Freddie Francis BSC
Historical photo of Francis
Born	(1917-12-22)22 December 1917 Islington, London, England
Died	17 March 2007(2007-03-17) (aged 89) Isleworth, London, England
Resting place	Mortlake Crematorium,Kew, London, England
Occupation(s)	Cinematographer, film director
Years active	1937–1999
Spouses	Gladys Dorrell ​ ​ (m. 1940; div. 1961)​ Pamela Mann ​ (m. 1963)​
Children	3, includingKevin

Frederick William FrancisBSC^[1] (22 December 1917 – 17 March 2007) was an Englishcinematographer and film director whose filmmaking career spanned over 60 years, from the late 1930s until the late 2000s.^[2] One of the most celebrated British cinematographers of his time,^[3] he received numerous accolades for his photography, including twoAcademy Awards and fiveBAFTA Awards.^[4] As a director he was best known for hishorror films, notably those made for production companiesAmicus andHammer in the 1960s and 1970s.^[5]

Francis started his film career as a cameraman forJohn Huston and for the directing team ofPowell and Pressburger before becoming a cinematographer for notable British films such asJack Clayton's dramaRoom at the Top (1959),Jack Cardiff'sSons and Lovers (1960) – which earned him his first Oscar – and the psychological horror filmThe Innocents (1961). He became well known for his richblack-and-whiteCinemaScope framing, and was regarded as one of the top cameraman in the British film industry.^[5] He made his directorial debut with the romantic comedyTwo and Two Make Six (1962), but gained the most attention for his horror films and thrillers. During the 1960s he was a house director for Hammer Productions, where he madeParanoiac (1963; an early starring vehicle forOliver Reed),The Evil of Frankenstein (1964), andDracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968). In the 1970s he worked mainly for Amicus Productions, for which he notably directed the horror anthologyTales from the Crypt (1972).

After nearly two decades as a director, Francis returned to cinematography withThe Elephant Man (1980). This established a collaboration with directorDavid Lynch, for whom he also shotDune (1984), andThe Straight Story (1999). He won his second Oscar for theAmerican Civil War filmGlory (1989). He also earned acclaim for his work onKarel Reisz'sThe French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), andMartin Scorsese'sCape Fear (1991).^[6]

In addition to his Oscar and BAFTA wins, Francis received an international achievement award from theAmerican Society of Cinematographers in 1997, a lifetime achievement award from theBritish Society of Cinematographers the same year, andBAFTA's special achievement award in 2004.

Born inIslington in London, England, Francis originally planned to become an engineer. At school, a piece he wrote about films of the future won him a scholarship to theNorth West London Polytechnic inKentish Town. He left school at the age of 16, becoming an apprentice to photographer Louis Prothero. Francis stayed with Prothero for six months. In this time they photographed stills for aStanley Lupino picture made at Associated Talking Pictures (laterEaling Studios). This led to his successively becoming aclapper boy, camera loader and focus puller. He began his career in films atBritish International Pictures, then moved toBritish and Dominions. His first film as a clapper boy wasThe Prisoner of Corbal (1936).

In 1939, Francis joined theArmy, where he would spend the next seven years. Eventually, he was assigned as cameraman and director to theArmy Kinematograph Service atWembley Studios, where he worked on many training films. About this, Francis said: "Most of the time I was with various film units within the service, so I got quite a bit of experience in all sorts of jobs, including being a cameraman and editing and generally being a jack of all trades."

Following his return to civilian life, Francis spent the next ten years working as a camera operator. He quickly became the regular cameraman ofThe Archers and their cinematographer,Christopher Challis. Francis served as a cameraman on six of The Archers' productions:The Small Back Room,The Elusive Pimpernel (1950),Gone to Earth,The Tales of Hoffmann (1951),Twice Upon a Time, andThe Sorcerer's Apprentice. He served as Challis' cameraman on two other films as well:Angels One Five andAffair in Monte Carlo.

Francis was also the regular cameraman ofOswald Morris. His first feature with Morris wasGolden Salamander (1950). The two also worked together onKnave of Hearts and three films directed byJohn Huston:Moulin Rouge,Beat the Devil, andMoby Dick. Francis was given a chance to lead the second unit ofMoby Dick and shortly after became a full director of photography onA Hill in Korea (1956), which was shot in Portugal.

He subsequently worked on such prestige British dramas such asRoom at the Top (1959),Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960),Sons and Lovers (1960), andThe Innocents (1961), which he regarded as one of the best films he shot.

