American Cinematographer - December 1999 - 148

crew of
Birdman of
Alcatraz

The

remain in

place, complicating the lighting
Baby Juniors and tiny
spotlights had to be concealed behind
props. Guffey usually operated at a stop
of f5.6, often using an 18mm wide-angle
lens to gain greater depth and coverage
within the tiny set.
Calling the small cell "home" was
star Burt Lancaster, who garnered a Best
Actor nomination for his performance as
Stroud. The picture depicts Stroud from
the age of 20 to more than 70 years old;
to aid in this progression, Guffey lit
Lancaster with soft, flat lighting in the
film's early scenes, and then switched to
sharp, contrasty lighting for scenes
depicting the elderly Birdman.
A number of cages containing
various birds dressed the cramped cell,
and screen-filling close-ups of the crea¬
tures were important to the picture.
Instead of passing this work to a second
unit, Guffey and his crew tackled the
shots themselves with extreme patience.
"Using four- and six-inch lenses on the
camera, our chief problem was obtaining
sufficient depth of field to keep the birds
in focus as they moved about within the
limited camera range," explained the
unflappable Guffey. "We managed it
rather easily, however, by using Eastman
Double-X film and increasing the set
lighting level to 600 footcandles, which
scheme. Juniors,

captures a
conversation
between Stroud

(Burt Lancaster)
and the prison
warden (Karl

Malden).

For the motion-picture industry, 1962
was a

films

year, with such
Lawrence of Arabia, The

heavyweight

as

Longest Day, Mutiny on the Bounty, The
Miracle Worker and To Kill a Mocking¬
bird all garnering multiple Academy
Award nominations.
these classics

was

Nestled among
another fine film,

United Artists' Birdman of Alcatraz, the
factual account of convict Robert Stroud,
who became

one

of the world's foremost

scientific authorities

on

birds and their

diseases

through studies conducted
entirely within his prison cell.
To

photograph Stroud's tale,

director John Frankenheimer enlisted the

expertise of Burnett Guffey, ASC. A
former Society president (1957-58),
Guffey earned two Academy Awards and
three nominations during a career that
spanned more than 75 films. He took
home the Oscar in 1953 for his striking
144 December 1999

monochromatic work

on

From Here to

Eternity and again in 1967 for the
period look of Bonnie and
Clyde. His other nominations recognized
the black-and-white images he created
for The Harder They Fall anti King Bat.
Nearly three-quarters of Birdman
ofAlcatraz took place within a single set
measuring barely 6' x 9', erected on a
Columbia Studios soundstage in Holly¬
authentic color

enabled

us to

Guffey in the June 1962 issue of
American Cinematographer. "The tiny

prison riot scene, Guffey
out of the confining
cell set and stretch his legs. He
employed harsh, low-key lighting and
mounted his Mitchell on a Chapman
boom, allowing the camera to move
subjectively into the mayhem. Strong
cross-lighting accentuated the explo¬

cell set was constructed

sions of tear gas

wood. "No concessions
the

camera

or

were

made for

lighting requirements,"

noted

according to the
original. In most shots,
three of the walls were visible, leaving
dimensions of the
but

one

wall wild' for removal to

modate the

camera

or

accom¬

placement of

lights."
Since many shots were executed
from low

angles, the ceiling piece had to

During

shoot at f11."

was

able to

a

move

bombs.

"I believe in

keeping it simple,"

Guffey said. "I have learned over a period
of time and from some highly skilled
cinematographers that the most striking
results are attained by using as few light¬
ing units as possible."
Douglas Bankston
-
American Cinematographer - December 1999

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