---
name: "Lee Garmes"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/lee-garmes"
roles: ["Cinematographer"]
born: "27 May 1898"
died: "31 August 1978"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 70
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-09-20T01:08:28.827825+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."
---

# Lee Garmes

Cinematographer. Born 27 May 1898 in Peoria, Illinois, USA. Died 31 August 1978.

## Details

- **Work:** Cinematographer
- **Born:** 27 May 1898, Peoria, Illinois, USA
- **Died:** 31 August 1978
- **Active:** 1929–1944
- **Also known as:** Lee Dewey Garmes
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won · 4 nominated)
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1920s 68 (1), 1930s 74 (2), 1940s 63 (1)
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 4, Romance 2, History 1, War 1
- **Screen time:** 7 hours of reviewed films
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Garmes, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1370195, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005716/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/13338

## Streaming the US now

- **Tubi:** [*Disraeli*](https://film.one/film/disraeli.md) (68)

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

## Biography

Lee Garmes (also credited as Lee Dewey Garmes) was an American cinematographer. He entered the film industry in Hollywood in 1916, beginning as an assistant in the paint department at Thomas H. Ince Studios before becoming a camera assistant and then a full-time cameraman. His early work included comedy shorts, with his career advancing significantly after the advent of sound films.

Garmes served as director of photography on numerous notable films, including *Disraeli* (1929), *Morocco* (1930), *Scarface* (1932), *Shanghai Express* (1932), *Jungle Book* (1942), *Duel in the Sun* (1946), *The Paradine Case* (1947), *Nightmare Alley* (1947) and *The Desperate Hours* (1955). He won an Academy Award for *Shanghai Express* and received further nominations for *Morocco*, *Since You Went Away* (1944) and *The Big Fisherman* (1959). He also co-directed *Angels Over Broadway* (1940) and *Actors and Sin* (1952) with Ben Hecht.

Garmes was married to actress Ruth Hall from 1933 until his death. He served as president of the American Society of Cinematographers from 1960 to 1961.

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

## On Fi1m (4)

- *Since You Went Away* (1944), Fi1m 63, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/since-you-went-away.md)
- *Shanghai Express* (1932), Fi1m 80, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/shanghai-express.md)
- *Smilin' Through* (1932), Fi1m 67, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/smilin-through.md)
- *Disraeli* (1929), Fi1m 68, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/disraeli.md)

