---
name: "Merritt B. Gerstad"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/merritt-b-gerstad"
roles: ["Cinematographer"]
born: "5 July 1900"
died: "1 March 1974"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 68
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-20T01:06:04.820088+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."
---

# Merritt B. Gerstad

Cinematographer. Born 5 July 1900 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Died 1 March 1974.

## Details

- **Work:** Cinematographer
- **Born:** 5 July 1900, Chicago, Illinois, USA
- **Died:** 1 March 1974
- **Active:** 1936–1943
- **Also known as:** M. Gerstad, Merritt Gerstad, Merrott B. Gerstad, Merritt Gerstedt
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1930s 64 (1), 1940s 73 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merritt_B._Gerstad, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3306609, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005719/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1498

## Biography

Merritt B. Gerstad (5 July 1900 – 1 March 1974) was an American cinematographer of silent and early sound films. Born in Chicago, Illinois, he began working as a cinematographer for Universal before moving to MGM.

At MGM he collaborated with director Tod Browning on the lost film *London After Midnight* (1927) and *Freaks* (1932), and with Sam Wood on the Marx Brothers film *A Night at the Opera* (1935). His other notable credits include *The Unknown* (1927), *Imitation of Life* (1934) and *The Great Ziegfeld* (1936).

Later he worked at Warner Bros. on *Watch on the Rhine* (1943) and *Conflict* (1945). His final credit was additional photography on *Rhapsody in Blue* (1945).

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

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Watch on the Rhine* (1943), Fi1m 73, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/watch-on-the-rhine.md)
- *The Great Ziegfeld* (1936), Fi1m 64, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/the-great-ziegfeld.md)

## Complete filmography (66)

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

- *Rhapsody in Blue* (1945), Additional Photography
- *Conflict* (1945), Director of Photography
- *Watch on the Rhine* (1943), Director of Photography — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/watch-on-the-rhine.md)
- *Night in New Orleans* (1942), Director of Photography
- *Tom, Dick and Harry* (1941), Director of Photography
- *The House Across the Bay* (1940), Director of Photography
- *Andy Hardy's Dilemma: A Lesson in Mathematics... and Other Things* (1940), Director of Photography
- *Slightly Honorable* (1939), Director of Photography
- *Eternally Yours* (1939), Director of Photography
- *Winter Carnival* (1939), Director of Photography
- *Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police* (1939), Director of Photography
- *She Married an Artist* (1937), Director of Photography
- *Souls at Sea* (1937), Director of Photography
- *Seventh Heaven* (1937), Director of Photography
- *The Magnificent Brute* (1936), Director of Photography
- *The Luckiest Girl in the World* (1936), Director of Photography
- *One Rainy Afternoon* (1936), Director of Photography
- *The Great Ziegfeld* (1936), Director of Photography — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/the-great-ziegfeld.md)
- *Strike Me Pink* (1936), Director of Photography
- *A Night at the Opera* (1935), Director of Photography
- *The Daring Young Man* (1935), Cinematography
- *Imitation of Life* (1934), Director of Photography
- *Social Register* (1934), Director of Photography
- *Beloved* (1934), Director of Photography
- *Only Yesterday* (1933), Director of Photography
- *The Mayor of Hell* (1933), Director of Photography
- *The Secret of Madame Blanche* (1933), Director of Photography
- *Goldie Gets Along* (1933), Director of Photography
- *Payment Deferred* (1932), Director of Photography
- *Strange Justice* (1932), Director of Photography
- *Night World* (1932), Director of Photography
- *Freaks* (1932), Director of Photography
- *West of Broadway* (1931), Director of Photography
- *Flying High* (1931), Director of Photography
- *Guilty Hands* (1931), Director of Photography
- *The Great Lover* (1931), Director of Photography
- *Never the Twain Shall Meet* (1931), Director of Photography
- *Daybreak* (1931), Director of Photography
- *Gentleman's Fate* (1931), Cinematography
- *Sevilla de mis Amores* (1930), Cinematography
- *Remote Control* (1930), Director of Photography
- *Those Three French Girls* (1930), Director of Photography
- *Call of the Flesh* (1930), Director of Photography
- *Our Blushing Brides* (1930), Director of Photography
- *Every Woman's Longing* (1930), Director of Photography
- *A Lady to Love* (1930), Director of Photography
- *Devil-May-Care* (1929), Director of Photography
- *Navy Blues* (1929), Director of Photography
- *The Thirteenth Chair* (1929), Director of Photography
- *Wonder of Women* (1929), Director of Photography
- *A Man's Man* (1929), Director of Photography
- *The Bridge of San Luis Rey* (1929), Director of Photography
- *Tide of Empire* (1929), Cinematography
- *Alias Jimmy Valentine* (1928), Director of Photography
- *Circus Rookies* (1928), Cinematography
- *London After Midnight* (1927), Director of Photography
- *Mockery* (1927), Director of Photography
- *The Unknown* (1927), Director of Photography
- *The Ice Flood* (1926), Director of Photography
- *Tessie* (1925), Cinematography
- *The Mad Whirl* (1925), Director of Photography
- *Fight and Win* (1924), Director of Photography
- *The Galloping Ace* (1924), Director of Photography
- *The Phantom Horseman* (1924), Cinematography
- *The Man from Wyoming* (1924), Director of Photography
- *The Poor Simp* (1920), Director of Photography

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© 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/merritt-b-gerstad
