---
name: "William V. Skall"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/william-v-skall"
roles: ["Cinematographer"]
born: "5 October 1897"
died: "22 March 1976"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-20T02:18:57.807499+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 V. Skall

Cinematographer. Born 5 October 1897 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Died 22 March 1976.

## Details

- **Work:** Cinematographer
- **Born:** 5 October 1897, Chicago, Illinois, USA
- **Died:** 22 March 1976
- **Also known as:** W.V. Skall, Wm. V. Skall, William Vincent Skall, William Skall, William R. Skall
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won · 7 nominated)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_V._Skall, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2580846, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005877/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/17668

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*Quo Vadis*](https://film.one/film/quo-vadis.md) (65)

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

## Biography

William V. Skall (5 October 1897 – 22 March 1976) was an American cinematographer who specialised in Technicolor. Born in Chicago, Illinois, he began his film career immediately after leaving school and worked for two years in camera crews before becoming a chief cameraman in 1936 with 20th Century Fox.

He is credited as director of photography on *Quo Vadis* (1951), *Rope* (1948), *The Little Princess* (1939), *Joan of Arc* (1948), *Life with Father* (1947), *Reap the Wild Wind* (1942), *Northwest Passage* (1940), *The Memphis Belle* (1944) and *The Silver Chalice* (1954). He received nine Academy Award nominations for cinematography and won once, sharing the award for Best Cinematography (Colour) for *Joan of Arc* (1948). He was married to Gertrude and died in Los Angeles, California.

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

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Quo Vadis* (1951), Fi1m 65, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/quo-vadis.md)

## Complete filmography (36)

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

- *Man in Space* (1955), Director of Photography
- *The Silver Chalice* (1954), Director of Photography
- *Everything I Have Is Yours* (1952), Director of Photography
- *Cripple Creek* (1952), Director of Photography
- *Brave Warrior* (1952), Director of Photography
- *The Half-Breed* (1952), Director of Photography
- *Quo Vadis* (1951), Director of Photography — Fi1m 65, [page](https://film.one/film/quo-vadis.md)
- *Kim* (1950), Director of Photography
- *Joan of Arc* (1948), Director of Photography
- *Two Guys from Texas* (1948), Director of Photography
- *Rope* (1948), Director of Photography
- *My Wild Irish Rose* (1947), Director of Photography
- *Life with Father* (1947), Director of Photography
- *Song of Scheherazade* (1947), Director of Photography
- *The Time, The Place and The Girl* (1946), Director of Photography
- *Night and Day* (1946), Director of Photography
- *Frontier Days* (1945), Director of Photography
- *The Memphis Belle* (1944), Director of Photography
- *Arabian Nights* (1942), Assistant Director of Photography
- *Reap the Wild Wind* (1942), Director of Photography
- *To the Shores of Tripoli* (1942), Director of Photography
- *Billy the Kid* (1941), Director of Photography
- *Northwest Passage* (1940), Director of Photography
- *The Mikado* (1939), Cinematography
- *The Little Princess* (1939), Director of Photography
- *Victoria the Great* (1937), Director of Photography
- *Penny Wisdom* (1937), Director of Photography
- *Ramona* (1936), Director of Photography
- *Dancing Pirate* (1936), Director of Photography
- *King of the Islands* (1936), Director of Photography
- *Okay, José* (1935), Director of Photography
- *Two Hearts in Wax Time* (1935), Director of Photography
- *Gypsy Night* (1935), Director of Photography
- *State Fair* (1933), Camera Operator
- *Week Ends Only* (1932), Camera Operator
- *Lady with a Past* (1932), Camera Operator

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 1 won, 7 nominated

- 1955: Best Cinematography, Color (nominated), for *The Silver Chalice*
- 1952: Best Cinematography, Color (nominated), for *Quo Vadis*
- 1949: Best Cinematography, Color (won), for *Joan of Arc*
- 1948: Best Cinematography, Color (nominated), for *Life with Father*
- 1943: Best Cinematography, Color (nominated), for *Reap the Wild Wind*
- 1942: Best Cinematography, Color (nominated), for *Billy the Kid*
- 1941: Best Cinematography, Color (nominated), for *Northwest Passage*
- 1940: Best Cinematography, Color (nominated), for *The Mikado*

*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-v-skall