---
name: "Christopher Challis"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/christopher-challis"
fi1m_id: "christopher-challis"
imdb_id: "nm0005666"
tmdb_id: 30923
wikidata_id: "Q484973"
roles: ["Cinematographer"]
born: "18 March 1919"
died: "31 May 2012"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-24T02:19:02.488658+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Christopher Challis

## Identity

Christopher Challis

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/christopher-challis
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** christopher-challis
- **IMDb ID:** nm0005666
- **TMDB ID:** 30923
- **Wikidata ID:** Q484973
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Challis, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q484973, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005666/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/30923

Cinematographer. Born 18 March 1919 in London, England, UK. Died 31 May 2012.

## Details

- **Work:** Cinematographer
- **Born:** 18 March 1919, London, England, UK
- **Died:** 31 May 2012
- **Also known as:** Christopher George Joseph Challis, Christopher G. Challis, Chris Challis
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Challis, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q484973, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005666/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/30923

## Streaming the US now

- **Apple TV:** [*Chitty Chitty Bang Bang*](https://film.one/film/chitty-chitty-bang-bang.md) (70)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Christopher Challis (1919–2012) was an English cinematographer who worked on more than 70 feature films from the 1940s to the 1980s. He began his career as a camera assistant on newsreels and at the Technicolor laboratory, served in the RAF Film Unit during the Second World War, and later became a camera operator before graduating to director of photography.

Challis was closely associated with the Powell and Pressburger partnership, shooting or operating on many of their films including *The Small Back Room* (1949), *The Tales of Hoffmann* (1951) and *Ill Met by Moonlight* (1957). He also collaborated frequently with Stanley Donen on six films, winning a BAFTA Award for *Arabesque* (1966). Other notable credits include *Genevieve* (1953), *Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines* (1965), *Chitty Chitty Bang Bang* (1968), *The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes* (1970), *The Deep* (1977) and *Evil Under the Sun* (1982). He served as president of the British Society of Cinematographers from 1962 to 1964 and published his memoirs in 1995.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, theguardian.com, independent.co.uk, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Chitty Chitty Bang Bang* (1968), Fi1m 70, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/chitty-chitty-bang-bang.md)

## Complete filmography (66)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Steaming* (1985), Director of Photography
- *Top Secret!* (1984), Director of Photography
- *Secrets* (1983), Director of Photography
- *Evil Under the Sun* (1982), Director of Photography
- *The Making of Agatha Christie's 'Evil Under the Sun'* (1982), Cinematography
- *The Nightingale* (1981), Director of Photography
- *S.O.S. Titanic* (1980), Director of Photography
- *The Mirror Crack'd* (1980), Director of Photography
- *The Riddle of the Sands* (1979), Director of Photography
- *Force 10 from Navarone* (1978), Director of Photography
- *The Deep* (1977), Director of Photography
- *The Incredible Sarah* (1976), Cinematography
- *The Old Curiosity Shop* (1975), Director of Photography
- *The Little Prince* (1974), Director of Photography
- *The Boy Who Turned Yellow* (1972), Director of Photography
- *Follow Me!* (1972), Director of Photography
- *Mary, Queen of Scots* (1971), Director of Photography
- *Catch Me a Spy* (1971), Director of Photography
- *Villain* (1971), Director of Photography
- *The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes* (1970), Director of Photography
- *Staircase* (1969), Director of Photography
- *Chitty Chitty Bang Bang* (1968), Director of Photography — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/chitty-chitty-bang-bang.md)
- *A Dandy in Aspic* (1968), Director of Photography
- *Two for the Road* (1967), Director of Photography
- *Kaleidoscope* (1966), Cinematography
- *Arabesque* (1966), Director of Photography
- *Rome Sweet Home* (1966), Director
- *Return from the Ashes* (1965), Director of Photography
- *Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes* (1965), Director of Photography
- *A Shot in the Dark* (1964), Director of Photography
- *The Long Ships* (1964), Director of Photography
- *The Victors* (1963), Director of Photography
- *H.M.S. Defiant* (1962), Director of Photography
- *Flame in the Streets* (1961), Director of Photography
- *Five Golden Hours* (1961), Director of Photography
- *The Grass Is Greener* (1960), Director of Photography
- *Surprise Package* (1960), Director of Photography
- *Never Let Go* (1960), Director of Photography
- *Sink the Bismarck!* (1960), Director of Photography
- *Blind Date* (1959), Director of Photography
- *The Captain's Table* (1959), Director of Photography
- *Floods of Fear* (1958), Director of Photography
- *Rooney* (1958), Cinematography
- *Windom's Way* (1957), Director of Photography
- *Miracle in Soho* (1957), Director of Photography
- *Ill Met by Moonlight* (1957), Director of Photography
- *The Spanish Gardener* (1956), Director of Photography
- *The Battle of the River Plate* (1956), Director of Photography
- *Oh... Rosalinda!!* (1955), Director of Photography
- *Footsteps in the Fog* (1955), Director of Photography
- *Quentin Durward* (1955), Director of Photography
- *The Sorcerer's Apprentice* (1955), Cinematography
- *Raising a Riot* (1955), Cinematography
- *Malaga* (1954), Director of Photography
- *Flame and the Flesh* (1954), Director of Photography
- *Saadia* (1953), Cinematography
- *Twice Upon a Time* (1953), Director of Photography
- *Genevieve* (1953), Director of Photography
- *The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan* (1953), Director of Photography
- *24 Hours of a Woman's Life* (1952), Director of Photography
- *Angels One Five* (1952), Director of Photography
- *The Tales of Hoffmann* (1951), Director of Photography
- *The Elusive Pimpernel* (1950), Director of Photography
- *Gone to Earth* (1950), Director of Photography
- *The Small Back Room* (1949), Director of Photography
- *The End of the River* (1947), Director of Photography

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/christopher-challis