---
name: "John L. Russell"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/john-l-russell"
fi1m_id: "john-l-russell"
imdb_id: "nm0005852"
tmdb_id: 7305
wikidata_id: "Q1573173"
roles: ["Cinematographer"]
born: "15 May 1905"
died: "22 July 1967"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 83
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-25T04:00:58.111547+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 L. Russell

## Identity

John L. Russell

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/john-l-russell
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** john-l-russell
- **IMDb ID:** nm0005852
- **TMDB ID:** 7305
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1573173
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_L._Russell_(cinematographer), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1573173, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005852/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/7305

Cinematographer. Born 15 May 1905 in New York City, New York, USA. Died 22 July 1967.

## Details

- **Work:** Cinematographer
- **Born:** 15 May 1905, New York City, New York, USA
- **Died:** 22 July 1967
- **Active:** 1946–1960
- **Also known as:** John L. Russell Jr., John Russell Jr., Jack Russell, John Russell
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1940s 76 (1), 1960s 90 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_L._Russell_(cinematographer), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1573173, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005852/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/7305

## Streaming the US now

- **AMC+:** [*Psycho*](https://film.one/film/psycho.md) (90)

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

## Biography

John L. Russell (also credited as John L. Russell Jr. or Jack Russell) was an American cinematographer. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he began his career as a camera operator before becoming a director of photography on feature films and television in the 1940s.

He is best known for his black-and-white photography on Alfred Hitchcock’s *Psycho* (1960), for which he received an Academy Award nomination. Other notable credits include *Macbeth* (1948), *The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms* (1953), *The Man from Planet X* (1951), *The Cabinet of Caligari* (1962) and numerous episodes of *Alfred Hitchcock Presents*. He also worked extensively on series such as *The Munsters*.

Russell was the son of screenwriter Lillian Case Russell and actor John Lowell Russell, and was married to screenwriter Vy Russell. He died in Los Angeles in 1967.

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

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Psycho* (1960), Fi1m 90, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/psycho.md)
- *The Stranger* (1946), Fi1m 76, Camera Operator — [page](https://film.one/film/the-stranger.md)

## Complete filmography (41)

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

- *Now You See It, Now You Don't* (1968), Director of Photography
- *Jigsaw* (1968), Director of Photography
- *Out of Sight* (1966), Cinematography
- *Billie* (1965), Cinematography
- *The Munsters* (1964), series, Director of Photography
- *The Cabinet of Caligari* (1962), Director of Photography
- *The Man Who Found the Money* (1960), Director of Photography
- *Psycho* (1960), Director of Photography — Fi1m 90, [page](https://film.one/film/psycho.md)
- *Startime* (1959), series, Director of Photography
- *Girls Town* (1959), Director of Photography
- *Suspicion* (1957), series, Director of Photography
- *The Life You Save May Be Your Own* (1957), Cinematography
- *Star in the Dust* (1956), Director of Photography
- *Indestructible Man* (1956), Director of Photography
- *When Gangland Strikes* (1956), Cinematography
- *Alfred Hitchcock Presents* (1955), series, Director of Photography
- *Headline Hunters* (1955), Director of Photography
- *Lay That Rifle Down* (1955), Director of Photography
- *Double Jeopardy* (1955), Director of Photography
- *The Eternal Sea* (1955), Director of Photography
- *The Atomic Kid* (1954), Director of Photography
- *Tobor the Great* (1954), Director of Photography
- *Hell's Half Acre* (1954), Director of Photography
- *Make Haste to Live* (1954), Director of Photography
- *Champ for a Day* (1953), Director of Photography
- *The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms* (1953), Director of Photography
- *City That Never Sleeps* (1953), Director of Photography
- *Problem Girls* (1953), Director of Photography
- *Sword of Venus* (1953), Director of Photography
- *Invasion, U.S.A.* (1952), Director of Photography
- *Death Valley Days* (1952), series, Director of Photography
- *Park Row* (1952), Director of Photography
- *Government Agents vs Phantom Legion* (1951), Director of Photography
- *The Man from Planet X* (1951), Director of Photography
- *The Green Promise* (1949), Director of Photography
- *Macbeth* (1948), Director of Photography
- *Moonrise* (1948), Director of Photography
- *So This Is New York* (1948), Director of Photography
- *The Stranger* (1946), Camera Operator — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/the-stranger.md)
- *Girl in Danger* (1934), Assistant Camera
- *Whirlpool* (1934), Assistant Camera

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 1961: Best Cinematography, Black-and-White (nominated), for *Psycho*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© 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-l-russell