About John Alton
John Alton (born Johann Jacob Altmann; October 5, 1901 – June 2, 1996) was an American cinematographer of Hungarian-Austrian origin. Alton photographed some of the most famous films noir of the classic period and won an Academy Award for the cinematography of An American in Paris (1951), becoming the first Hungarian-born person to do so in the cinematography category. He also worked as a director during the Golden Age of Argentine cinema. His work has been honored at film festivals in Vienna, Japan, Argentina, Telluride, and San Francisco, as well as in retrospectives at the American Museum of the Moving Image and the Pacific Film Archives. == Career == Alton had an early interest in photography. At the age of 5 he already had a darkroom and soon became interested in filmmaking. To attend college, he moved to New York to live with his prosperous uncle and pursue studies in photochemistry. He first became involved in the film industry when he was spotted by a gateman at Cosmopolitan Studios in New York looking for extras. There, he had the opportunity to appear alongside Marion Davies, an experience that left a lasting impression on him. He began as a lab technician at MGM film in Los Angeles in the 1920s, later becoming a cameraman within four years.
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