---
name: "John Alton"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/john-alton"
roles: ["Cinematographer"]
born: "5 October 1901"
died: "2 June 1996"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T15:59:40.718418+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."
---

# John Alton

Cinematographer. Born 5 October 1901 in Sopron, Austria-Hungary. Died 2 June 1996.

## Details

- **Work:** Cinematographer
- **Born:** 5 October 1901, Sopron, Austria-Hungary
- **Died:** 2 June 1996

## Biography

John Alton (born Johann Jacob Altmann) was an American cinematographer of Hungarian origin. Born on 5 October 1901 in Sopron, then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he began his career as a lab technician at MGM in 1924 before becoming a cameraman. He worked in France and spent several years in Argentina in the early 1930s, where he photographed and directed Spanish-language films and helped establish the country's first sound film studio.

Alton returned to Hollywood in the late 1930s and became known for his work on film noirs, including *T-Men* (1947), *Raw Deal* (1948), *He Walked by Night* (1949) and *The Big Combo* (1955). He shared the Academy Award for Best Cinematography (Colour) for *An American in Paris* (1951). His other credits include *Father of the Bride* (1950), *Elmer Gantry* (1960) and the pilot episode of the television series *Mission: Impossible* (1966). He wrote the book *Painting with Light* (1949) and received a Career Achievement Award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association in 1993. Alton died on 2 June 1996 in Santa Monica, California.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, nytimes.com, encyclopedia.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Mission: Impossible* (1966), Fi1m 82, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/tv/mission-impossible-1966.md)

## Also known for

- *An American in Paris* (1951), Additional Photography
- *Birdman of Alcatraz* (1962), Director of Photography
- *Father of the Bride* (1950), Director of Photography
- *Elmer Gantry* (1960), Director of Photography
- *The Big Combo* (1955), Director of Photography
- *Raw Deal* (1948), Director of Photography
- *He Walked by Night* (1949), Director of Photography
- *T-Men* (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/john-alton