---
name: "Rudolph Maté"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/rudolph-mate"
roles: ["Cinematographer"]
born: "21 January 1898"
died: "27 October 1964"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 90
updated: "2026-09-16T11:57:26.759300+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."
---

# Rudolph Maté

Cinematographer. Born 21 January 1898 in Krakau, Galicia, Austria-Hungary [now Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland]. Died 27 October 1964.

## Details

- **Work:** Cinematographer
- **Born:** 21 January 1898, Krakau, Galicia, Austria-Hungary [now Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland]
- **Died:** 27 October 1964
- **Active:** 1928–1942
- **Also known as:** Rudolphe Mate, Rudy Maté, Rudolf Mayer

## 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.

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

## On Fi1m (2)

- *To Be or Not to Be* (1942), Fi1m 87, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/to-be-or-not-to-be.md)
- *The Passion of Joan of Arc* (1928), Fi1m 94, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/the-passion-of-joan-of-arc.md)

## Also known for

- *Gilda* (1946), Director of Photography
- *Vampyr* (1932), Director of Photography
- *Foreign Correspondent* (1940), Director of Photography
- *When Worlds Collide* (1951), Director
- *D.O.A.* (1949), Director
- *My Favorite Wife* (1940), Director of Photography
- *Sahara* (1943), Director of Photography
- *The 300 Spartans* (1962), Director

---
© 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/rudolph-mate