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Rosson's presence on Ulisse as cinematographer rather than Schüfftan is perhaps due to his celebrated use of colour, for which he won his first Academy award on The Wizard of Oz

(Victor Fleming, 1939). Schüfftan's failure to be admitted into the ASC in the 1940s, which had forced him to work in the smaller studios of Poverty Row, prevented him from being trained in colour photography when Technicolor was first being introduced by the major studios. If Schüfftan had not already been inextricably linked to a chiaroscuro style of photography, this lack of training or access undoubtedly sealed his fate as a black and white cinematographer. This is yet another way in which the protectionism of the American union had adversely affected Schüfftan’s career.

Alternatively, it is possible that Schüfftan was never intended to be any part of the production of Ulisse, but when consulted briefly for the film on how to use certain effects techniques, Schüfftan's insight became invaluable to the production. In a letter dated 13th November, 1956, to Ilse Lahn (his contact at the Paul Kohner agency), Schüfftan laments the drive amongst producers to hire cheaper, inexperienced craftspeople, however offers a point on which Lahn may be able to find him future work:

Of course one asks for young people in the film business but there are many problems where one needs my experience. It happens very often that they want an information how this or that problem is to solve. So you can sell me always when there are problems in the production technic [sic]. I am always to their disposition even I don't get the job. Of course one is more or less obliged to give me the job and more safe if one does so. The same happened with “Ulyss”.35

It seems therefore that Schüfftan’s initial advice for the production turned into a full contract, which saw him work in Rome on the special effects, of which there are numerous examples

35 Correspondence dated 13th November, 1956, from the Eugen Schüfftan file of the Paul Kohner archive, held at the Deutsche Kinemathek, Berlin.

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in Ulisse. Principal among them is the encounter between Ulysses and his men with Polyphemus, the cyclops. It is highly likely that Schüfftan would have been involved in such an effect, based upon combining two different scales within a single image, given his pedigree with the Schüfftan Process (see Figure 47). Although not credited for cinematography, it would seem that Schüfftan considered his contribution and assistance to Rosson's work enough to express his role as cinematographer as well as special effects advisor in his curriculum vitae.36

Figure 47: The cyclops in Ulisse.

Ulisse would provide an unusual legacy in the history of the cinema, when ten years after it was filmed, Jean-Luc Godard would mount a cinematic attack against the industry and his

36 From the Eugen Schüfftan file of the Paul Kohner archive, held at the Deutsche Kinemathek, Berlin.

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producers, in his film Le Mépris/Contempt (1963), which plots an attempt to film a version of

The Odyssey. Carl Ponti, a producer of Ulisse, was amongst the producers of Le Mépris, who had attempted to guide Godard away from his vision into a more commercially viable product. In the film Godard offers a deep satire of the American-style of doing film business, in particular through the tensions between producers, looking for a commercial product, and the director (played by Fritz Lang), who is struggling to make an ‘art film’.

Schüfftan was retained in Italy during 1954 for his next project, a stark contrast to the epic scale of Ulisse. The film, titled Una parigina a Roma/A Parisian in Rome, was a coproduction between the West German company Copa-Filmgesellschaft and the Italian production company Rivo-Film, which followed a bi-lateral co-production agreement that had been established between West Germany and Italy in 1953, in the wake of a similar agreement between West Germany and France in 1951 (Bergfelder, 2005: 62). The film was shot in Italian by the German director Erich Kobler, and starred two popular Italian leads, the comic actor Alberto Sordi and the actress Anna-Maria Ferrero, with La Putain respectueuse’s

Barbara Laage completing the main cast. Schüfftan’s photography lacks the definition and intricacies of his usual style, favouring a general illumination of the set, as opposed to the structured chiaroscuro lighting model Schüfftan usually employed, of strong key light, soft fill, and strong backlight. Although it is important to note that a genre such as the romantic comedy hardly required the same psychological depth and detail of lighting that Schüfftan excelled in providing (as we saw with Drôle de drame).

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Figure 48: There is a lack of definition in Schüfftan's lighting for Una parigina a Roma.

Later in 1954 Schüfftan continued his migratory experience by returning to France to film another co-production, between France and Germany, made possible by the above mentioned agreement. The film was Marianne de ma Jeunesse/Marianne of My Youth (Marianne for its German release), based upon the novel by Peter von Mendelssohn set in a boys private school. Production on Marianne de ma Jeunesse ran between August and November 1954, under the direction of the acclaimed French director Julien Duvivier. However, Schüfftan's role was not his usual one of cinematographer, rather this duty was performed by LéonceHenri Burel who had worked as a cinematographer in France since 1914, including a credit on Napoléon (Abel Gance, 1927). Following his work on Marriane de ma Jeunesse, Burel would go on to achieve success in his cinematography with Robert Bresson. Schüfftan instead performed his other regular duties on special effects throughout this production.

