---
name: "Joseph Ruttenberg"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/joseph-ruttenberg"
roles: ["Cinematographer"]
born: "4 July 1889"
died: "1 May 1983"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T11:55:04.305536+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."
---

# Joseph Ruttenberg

Cinematographer. Born 4 July 1889 in Berdychiv, Zhytomyr oblast, Ukraine. Died 1 May 1983.

## Details

- **Work:** Cinematographer
- **Born:** 4 July 1889, Berdychiv, Zhytomyr oblast, Ukraine
- **Died:** 1 May 1983
- **Also known as:** Joe Ruttenberg

## Biography

Joseph Ruttenberg was a Russian-born American cinematographer. He began his career as a photojournalist at the Boston Globe before joining the Fox Film Corporation in 1915 to train as a cinematographer. His first film credit came in 1917 with the silent feature The Painted Madonna.

In 1934 Ruttenberg signed with MGM and moved to Hollywood. He remained with the studio for much of his career, photographing numerous films including The Philadelphia Story (1940), Mrs. Miniver (1942), Gaslight (1944), Julius Caesar (1953), Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) and Gigi (1958). He was nominated ten times for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography and won four times. He also received the Golden Globe Award for Brigadoon (1954).

Ruttenberg retired from MGM in 1968 and died in Los Angeles on 1 May 1983.

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

## On Fi1m (1)

- *The Philadelphia Story* (1940), Fi1m 84, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/the-philadelphia-story.md)

## Also known for

- *Gaslight* (1944), Director of Photography
- *Gigi* (1958), Director of Photography
- *Mrs. Miniver* (1942), Director of Photography
- *Fury* (1936), Director of Photography
- *Julius Caesar* (1953), Director of Photography
- *A Day at the Races* (1937), Director of Photography
- *Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde* (1941), Director of Photography
- *Somebody Up There Likes Me* (1956), 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/joseph-ruttenberg