## Complete filmography (100)

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

- *Shame, Shame on the Bixby Boys* (1978), Producer
- *Why?* (1973), Cinematography
- *How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life* (1968), Director of Photography
- *A Big Hand for the Little Lady* (1966), Director of Photography
- *Lady in a Cage* (1964), Director of Photography
- *Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man* (1962), Director of Photography
- *Misty* (1961), Director of Photography
- *The Big Fisherman* (1959), Director of Photography
- *Happy Anniversary* (1959), Director of Photography
- *Never Love a Stranger* (1958), Director of Photography
- *The Big Boodle* (1957), Director of Photography
- *The Sharkfighters* (1956), Director of Photography
- *D-Day the Sixth of June* (1956), Director of Photography
- *The Bottom of the Bottle* (1956), Director of Photography
- *Man with the Gun* (1955), Director of Photography
- *The Desperate Hours* (1955), Director of Photography
- *Land of the Pharaohs* (1955), Director of Photography
- *Abdullah's Harem* (1955), Cinematography
- *Hannah Lee: An American Primitive* (1953), Director, Director of Photography, Producer
- *Thunder in the East* (1952), Director of Photography
- *The Lusty Men* (1952), Director of Photography
- *Actors and Sin* (1952), Co-Director, Director of Photography
- *The Captive City* (1952), Director of Photography
- *Detective Story* (1951), Director of Photography
- *That's My Boy* (1951), Director of Photography
- *Saturday's Hero* (1951), Director of Photography
- *Our Very Own* (1950), Director of Photography
- *The Furies* (1950), Director of Photography
- *My Friend Irma Goes West* (1950), Director of Photography
- *My Foolish Heart* (1950), Director of Photography
- *Roseanna McCoy* (1949), Director of Photography
- *The Fighting Kentuckian* (1949), Director of Photography
- *Caught* (1949), Director of Photography
- *The Paradine Case* (1947), Director of Photography
- *Nightmare Alley* (1947), Director of Photography
- *The Secret Life of Walter Mitty* (1947), Director of Photography
- *Duel in the Sun* (1946), Director of Photography
- *The Searching Wind* (1946), Director of Photography
- *Specter of the Rose* (1946), Director of Photography, Co-Director, Co-Producer
- *Young Widow* (1946), Director of Photography
- *Love Letters* (1945), Director of Photography
- *Paris Underground* (1945), Cinematography
- *Guest in the House* (1944), Director of Photography
- *Since You Went Away* (1944), Director of Photography — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/film/since-you-went-away.md)
- *None Shall Escape* (1944), Director of Photography
- *Flight for Freedom* (1943), Director of Photography
- *Forever and a Day* (1943), Director of Photography
- *China Girl* (1942), Director of Photography
- *Footlight Serenade* (1942), Director of Photography
- *Jungle Book* (1942), Director of Photography
- *Lydia* (1941), Director of Photography, Associate Producer
- *Angels Over Broadway* (1940), Director of Photography, Director, Co-Director
- *Beyond Tomorrow* (1940), Producer
- *Once in a Blue Moon* (1935), Cinematography
- *The Scoundrel* (1935), Director of Photography
- *Crime Without Passion* (1934), Director of Photography, Director
- *I Am Suzanne!* (1933), Director of Photography
- *My Lips Betray* (1933), Director of Photography
- *Shanghai Madness* (1933), Director of Photography
- *Zoo in Budapest* (1933), Director of Photography
- *Face in the Sky* (1933), Director of Photography
- *Strange Interlude* (1932), Director of Photography
- *Call Her Savage* (1932), Director of Photography
- *Smilin' Through* (1932), Director of Photography — Fi1m 67, [page](https://film.one/film/smilin-through.md)
- *Dreaming Lips* (1932), Technical Supervisor, Producer
- *Scarface* (1932), Director of Photography
- *Shanghai Express* (1932), Director of Photography — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/shanghai-express.md)
- *The Conquest of the Air* (1931), Cinematography
- *An American Tragedy* (1931), Director of Photography
- *City Streets* (1931), Director of Photography
- *Dishonored* (1931), Director of Photography
- *Fighting Caravans* (1931), Director of Photography
- *Kiss Me Again* (1931), Camera Operator
- *Morocco* (1930), Director of Photography
- *Whoopee!* (1930), Director of Photography
- *Bright Lights* (1930), Director of Photography
- *The Song of the Flame* (1930), Director of Photography
- *Spring Is Here* (1930), Director of Photography
- *The Other Tomorrow* (1930), Director of Photography
- *Lilies of the Field* (1930), Cinematography
- *Disraeli* (1929), Director of Photography, Cinematography — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/film/disraeli.md)
- *The Great Divide* (1929), Cinematography
- *Say It with Songs* (1929), Director of Photography
- *Prisoners* (1929), Director of Photography
- *Love and the Devil* (1929), Director of Photography
- *His Captive Woman* (1929), Director of Photography
- *The Barker* (1928), Director of Photography
- *Waterfront* (1928), Director of Photography
- *The Yellow Lily* (1928), Director of Photography
- *Rose of the Golden West* (1927), Director of Photography
- *The Popular Sin* (1926), Director of Photography
- *Crack O' Dawn* (1926), Cinematography
- *The Show Off* (1926), Director of Photography
- *The Lighthouse by the Sea* (1924), Director of Photography
- *Find Your Man* (1924), Director of Photography
- *Money to Burns* (1924), Cinematography
- *Fighting Blood* (1923), Cinematography
- *Fighting Blood* (1923), Cinematography
- *Fighting Blood* (1923), Cinematography
- *I'll Get Him Yet* (1919), Director of Photography

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 1 won, 4 nominated

- 1960: Best Cinematography, Color (nominated), for *The Big Fisherman*
- 1945: Best Cinematography, Black-and-White (nominated), for *Since You Went Away*
- 1933: Best Cinematography (nominated), for *Shanghai Express*
- 1932: Best Cinematography (won), for *Shanghai Express*
- 1931: Best Cinematography (nominated), for *Morocco*

*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/lee-garmes