For his work onJack Cardiff'sSons and Lovers he received his firstAcademy Award for Best Cinematography. The film depicts societal repression in a small coal-mining town during the early 1900s. In the 1961 article ofAmerican Cinematographer, the magazine praised his work by stating that the film has "unusual visual beauty and is marked by photographic ingenuity throughout that easily makes it one of the finest monochrome photographic achievements to come along in some time." CinematographerJohn Bailey also praised his work saying, "Then I sawSons and Lovers, and I was knocked out by the poetry and visual beauty of the film. The camerawork was unlike anything I had seen before in an English-language movie."^[7]

He next collaborated with directorJack Clayton for the psychological drama filmThe Innocents starringDeborah Kerr. Francis worked with theCinemaScopeaspect ratio. He used colour filters and used the lighting rig to create darkness consuming everything at the edge of the frame. Francis useddeep focus and narrowly aimed the lighting towards the centre of the screen.^[8] Francis and Clayton framed the film in an unusually bold style, with characters prominent at the edge of the frame and their faces at the centre in profile in some sequences, which, again, created both a sense of intimacy and unease, based on the lack of balance in the image. For many of the interior night scenes, Francis painted the sides of the lenses with black paint to allow for a more intense, "elegiac" focus,^[9] and used candles custom-made with four to five wicks twined together to produce more light.

The New Yorker film criticPauline Kael praised Francis for his work, writing: "I don't know where this cinematographer Freddie Francis sprang from. You may recall that in the last year just about every time a British movie is something to look at, it turns out to be his".^[10]

Following hisAcademy Award win forSons and Lovers, Francis began his career as director of feature films. His first feature as director wasTwo and Two Make Six (1962). For the next 20-plus years, Francis worked continuously as a director of low-budget films, most of them in the genres of horror or psycho-thriller. Beginning withParanoiac (1963), Francis made numerous films for Hammer throughout the 1960s and 1970s. These films included thrillers likeNightmare (1964) andHysteria (1965), as well as monster films such asThe Evil of Frankenstein (1964) andDracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968). On his apparent typecasting as a director of these types of film, Francis said "Horror films have liked me more than I have liked horror films".

Also in the mid-1960s, Francis began an association withAmicus Productions, a company that, like Hammer, specialised in horror pictures. Most of the films he made for Amicus were anthologies, includingDr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965),Torture Garden (1967) andTales from the Crypt (1972). He also did two films for the short-lived company Tyburn Films; these wereThe Ghoul andLegend of the Werewolf (both 1975). Francis was more than competent as a director, and his horror films possessed an undeniable visual flair. He regretted that he was seldom able to move beyond genre material as a director. He directed the little-seenSon of Dracula (1974), starringHarry Nilsson in the title role andRingo Starr as Merlin the Magician. Of the films Francis directed, one of his favorites wasMumsy, Nanny, Sonny, and Girly (1970).Mumsy... is a black comedy about an isolated, upper-class family whose relationships and behaviours lead to deadly consequences. The film was not very well received by mainstream critics but has gone on to become a minor cult favorite among fans. In 1985, Francis directedThe Doctor and the Devils, based on the crimes ofBurke and Hare.

In 1980 he returned to work as a director of photography, this time forDavid Lynch in the British dramaThe Elephant Man (1980). This was principally shot atWembley Studios inPanavision, using Kodak's Plus X stock — the only monochrome emulsion that met Francis's standards and was available in sufficient quantities. He earned great acclaim for hisblack-and-white cinematography earning aBritish Academy Film Award nomination. Ben Kenigsberg ofThe New York Times dissected Francis's work on the film, writing: "Francis takes advantage of opportunities for high contrast, but note how more subtle elements of Francis’s shading affect the storytelling. Lynch defers a full look at the deformed title character, John Merrick (John Hurt), to milk it for maximum impact. So Francis shows Merrick in varying degrees of shadow for the first half-hour — until a nurse stumbles upon him, at last fully illuminated by a skylight, and screams."^[11]

Francis gained a new-found industry and critical respect as a cinematographer. During the 1980s he twice more collaborated with Lynch, on the science fiction filmDune (1984) and the dramaThe Straight Story (1999), which was shot on location in Iowa in 23 days. One of his favorite camera operators was Gordon Hayman.

He worked on films such asThe Executioner's Song (1982),Clara's Heart (1988). Francis's last film as director was 1987'sDark Tower (no relation to the 2004 book of the same name byStephen King). Francis thought it was a bad picture, owing to poor special effects, and had his name taken off it. His name was substituted by the nameKen Barnett.

