---
name: "Josef Bato"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/joseph-bato"
fi1m_id: "joseph-bato"
imdb_id: "nm0061211"
tmdb_id: 958944
wikidata_id: "Q21464233"
roles: ["Costume designer"]
born: "15 October 1888"
died: "21 May 1966"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 92
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-09-17T21:24:02.982242+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."
---

# Josef Bato

## Identity

Josef Bato

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/joseph-bato
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** joseph-bato
- **IMDb ID:** nm0061211
- **TMDB ID:** 958944
- **Wikidata ID:** Q21464233
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Bato, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21464233, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0061211/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/958944

Costume designer. Born 15 October 1888 in Budapest, Austria-Hungary (now Hungary). Died 21 May 1966.

## Details

- **Work:** Costume designer
- **Born:** 15 October 1888, Budapest, Austria-Hungary (now Hungary)
- **Died:** 21 May 1966
- **Active:** 1943–1949
- **Also known as:** Joseph Bato
- **Frequently works with:** [Emeric Pressburger](https://film.one/person/emeric-pressburger.md), [Michael Powell](https://film.one/person/michael-powell.md), [Roger Livesey](https://film.one/person/roger-livesey.md)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 92 to 88 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 0 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Comedy 2, Drama 2, Romance 2, Fantasy 1, Mystery 1, Thriller 1
- **Screen time:** 6 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $3m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Bato, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21464233, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0061211/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/958944

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp*](https://film.one/film/the-life-and-death-of-colonel-blimp.md) (91)

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

## Biography

Joseph Bato (also credited as Josef Bato) was a Hungarian art director and costume designer who worked in British cinema from the 1940s to the 1960s.

Born in Budapest in 1888, he fled Nazi Germany in 1936 due to his Jewish heritage and settled in London. There he contributed to productions at London Films and other studios, including costume design on *The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp* (1943) and *A Matter of Life and Death* (1946), and set design work on *The Third Man* (1949).

His other credits include art direction on *Hue and Cry* (1947), *The Sound Barrier* (1952), *An Inspector Calls* (1954) and *The Belles of St. Trinian's* (1954). He died in London in 1966.

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

## On Fi1m (3)

- *The Third Man* (1949), Fi1m 92, Assistant Set Designer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-third-man.md)
- *A Matter of Life and Death* (1946), Fi1m 92, Costume Design, Costume design — [page](https://film.one/film/a-matter-of-life-and-death.md)
- *The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp* (1943), Fi1m 91, Costume design — [page](https://film.one/film/the-life-and-death-of-colonel-blimp.md)

## Complete filmography (17)

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

- *Dead Lucky* (1960), as Art Direction
- *Model for Murder* (1959), as Art Direction
- *The Bank Raiders* (1958), as Art Direction
- *The Diplomatic Corpse* (1958), as Art Direction
- *Raising a Riot* (1955), as Art Direction
- *An Inspector Calls* (1954), as Art Direction
- *The Heart of the Matter* (1953), as Art Direction
- *The Intruder* (1953), as Art Direction
- *The Ringer* (1952), Set Designer
- *The Sound Barrier* (1952), as Art Direction
- *Lady Godiva Rides Again* (1951), as Art Direction
- *The Happiest Days of Your Life* (1950), as Art Direction
- *The Third Man* (1949), Assistant Set Designer — Fi1m 92, [page](https://film.one/film/the-third-man.md)
- *Bonnie Prince Charlie* (1948), as Art Direction
- *Hue and Cry* (1947), as Art Direction
- *A Matter of Life and Death* (1946), Costume Design — Fi1m 92, [page](https://film.one/film/a-matter-of-life-and-death.md)
- *The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp* (1943), Costume Design — Fi1m 91, [page](https://film.one/film/the-life-and-death-of-colonel-blimp.md)

---
© 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/joseph-bato