Hall,

many screenwriters
recruited to
talk with the
students.
After

as were

Vorkapitch

cracks, "In those days it seemed
like

and the third read "cameraman."
Hall pulled camera duty,
and the luck of the draw helped
him get into the International

plenty of time and money."
Veteran producer Tom

Shaw, who worked with Hall

subse¬
Hall's
quick thinking and on-the-spot
improvisations were a wonder to
behold: "It was one of the best
damn jobs I ever saw anyone do
in my

24

life. We made that film in
days, but it seemed like 24

minutes! And it turned out

anything,

rior of

a

boxcar, and both genera¬
whole

knew Connie before that movie,
he

was so
impressed by what
accomplished with no re¬
sources that I
got him for the next
film I worked on, The Profession¬

Hollywood.

He confronted

the

classic
"Catch
22"
situation: you
couldn't work

als."
Later in 1965,

Hall earned

his first Oscar nomination for
Morituri. In 1966, he shot Incubus,

camera

unless

Harper and then The Professionals.
Harper was his first color film, but
he remembers shooting it as if it

you were on
the Interna¬
tional Photog¬

were

black & white. "I

was

much

concerned with the impor¬
tance of camera movement," he

raphers Guild

more

roster, but you
couldn't get on
the roster with¬

says.

experience. Given these reali¬
ties, the odds against success
were
nearly insurmountable.
out

Afterwards, the partners went

classmates, Marvin Weinstein

their separate ways, and Hall was
allowed to join the Guild.
Once in the Guild, Hall
worked as an assistant camera¬
man with Burnie
Guffey, ASC,

and

Ernie

determined to

beat those odds. He and two

Jack Couffer, organized Can¬

Haller, ASC, Hal Mohr,

Films. The trio produced

ASC and Ted McCord, ASC. Af¬

documentaries, commercials and
industrial films, but there were

a year with McCord, Hall was
upgraded to operator. The young
operator was working on a TV se¬
ries called Stoney Burke when
McCord got sick; Hall was asked
to take over. The next year, he

long periods when they mainly
dreamed about the future. Hall
shot commercials and industrial

films, and did

made

thing with the reflectors, and it
beautiful. He's very inven¬
tive and imaginative. I never

in

yon

we

was

but I

was

though

tors went out. He lit the

gree didn't un¬
lock any doors

Hall

even

great job with very little; at one
point, we were shooting the inte¬

ered that a cin¬
ema school de¬

a

so

well, I'd put it up against almost

a

Hall discov¬

crew

on

The Wild Seed and many
quent outings, says that

it for about 20 cents. Connie did

graduation,

on

of the production, Hall

pace

some

pickup shots

ter

filmed The Outer Limits.

for features.

In 1964, Hall shot his first
feature, The Wild Seed. The

The Professionals was his
first film with director Richard

Brooks, and earned the cinema¬

tographer his second Oscar nomi¬
nation. At the time The Profession¬
als was being made, the industry
was
benefitting from an amaz¬
ing influx of talent, as evi¬
denced by the fact that Hall's
crew on

the film included future

photographic wizards William
Fraker and

Jordan Cronenweth.

Very early in

prepara¬
tion, Brooks cautioned Hall that
he

was
going to be tempted to
help him direct. He then pointed
out, in a style befitting the film's

Canyon Films eventually
purchased a short story entitled
My Brother Down There with the
idea of turning it into a feature

black & white production was
filmed in 24 days on a $286,000

film. The three partners

budget. Recalling the harried

Hall, a plain talker himself, re¬
spected the filmmaker's frank-

February 1994

American

collabo¬

union

Western milieu,

that there

was

only room for one sheriff in town.

Cinematographer

43
American Cinematographer - February 1994

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