---
name: "Sidney Wagner"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/sidney-wagner"
roles: ["Cinematographer"]
born: "13 January 1901"
died: "7 July 1947"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 74
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-19T23:46:31.962040+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."
---

# Sidney Wagner

Cinematographer. Born 13 January 1901 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Died 7 July 1947.

## Details

- **Work:** Cinematographer
- **Born:** 13 January 1901, Los Angeles, California, USA
- **Died:** 7 July 1947
- **Active:** 1935–1938
- **Also known as:** Sidney Chapman Wagner, Sid C. Wagner, Syd Wagner
- **Academy Awards:** 2 Oscar nominations
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Wagner_(cinematographer), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2282010, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0906109/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/120313

## Biography

Sidney Chapman Wagner was an American cinematographer. Born in Los Angeles, he began his career as a camera operator in the early 1920s and received his first screen credit on the silent film *The Cyclone Rider* (1924). He advanced to director of photography by the early 1930s and worked primarily at MGM.

Wagner's credits include *Boys Town* (1938), *A Christmas Carol* (1938), *Northwest Passage* (1940), *Cabin in the Sky* (1943), *Tarzan's New York Adventure* (1942) and *The Postman Always Rings Twice* (1946). He received Academy Award nominations for Best Cinematography for *Northwest Passage* (shared with William V. Skall) and *Dragon Seed* (1944). He died in 1947.

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

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Boys Town* (1938), Fi1m 65, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/boys-town.md)
- *Mutiny on the Bounty* (1935), Fi1m 83, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/mutiny-on-the-bounty.md)

## Complete filmography (53)

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

- *The Romance of Rosy Ridge* (1947), Director of Photography
- *High Barbaree* (1947), Director of Photography
- *The Postman Always Rings Twice* (1946), Director of Photography
- *The Sailor Takes a Wife* (1945), Director of Photography
- *Dragon Seed* (1944), Director of Photography
- *Rationing* (1944), Director of Photography
- *The Cross of Lorraine* (1943), Director of Photography
- *The Man from Down Under* (1943), Director of Photography
- *Bataan* (1943), Director of Photography
- *Cabin in the Sky* (1943), Director of Photography
- *Madero of Mexico* (1942), Director of Photography
- *Apache Trail* (1942), Director of Photography
- *Tarzan's New York Adventure* (1942), Director of Photography
- *Kathleen* (1941), Director of Photography
- *Whistling in the Dark* (1941), Director of Photography
- *The Get-Away* (1941), Director of Photography
- *I'll Wait for You* (1941), Director of Photography
- *Blonde Inspiration* (1941), Director of Photography
- *Gallant Sons* (1940), Cinematography
- *Sporting Blood* (1940), Director of Photography
- *Andy Hardy Meets Debutante* (1940), Cinematography
- *Young Tom Edison* (1940), Director of Photography
- *Jack Pot* (1940), Director of Photography
- *Northwest Passage* (1940), Director of Photography
- *Alfalfa's Double* (1940), Director of Photography
- *Henry Goes Arizona* (1939), Director of Photography
- *The Kid From Texas* (1939), Director of Photography
- *Let Freedom Ring* (1939), Director of Photography
- *A Christmas Carol* (1938), Director of Photography
- *Boys Town* (1938), Director of Photography — Fi1m 65, [page](https://film.one/film/boys-town.md)
- *Anaesthesia* (1938), Director of Photography
- *Joaquin Murrieta* (1938), Director of Photography
- *One Mile from Heaven* (1937), Director of Photography
- *Fair Warning* (1937), Director of Photography
- *To Mary - with Love* (1936), Director of Photography
- *Mutiny on the Bounty* (1935), Cinematography — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/film/mutiny-on-the-bounty.md)
- *Pursuit* (1935), Cinematography
- *Hide-Out* (1934), Director of Photography
- *El caballero de la noche* (1932), Director of Photography
- *Runt Page* (1932), Director of Photography
- *There Were Thirteen* (1931), Director of Photography
- *Law of the Harem* (1931), Director of Photography
- *Slaves of Fashion* (1931), Director of Photography
- *El impostor* (1931), Director of Photography
- *The Big Trail* (1930), Cinematography
- *The Soul of a Peasant* (1929), Camera Operator
- *Chasing Through Europe* (1929), Director of Photography
- *Why Sailors Go Wrong* (1928), Director of Photography
- *Publicity Madness* (1927), Cinematography
- *The Gay Retreat* (1927), Director of Photography
- *More Pay - Less Work* (1926), Director of Photography
- *Roaring Lions at Home* (1924), Director of Photography
- *The Cyclone Rider* (1924), Director of Photography

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 2 nominated

- 1945: Best Cinematography, Black-and-White (nominated), for *Dragon Seed*
- 1941: Best Cinematography, Color (nominated), for *Northwest Passage*

*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/sidney-wagner