With his work on theAmerican Civil War dramaGlory (1989), directed byEdward Zwick, he earned his secondAcademy Award. David E. Williams ofAmerican Cinematographer wrote: "..Francis and director Edward Zwick studied period stills by famed photographerMatthew Brady and others. The stark black-and-white images suggested a realistic approach devoid of filtration or sepia tones, relying instead on the credibility of the locations and production design to simulate the era. Photographically, Francis renderedGlory simply and honestly, with much of the intimate drama revealed in the light and shadow playing upon soldiers' faces".^[12] Francis said of the experience: "I'm a great believer in the futility of war and I believe we captured that idea quite well in several parts ofGlory. That was always in the back of my mind."

Francis provided the cinematography for the critical favoriteThe Man in the Moon as well asMartin Scorsese's remake ofCape Fear (both 1991). Francis' suggested that he earned the job working with Scorsese was a recommendation that came from directorMichael Powell. Francis again sought to utilizedeep focus in order to keep the audience anxiously searching the frame for the psychopathic Max Cady played byRobert De Niro. Francis spoke fondly of his working relationship with Scorsese saying,

"Scorsese is another director who has shot the film in his head before you’ve exposed a single frame of film. You can sometimes talk him into something, though. There was one scene with Bob De Niro where he’s talking on the phone, hanging upside-down from a bar strung across a doorway. I suggested that we start the shot upside down, tight on his face, and then rotate the camera as we tracked backwards so the room would become upside-down. We did that shot with a Panatate remote head, and Marty just fell madly in love with the thing."^[12]

Francis' final feature film as a director of photography was a reunion withDavid Lynch the small intimate dramaThe Straight Story (1999).

Francis received many industry awards, including, in 1997, an international achievement award from theAmerican Society of Cinematographers, and in 2004,BAFTA's special achievement award. Francis is featured in the bookConversations with Cinematographers (2012) by David A Ellis and published by American publisher Scarecrow Press.

Freddie's final film work was as cinematographer on the music video "Never Ever" byAll Saints. It was directed by filmmakerSean Ellis. The video won bestBritish Video of the Year at the1998 Brit Awards.

As a cinematographer, Francis cited his three mentors asFreddie Young,John Huston, andMichael Powell.^[1] His main influences as director wereBilly Wilder,William Wyler, andTod Browning.^[13]

Francis' photography favoured black-and-white, though he did work in colour for much of his latter career, and emphasized lighting and framing over colour schemes. In an interview withThe Guardian, Francis said "I still photograph things in black and white, but the fact that it's colour stock means they come out in colour. I know that sounds rather facetious ... but I prefer to think in terms of light and shade than in colour."^[1]

DirectorMartin Scorsese, who worked with Francis onCape Fear, cited Francis's use of agothic atmosphere.^[1] "He understands the obligatory scene of a young maiden with a candle walking down a long hall towards a door. 'Don't go in that door!' you yell, and she goes in! Every time, she goes in! So I say to him, 'This has to look like The Hall,' and he understands that."^[1]

Francis married Gladys Dorrell in 1940, with whom he had a sonKevin; in 1963 he marriedPamela Mann-Francis, with whom he had a daughter and a second son.

Francis died, aged 89, from the lingering effects of a stroke.

Film

TV series

TV movies

Writer (Credited as "Ken Barnett")

• Diary of a Bachelor (1964)
• What Waits Below (1984) (Story only)

Academy Awards

BAFTA Awards

• List of Academy Award winners and nominees from Great Britain

• Freddie Francis: The Straight Story from Moby Dick to Glory, a Memoir - Freddie Francis (with Tony Dalton), Scarecrow Press, 2013.
• The Films of Freddie Francis –Wheeler Winston Dixon, Scarecrow Press, 1991.ISBN 0-8108-2358-6 (hardcover)
• The Men Who Made The Monsters – Paul M. Jensen, published 1996 –ISBN 0-8057-9338-0 (paperback)
• Hogan, David J. (2016).Dark Romance: Sexuality in the Horror Film. McFarland Classics.ISBN 978-0-786-46248-3.
• Landis, John (2011).Monsters in the Movies. New York: Penguin.ISBN 978-0-756-68846-2.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toFreddie Francis.

• Freddie FrancisThe British Entertainment History Project
• Freddie Francis atIMDb
• Freddie Francis biography on (re)Search my Trash

• 1917 births
• 2007 deaths
• British Army soldiers
• Military personnel from the London Borough of Islington
• Best Cinematographer Academy Award winners
• British Army personnel of World War II
• English cinematographers
• German-language film directors
• British horror film directors
• People from Islington (district)
• Film directors from London

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