---
name: "W. Wallace Kelley"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/w-wallace-kelley"
fi1m_id: "w-wallace-kelley"
imdb_id: "nm0446009"
tmdb_id: 111987
wikidata_id: "Q22101624"
roles: ["Cinematographer"]
born: "2 February 1902"
died: "27 September 1982"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 5
average_fi1m_score: 73
average_over: 5
updated: "2026-09-26T15:15:41.256929+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."
---

# W. Wallace Kelley

## Identity

W. Wallace Kelley

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/w-wallace-kelley
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** w-wallace-kelley
- **IMDb ID:** nm0446009
- **TMDB ID:** 111987
- **Wikidata ID:** Q22101624
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Wallace_Kelley, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q22101624, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0446009/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/111987

Cinematographer. Born 2 February 1902 in New Jersey, USA. Died 27 September 1982.

## Details

- **Work:** Cinematographer
- **Born:** 2 February 1902, New Jersey, USA
- **Died:** 27 September 1982
- **Active:** 1952–1963
- **Also known as:** Wallace Kelley, Wallace Kelly
- **Frequently works with:** [Bill Richmond](https://film.one/person/bill-richmond.md), [Jerry Lewis](https://film.one/person/jerry-lewis.md), [Kathleen Freeman](https://film.one/person/kathleen-freeman.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1950s 72 (3), 1960s 75 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 73 to 73 across 5 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 3, Romance 2, Comedy 1, History 1, Mystery 1, Thriller 1
- **Screen time:** 12 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $171m across 4 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Wallace_Kelley, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q22101624, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0446009/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/111987

## Biography

W. Wallace Kelley was an American cinematographer and visual effects artist. He began his career in process photography and special effects at Paramount Pictures in the 1930s and 1940s.

Kelley received an Academy Award nomination for Best Special Effects for his work on *Unconquered* (1947). He contributed second-unit photography and effects to films including *The War of the Worlds* (1953), *To Catch a Thief* (1955) and *The Ten Commandments* (1956).

In the 1960s he served as director of photography on several Jerry Lewis comedies, including *The Ladies Man* (1961), *The Errand Boy* (1961), *The Nutty Professor* (1963), *Who's Minding the Store?* (1963) and *The Disorderly Orderly* (1964). He continued working into the early 1970s on features and television.

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

## On Fi1m (5)

- *One-Eyed Jacks* (1961), Fi1m 78, Second Unit Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/one-eyed-jacks.md)
- *The Ladies Man* (1961), Fi1m 72, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/the-ladies-man.md)
- *Vertigo* (1958), Fi1m 92, Visual Effects — [page](https://film.one/film/vertigo.md)
- *The Ten Commandments* (1956), Fi1m 67, Additional Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/the-ten-commandments.md)
- *The Greatest Show on Earth* (1952), Fi1m 56, Additional Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/the-greatest-show-on-earth.md)

## Complete filmography (43)

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

- *Which Way to the Front?* (1970), Director of Photography
- *Watermelon Man* (1970), Director of Photography
- *Marooned* (1969), Second Unit Director of Photography
- *The Comic* (1969), Director of Photography
- *Hook, Line and Sinker* (1969), Director of Photography
- *Day of the Evil Gun* (1968), Director of Photography
- *The Fastest Guitar Alive* (1967), Director of Photography
- *The Big Mouth* (1967), Director of Photography
- *Red Tomahawk* (1967), Director of Photography
- *Paradise, Hawaiian Style* (1966), Director of Photography
- *Three on a Couch* (1966), Director of Photography
- *Apache Uprising* (1965), Director of Photography
- *Town Tamer* (1965), Director of Photography
- *The Family Jewels* (1965), Director of Photography
- *The Disorderly Orderly* (1964), Director of Photography
- *The Patsy* (1964), Director of Photography
- *Who's Minding the Store?* (1963), Director of Photography
- *The Nutty Professor* (1963), Director of Photography
- *It's Only Money* (1962), Director of Photography
- *The Errand Boy* (1961), Director of Photography
- *Blue Hawaii* (1961), Second Unit Director of Photography
- *The Ladies Man* (1961), Director of Photography — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/the-ladies-man.md)
- *One-Eyed Jacks* (1961), Second Unit Director of Photography — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/one-eyed-jacks.md)
- *Look in Any Window* (1961), Director of Photography
- *But Not for Me* (1959), Second Unit Director of Photography
- *The Five Pennies* (1959), Second Unit Director of Photography
- *The Trap* (1959), Second Unit Director of Photography
- *Vertigo* (1958), Visual Effects — Fi1m 92, [page](https://film.one/film/vertigo.md)
- *Beau James* (1957), Second Unit Director of Photography
- *Hollywood or Bust* (1956), Second Unit Director of Photography
- *The Ten Commandments* (1956), Additional Photography — Fi1m 67, [page](https://film.one/film/the-ten-commandments.md)
- *Pardners* (1956), Second Unit Director of Photography
- *To Catch a Thief* (1955), Second Unit Director of Photography
- *Living It Up* (1954), Second Unit Director of Photography
- *Jivaro* (1954), Second Unit Director of Photography
- *Those Redheads from Seattle* (1953), Second Unit Director of Photography
- *Sangaree* (1953), Director of Photography
- *The War of the Worlds* (1953), Visual Effects
- *Something to Live For* (1952), Visual Effects
- *The Greatest Show on Earth* (1952), Additional Photography — Fi1m 56, [page](https://film.one/film/the-greatest-show-on-earth.md)
- *Branded* (1950), Director of Photography
- *A Medal for Benny* (1945), Special Effects Assistant
- *No Time for Love* (1943), Camera Operator

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 1948: Best Special Effects (nominated), for *Unconquered*

*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/w-wallace-kelley