---
name: "Russell Harlan"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/russell-harlan"
fi1m_id: "russell-harlan"
imdb_id: "nm0005737"
tmdb_id: 4308
wikidata_id: "Q323729"
roles: ["Cinematographer"]
born: "16 September 1903"
died: "28 February 1974"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 6
average_fi1m_score: 84
average_over: 6
updated: "2026-09-25T05:13:01.990401+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."
---

# Russell Harlan

## Identity

Russell Harlan

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/russell-harlan
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** russell-harlan
- **IMDb ID:** nm0005737
- **TMDB ID:** 4308
- **Wikidata ID:** Q323729
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Harlan, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q323729, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005737/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/4308

Cinematographer. Born 16 September 1903 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Died 28 February 1974.

## Details

- **Work:** Cinematographer
- **Born:** 16 September 1903, Los Angeles, California, USA
- **Died:** 28 February 1974
- **Active:** 1948–1962
- **Also known as:** Russell B. Harlan, Russ Harlan, Russel Harlan
- **Frequently works with:** [Howard Hawks](https://film.one/person/howard-hawks.md), [John Wayne](https://film.one/person/john-wayne.md), [Walter Brennan](https://film.one/person/walter-brennan.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 6 Oscar nominations
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1940s 88 (1), 1950s 84 (4), 1960s 84 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 87 to 82 across 5 titles
- **Score spread:** 5 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 4, Western 3, Crime 2, Romance 2, Adventure 1, Mystery 1
- **Screen time:** 12 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $37m across 4 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Harlan, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q323729, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005737/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/4308

## Streaming the US now

- **Tubi:** [*Red River*](https://film.one/film/red-river.md) (88), [*Witness for the Prosecution*](https://film.one/film/witness-for-the-prosecution.md) (87), [*Gun Crazy*](https://film.one/film/gun-crazy.md) (86)

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

## Biography

Russell Harlan was an American cinematographer. Born in Los Angeles, California, on 16 September 1903, he began in the film industry as an actor and stuntman before working as an assistant cameraman in the early 1930s. His first credits as lead cinematographer came in 1937 on Hopalong Cassidy westerns.

Harlan's career spanned more than thirty years. He worked on films including *The Thing from Another World* (1951), *Witness for the Prosecution* (1957), *Rio Bravo* (1959), *To Kill a Mockingbird* (1962) and *The Great Race* (1965). He received six Academy Award nominations for Best Cinematography, two of them in 1962 for *Hatari!* and *To Kill a Mockingbird*. Harlan died in Newport Beach, California, on 28 February 1974.

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

## On Fi1m (6)

- *To Kill a Mockingbird* (1962), Fi1m 84, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/to-kill-a-mockingbird.md)
- *Rio Bravo* (1959), Fi1m 88, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/rio-bravo.md)
- *Witness for the Prosecution* (1957), Fi1m 87, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/witness-for-the-prosecution.md)
- *The Big Sky* (1952), Fi1m 73, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/the-big-sky.md)
- *Gun Crazy* (1950), Fi1m 86, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/gun-crazy.md)
- *Red River* (1948), Fi1m 88, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/red-river.md)