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During this period of work Schüfftan’s lighting choices can be characterized as rather uneven, a consequence of the wide variety of genres that he had been asked to work upon. The late 1930s in France and the 1940s in America had seen a predominance of work upon psychological dramas, as Schüfftan began to nuance his artistically-influenced style. Edgar Ulmer best exemplifies this pigeon-holing of Schüfftan’s style, who as we have seen previously in this chapter, employed Schüfftan only for his more dramatic works. The late 1940s and 1950s saw Schüfftan abandon the security of his collaborative work, leading to him accepting roles on films of a variety of genres and in a variety of industries. This variety accounts for the inconsistencies in his lighting, and what can be considered as inexperience in working in genres such as comedies (which he had not encountered since the 1930s). We can also attribute these challenges to the working life of a cinematographer, struggling from one project to the next. In order to stabilize his career Schüfftan soon sought work in the new medium of television, although as we shall see, this offered its own fresh challenges.

Television

Schüfftan’s output stalled somewhat over the next few years, as he attempted to reconnect with the American industry, and to utilize the new medium of television by mounting his own European/American bi-lateral productions. These included a television series of King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table, a film called Noa Noa about the travels in Tahiti of the artist Paul Gauguin, and Lady of Portofino, a film which was to star Shelly Winters and to be directed by Harry Horner. This project reached the stage of Schüfftan having a contract drawn up. This contract reveals that the picture was due to start shooting in Italy on 15th

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April 1955, with Schüfftan on a wage of $550 per week plus expenses.37 Ultimately none of these mooted projects were in fact realized, although one other unusual project, The First 99

(also known as American Whisky) did emerge for Schüfftan during this period. The First 99 is a short film directed in 1956 by Joy Batchelor, of the married animation duo Halas & Batchelor, best known for their version of Animal Farm (1954). The film comprised part live action and part animation, and was made from a script written by Batchelor and Tom Orchard, who had previously worked together on the scripts for the Marshall Plan film

Shoemaker and the Hatter (1949) and Animal Farm (1954). The blend of mediums is not the only interesting factor of this film, for this is the first film on which Schüfftan is credited with colour cinematography (no doubt informed by his recent special effects work on the lavish colour production of Ulisse (1953)). Little is now known of the film, but personal correspondence with Vivien Halas, daughter of Halas and Batchelor, and Jim Walker who helped to establish the Halas & Batchelor collection, has revealed some details of the script. According to Jim Walker:

The pre-title sequence reads: Four Roses Distillers Company Presents (fades to title American Whisky). The opening of the film is in a documentary format and shows a building site and the expansive view of a city as a construction lift goes up (I suspect that the view is of New York).

Furthermore, Schüfftan’s colour work proved to be a great success with Louis de Rochemont and other members of the crew. In a letter to Schüfftan dated 18th June 1956, Tom Orchard wrote the following kind words:38

37This is revealed in correspondence from Ilse Lahn of the Paul Kohner talent agency to Eugen Schüfftan, dated 24th January 1955. This letter is held in the Eugen Schüfftan files of the Paul Kohner archive, Deutsche Kinemathek, Berlin.

38Correspondence dated 18th June 1956, available from the Eugen Schüfftan files of the Paul Kohner archive, Deutsche Kinemathek, Berlin.

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This is a note of appreciation for the job you did as Director of Cinematography on The First 99, produced for the House of Seagram. Everyone who has seen it rejoices in the color photography and especially in the lighting of the difficult interior situations.

Quite in addition to the technical and professional qualifications you brought to our production your unfailing good humour and marked co-operative spirit. It was a pleasure to work with you and I hope there will come an opportunity when we can do so again.

Unfortunately, such an opportunity to work with these filmmakers did not arise again.

Nevertheless, Schüfftan’s work on this production demonstrates not only his desire, but also his ability to work in colour. He had been almost entirely prevented from working in this medium by his problems with the ASC, and the close association that had been forged for Schüfftan with black and white photography. The First 99 became one of only few opportunities for Schüfftan to work in colour. It would undoubtedly have been a pleasure for Schüfftan to receive such a kind commendation from Tom Orchard, a stark contrast to the unsavoury relationships which would emerge with the crew on his very next production.

The production in question saw Schüfftan continue to pursue avenues beyond cinematic film production. Schüfftan, like a number of other cinematographers, was acutely aware of the benefits of long-term employment on a successful television series. Schüfftan’s eventual introduction to television dates back to his time working for the Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC) in the 1940s. PRC had been established by the brothers Sam Newfield and Sigmund Neufeld, with Sam becoming a prolific director for the organization. The head of production during Schüfftan’s tenure was Leon Fromkess, who in the early 1950s moved full-force into the fledgling industry of television. In 1952 he set up Television Programs of America (TPA) alongside Edward Small, which produced The Adventures of Ellery Queen

(1954) and Lassie (1954), amongst many others.

