---
name: "William C. Mellor"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/william-c-mellor"
roles: ["Cinematographer"]
born: "29 June 1903"
died: "30 April 1963"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 6
average_fi1m_score: 71
average_over: 6
updated: "2026-09-20T03:25:43.670956+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."
---

# William C. Mellor

Cinematographer. Born 29 June 1903 in Missouri, USA. Died 30 April 1963.

## Details

- **Work:** Cinematographer
- **Born:** 29 June 1903, Missouri, USA
- **Died:** 30 April 1963
- **Active:** 1932–1959
- **Also known as:** William Mellor
- **Frequently works with:** [George Stevens](https://film.one/person/george-stevens.md), [Elizabeth Taylor](https://film.one/person/elizabeth-taylor-3635.md), [Shelley Winters](https://film.one/person/shelley-winters.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 2 Oscars (2 won · 2 nominated)
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1930s 77 (1), 1940s 73 (1), 1950s 69 (4)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 71 to 67 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 4 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 5, Romance 3, Action 1, Comedy 1, Crime 1, History 1
- **Screen time:** 14 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $40m across 2 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_C._Mellor, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q362210, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005794/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/18744

## Biography

William C. Mellor was an American cinematographer who worked at Paramount, MGM and 20th Century Fox. He began his career in the photographic laboratories at Paramount in the mid-1920s and became a director of photography by 1934.

Mellor shot *Wake Island* (1942) and collaborated frequently with director George Stevens, for whom he won Academy Awards for *A Place in the Sun* (1951) and *The Diary of Anne Frank* (1959). He was also nominated for *Peyton Place* (1957). Other credits include *The Naked Spur* (1953), *Bad Day at Black Rock* (1955), *Giant* (1956) and *Love in the Afternoon* (1957). He received a posthumous nomination for *The Greatest Story Ever Told* (1965).

Mellor died of a heart attack on 30 April 1963 while filming *The Greatest Story Ever Told*.

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

## On Fi1m (6)

- *The Diary of Anne Frank* (1959), Fi1m 58, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/the-diary-of-anne-frank.md)
- *Peyton Place* (1957), Fi1m 64, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/peyton-place.md)
- *Giant* (1956), Fi1m 74, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/giant-1956.md)
- *A Place in the Sun* (1951), Fi1m 81, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/a-place-in-the-sun.md)
- *Wake Island* (1942), Fi1m 73, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/wake-island.md)
- *One Hour with You* (1932), Fi1m 77, Camera Operator — [page](https://film.one/film/one-hour-with-you.md)

## Complete filmography (72)

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

- *The Greatest Story Ever Told* (1965), Director of Photography
- *Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation* (1962), Director of Photography
- *State Fair* (1962), Director of Photography
- *The Big Gamble* (1961), Director of Photography
- *Wild in the Country* (1961), Director of Photography
- *Crack in the Mirror* (1960), Director of Photography
- *The Best of Everything* (1959), Director of Photography
- *Woman Obsessed* (1959), Director of Photography
- *Compulsion* (1959), Director of Photography
- *The Diary of Anne Frank* (1959), Director of Photography — Fi1m 58, [page](https://film.one/film/the-diary-of-anne-frank.md)
- *Peyton Place* (1957), Director of Photography — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/peyton-place.md)
- *Love in the Afternoon* (1957), Director of Photography
- *Giant* (1956), Director of Photography — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/giant-1956.md)
- *Back from Eternity* (1956), Director of Photography
- *Johnny Concho* (1956), Director of Photography
- *The Last Frontier* (1955), Director of Photography
- *Bad Day at Black Rock* (1955), Director of Photography
- *Alaska Seas* (1954), Director of Photography
- *Give a Girl a Break* (1953), Director of Photography
- *Big Leaguer* (1953), Director of Photography
- *The Affairs of Dobie Gillis* (1953), Director of Photography
- *The Naked Spur* (1953), Director of Photography
- *My Man and I* (1952), Director of Photography
- *Skirts Ahoy!* (1952), Director of Photography
- *Carbine Williams* (1952), Cinematography
- *Westward the Women* (1951), Director of Photography
- *The Unknown Man* (1951), Director of Photography
- *Across the Wide Missouri* (1951), Director of Photography
- *A Place in the Sun* (1951), Director of Photography — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/film/a-place-in-the-sun.md)
- *Soldiers Three* (1951), Director of Photography
- *The Next Voice You Hear...* (1950), Director of Photography
- *Love Happy* (1949), Director of Photography
- *Too Late for Tears* (1949), Director of Photography
- *Man-Eater of Kumaon* (1948), Director of Photography
- *Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven* (1948), Director of Photography
- *Blaze of Noon* (1947), Director of Photography
- *Abie's Irish Rose* (1946), Director of Photography
- *Commandos Strike at Dawn* (1942), Director of Photography
- *Road to Morocco* (1942), Director of Photography
- *Wake Island* (1942), Director of Photography — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/wake-island.md)
- *Beyond the Blue Horizon* (1942), Director of Photography
- *My Favorite Blonde* (1942), Director of Photography
- *The Fleet's In* (1942), Director of Photography
- *Birth of the Blues* (1941), Director of Photography
- *The Great Man's Lady* (1941), Director of Photography
- *The Great McGinty* (1940), Director of Photography
- *Moon Over Burma* (1940), Director of Photography
- *Typhoon* (1940), Director of Photography
- *Road to Singapore* (1940), Director of Photography
- *Disputed Passage* (1939), Director of Photography
- *$1,000 a Touchdown* (1939), Director of Photography
- *The Magnificent Fraud* (1939), Director of Photography
- *Hotel Imperial* (1939), Director of Photography
- *Ride a Crooked Mile* (1938), Director of Photography
- *Bulldog Drummond in Africa* (1938), Director of Photography
- *Romance in the Dark* (1938), Director of Photography
- *Thrill of a Lifetime* (1937), Director of Photography
- *Bulldog Drummond Comes Back* (1937), Director of Photography
- *Exclusive* (1937), Director of Photography
- *Make Way for Tomorrow* (1937), Director of Photography
- *The Sky Parade* (1936), Director of Photography
- *A Son Comes Home* (1936), Cinematography
- *Woman Trap* (1936), Director of Photography
- *Without Regret* (1935), Director of Photography
- *Car 99* (1935), Director of Photography
- *Enter Madame* (1935), Director of Photography
- *Cleopatra* (1934), Camera Operator
- *Wagon Wheels* (1934), Director of Photography
- *Elmer and Elsie* (1934), Director of Photography
- *Love Me Tonight* (1932), Camera Operator
- *This Is the Night* (1932), Camera Operator
- *One Hour with You* (1932), Camera Operator — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/film/one-hour-with-you.md)

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 2 won, 2 nominated

- 1966: Best Cinematography, Color (nominated), for *The Greatest Story Ever Told*
- 1960: Best Cinematography, Black-and-White (won), for *The Diary of Anne Frank*
- 1958: Best Cinematography (nominated), for *Peyton Place*
- 1952: Best Cinematography, Black-and-White (won), for *A Place in the Sun*

*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/william-c-mellor