Biography
Rudolph Maté, born Rudolf Mayer, was a Polish-Hungarian cinematographer and film director. He was born on 21 January 1898 in Kraków, then in Austria-Hungary, now in Poland. After studying at the University of Budapest, he began working as an assistant cameraman in Hungary and later in other European countries, sometimes with Karl Freund.
Maté photographed several films for Carl Theodor Dreyer, including The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) and Vampyr (1932). He moved to Hollywood in 1935 and worked as cinematographer on films including Dodsworth (1936), Foreign Correspondent (1940), Gilda (1946) and My Favorite Wife (1940). He received Academy Award nominations for Best Cinematography in five consecutive years, for Foreign Correspondent (1940), That Hamilton Woman (1941), The Pride of the Yankees (1942), Sahara (1943) and Cover Girl (1944).
From 1947 he worked primarily as a director. His credits include D.O.A. (1950), When Worlds Collide (1951) and The 300 Spartans (1962). He died on 27 October 1964 in Beverly Hills, California.