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Schüfftan had been discussing the possibility of working in television with Fromkess as early as 1954, when a European-American co-production of King Arthur’s Knights of the Round

Table was a strong prospect.39 This fell through, but another opportunity arose in 1956, when Schüfftan entered into discussions with Fromkess about another project, New York Confidential, to be based upon the 1955 film of the same name (directed by Russell Rouse). In a letter to Fromkess dated 23rd May 1956, Schüfftan revealed that he had still been involved in inventions, and felt that his latest maybe of significant use to New York Confidential: ‘I think that I can be very useful for your Television series. Especially with my new process I am able to bring the takings of the street in New York together with the takings in the studio in such a manner that you don't lose any time with the actors in the street.

Perhaps you will say one did this before but my process is absolutely new.’40 However, as with King Arthur, New York Confidential failed to get off the ground (though Fromkess would eventually realize the project – albeit with little success – in 1959). Thankfully,

Fromkess’s next television venture did reach production, and Schüfftan was hired as the cinematographer. The series was Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans, based on the work of James Fenimore Cooper, and starring John Hart as Hawkeye and Lon Chaney in the role of Chingachgook. Schüfftan moved for production on 2nd July 1956, to Toronto, a city in which he had been instrumental in establishing a film studio a decade earlier.

Production on the series did not get off to a successful start, for it was immediately hit by delays which postponed the start of filming until 30th July. Filming eventually began on

Hawkeye, however the situation did not improve for Schüfftan, who was subject to hostility from the series director, Sam Newfield, and its producer, his brother, Sigmund. In the

39Discussed in a correspondence from Ilse Lahn of the Paul Kohner talent agency, dated 10th October 1954. Available from the Eugen Schüfftan file of the Paul Kohner archive, Deutsche Kinemathek, Berlin.

40Correspondence from Eugen Schüfftan to Leon Fromkess dated 23rd May 1956. Available from the Eugen Schüfftan file of the Paul Kohner archive, Deutsche Kinemathek, Berlin.

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following correspondence to his agent Ilse Lahn, Schüfftan discusses the strained relationship

on set:

Sam Newfield has not the intention to learn anything from me, because he cuts me out if a creative work is in the question. If there are any suggestions from me he doesn't listen, so I have nothing to contribute to the picture than my technic. [sic]

At the moment I am on better terms with Sam. Anyhow I did some real positive things for TV series, a fact which will never be acknowledged by Newfield freres because they are afraid I would get a too good name in the Fromkes-Small group.41

Newfield was keen to have Schüfftan replaced by an inexperienced English cinematographer, who would save Leon Fromkess money and who would be forced to demure to Newfield’s directorial control. For it would seem that Newfield resented Schüfftan’s renown and experience, and viewed all the benefits which Schüfftan brought to the production as undermining his role as director. Chief amongst these benefits was an invention of Schüfftan’s, which increased the productivity of the exterior crew immensely. Schüfftan explained the benefits of his invention to Ilse Lahn in a letter dated 17th October 1956:

I am sure the company here would got have rid of me if not the following had happened. The weather here changes permanently, about 40-80 times from sunshine to gray weather. The picture has ca. 80% exteriors and I found the way, with or without sunshine, that means in gray weather, to shoot with artificially replaced light, one thought this for impossible. For this reason they cannot discharge me so easily. Several pictures have already been delivered and the photography as well very well accepted.42

41Correspondence from Eugen Schüfftan to Ilse Lahn dated 13th November 1956. Available from the Eugen Schüfftan file of the Paul Kohner archive, Deutsche Kinemathek, Berlin.

42Correspondence from Eugen Schüfftan to Ilse Lahn dated 17th October 1956. Available from the Eugen Schüfftan file of the Paul Kohner archive, Deutsche Kinemathek, Berlin.

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Further emphasizing the success of this process, Schüfftan reveals in the same letter that another production company shooting a television series in Montreal lost three weeks of shooting due to weather conditions, whereas the begrudging Sam Newfield lost not a day of shooting on Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans. It seems that if there was one thing that Schüfftan had learned from his nomadic/schizophrenic period of work during the 1950s it was adaptability.

Figure 49: Schufftan was able to maintain constant light levels on Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans, despite the changeable weather conditions.

By Christmas of 1956 Schüfftan was back in New York, having left the production on bad terms after filming only nineteen episodes. Schüfftan perhaps got the last laugh over Sam Newfield and Leon Fromkess on this unsavoury affair, thanks to his agent Ilse Lahn, who wrote the following to him on 22nd February 1957:

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