## Complete filmography (94)

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

- *Darling Lili* (1970), Director of Photography
- *Tobruk* (1967), Director of Photography
- *Hawaii* (1966), Director of Photography
- *The Great Race* (1965), Director of Photography
- *Dear Heart* (1965), Director of Photography
- *Quick, Before It Melts* (1965), Director of Photography
- *Man's Favorite Sport?* (1964), Director of Photography
- *A Gathering of Eagles* (1963), Director of Photography
- *To Kill a Mockingbird* (1962), Director of Photography — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/to-kill-a-mockingbird.md)
- *The Spiral Road* (1962), Director of Photography
- *Hatari!* (1962), Director of Photography
- *Sunrise at Campobello* (1960), Director of Photography
- *Pollyanna* (1960), Director of Photography
- *Operation Petticoat* (1959), Director of Photography
- *Day of the Outlaw* (1959), Director of Photography
- *Rio Bravo* (1959), Director of Photography — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/rio-bravo.md)
- *King Creole* (1958), Director of Photography
- *Run Silent, Run Deep* (1958), Director of Photography
- *Witness for the Prosecution* (1957), Director of Photography — Fi1m 87, [page](https://film.one/film/witness-for-the-prosecution.md)
- *This Could Be the Night* (1957), Director of Photography
- *Something of Value* (1957), Director of Photography
- *Lust for Life* (1956), Director of Photography
- *The Last Hunt* (1956), Director of Photography
- *Land of the Pharaohs* (1955), Director of Photography
- *Blackboard Jungle* (1955), Director of Photography
- *Riot in Cell Block 11* (1954), Director of Photography
- *Ruby Gentry* (1952), Director of Photography
- *The Ring* (1952), Director of Photography
- *The Big Sky* (1952), Director of Photography — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/the-big-sky.md)
- *The Thing from Another World* (1951), Director of Photography
- *The Man Who Cheated Himself* (1950), Director of Photography
- *Southside 1-1000* (1950), Director of Photography
- *The Kangaroo Kid* (1950), Director of Photography
- *Tarzan and the Slave Girl* (1950), Director of Photography
- *Guilty Bystander* (1950), Director of Photography
- *Gun Crazy* (1950), Director of Photography — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/gun-crazy.md)
- *Bad Men of Tombstone* (1949), Director of Photography
- *Red River* (1948), Director of Photography — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/red-river.md)
- *Four Faces West* (1948), Director of Photography
- *Ramrod* (1947), Director of Photography
- *A Walk in the Sun* (1945), Director of Photography
- *Forty Thieves* (1944), Cinematography
- *Mystery Man* (1944), Cinematography
- *Lumberjack* (1944), Cinematography
- *Texas Masquerade* (1944), Cinematography
- *The Woman of the Town* (1943), Director of Photography
- *Tarzan's Desert Mystery* (1943), Director of Photography
- *Riders of the Deadline* (1943), Cinematography
- *False Colors* (1943), Director of Photography
- *Bar 20* (1943), Cinematography
- *The Kansan* (1943), Director of Photography
- *Colt Comrades* (1943), Cinematography
- *Leather Burners* (1943), Cinematography
- *Buckskin Frontier* (1943), Director of Photography
- *Border Patrol* (1943), Cinematography
- *Hoppy Serves a Writ* (1943), Cinematography
- *Lost Canyon* (1942), Cinematography
- *American Empire* (1942), Director of Photography
- *Undercover Man* (1942), Cinematography
- *Tombstone: The Town Too Tough to Die* (1942), Director of Photography
- *Secret of the Wastelands* (1941), Cinematography
- *Twilight on the Trail* (1941), Cinematography
- *Stick to Your Guns* (1941), Cinematography
- *Riders of the Timberline* (1941), Cinematography
- *Wide Open Town* (1941), Cinematography
- *Pirates on Horseback* (1941), Cinematography
- *Border Vigilantes* (1941), Cinematography
- *In Old Colorado* (1941), Director of Photography
- *Doomed Caravan* (1941), Cinematography
- *Three Men from Texas* (1940), Cinematography
- *Stagecoach War* (1940), Director of Photography
- *Hidden Gold* (1940), Cinematography
- *The Light of Western Stars* (1940), Director of Photography
- *The Showdown* (1940), Director of Photography
- *Santa Fe Marshal* (1940), Director of Photography
- *The Llano Kid* (1939), Director
- *Law of the Pampas* (1939), Director of Photography
- *Range War* (1939), Cinematography
- *Renegade Trail* (1939), Director of Photography
- *Heritage of the Desert* (1939), Director of Photography
- *Silver on the Sage* (1939), Director of Photography
- *Sunset Trail* (1939), Cinematography
- *The Frontiersmen* (1938), Cinematography
- *The Mysterious Rider* (1938), Director of Photography
- *In Old Mexico* (1938), Director of Photography
- *Pride of the West* (1938), Cinematography
- *Bar 20 Justice* (1938), Cinematography
- *Heart of Arizona* (1938), Cinematography
- *Cassidy of Bar 20* (1938), Director of Photography
- *Partners of the Plains* (1938), Director of Photography
- *Texas Trail* (1937), Cinematography
- *Hopalong Rides Again* (1937), Director of Photography
- *Rustlers' Valley* (1937), Cinematography
- *North of the Rio Grande* (1937), Director of Photography

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 6 nominated

- 1967: Best Cinematography, Color (nominated), for *Hawaii*
- 1966: Best Cinematography, Color (nominated), for *The Great Race*
- 1963: Best Cinematography, Color (nominated), for *Hatari!*
- 1963: Best Cinematography, Black-and-White (nominated), for *To Kill a Mockingbird*
- 1956: Best Cinematography, Black-and-White (nominated), for *Blackboard Jungle*
- 1953: Best Cinematography, Black-and-White (nominated), for *The Big Sky*

*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/russell-harlan