Joseph MacDonald
An assistant cameraman from the early 1920s, he became a cinematographer in the 1940s and soon was working on Hollywood productions, mostly at 20th Century Fox. He was usually billed as Joe MacDonald. He was the first Mexico-born cinematographer, and only the second overall, after Leon Shamroy, to film a movie in CinemaScope (How to Marry a Millionaire), as well as the first Mexico-born cinematographer to film a movie in Deluxe Color.
Joseph MacDonald
- Name
- Joseph MacDonald, A.S.C.
- Birth Name
- Joseph Patrick MacDonald
- Born
- 26 May 1906
- Birthplace
- Mexico City, Mexico
- Died
- 15 December 1968
- Place of death
- Woodland Hills, California, U.S.
- Occupation
- Cinematographer
- Nationality
- United States
- Education
- University of Southern California
- Languages
- English
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
An assistant cameraman from the early 1920s, he became a cinematographer in the 1940s and soon was working on Hollywood productions, mostly at 20th Century Fox. He was usually billed as Joe MacDonald. He was the first Mexico-born cinematographer, and only the second overall, after Leon Shamroy, to film a movie in CinemaScope (How to Marry a Millionaire), as well as the first Mexico-born cinematographer to film a movie in Deluxe Color.
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wikidata · Q345800
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Joseph MacDonald, A.S.C. • Birth Name — Joseph Patrick MacDonald • Born — 26 May 1906 • Birthplace — Mexico City, Mexico • Died — 15 December 1968 • Place of death — Woodland Hills, California, U.S. • Occupation — Cinematographer
Select filmography
Select filmography
• Charlie Chan in Rio (1941) • Little Tokyo, U.S.A. (1942) • Wintertime (1943) • Quiet Please, Murder (1943) • Sunday Dinner for a Soldier (1944) • In the Meantime, Darling (1944) • The Big Noise (1944) • Captain Eddie (1945) • My Darling Clementine (1946) • Shock (1946) • The Dark Corner (1946) • Wake Up and Dream (1946) • Behind Green Lights (1946) • Moss Rose (1947) • Call Northside 777 (1948) • The Street with No Name (1948) • Down to the Sea in Ships (1949) • Yellow Sky (1949) • It Happens Every Spring (1949) • Pinky (1949) • Stella (1950) • Panic in the Streets (1950) • As Young as You Feel (1951) • You're in the Navy Now (1951) • Fourteen Hours (1951) • Viva Zapata! (1952) • What Price Glory (1952) • O. Henry's Full House (1952) • Niagara (1953) • Pickup on South Street (1953) • How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) • Titanic (1953) • Broken Lance (1954) • Woman's World (1954) • Hell and High Water (1954) • The Racers (1955) • House of Bamboo (1955) • Hilda Crane (1956) • On the Threshold of Space (1956) • Teenage Rebel (1956) • The True Story of Jesse James (1956) • Bigger Than Life (1956) • Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957) • A Hatful of Rain (1957) • The Fiend Who Walked the West (1958) • Ten North Frederick (1958) • The Young Lions (1958) • Warlock (1959) • Pepe (1960) • The Gallant Hours (1960) • The Last Time I Saw Archie (1961) • 40 Pounds of Trouble (1962) • Taras Bulba (1962) • Walk on the Wild Side (1962) • Kings of the Sun (1963) • The List of Adrian Messenger (1963) • Invitation to a Gunfighter (1964) • The Carpetbaggers (1964) • Rio Conchos (1964) • Flight from Ashiya (1964) • Where Love Has Gone (1964) • The Reward (1965) • Mirage (1965) • Alvarez Kelly (1966) • The Sand Pebbles (1966) • Blindfold (1966) • A Guide for the Married Man (1967) • Mackenna's Gold (1969; released posthumously)
Accolades
Accolades
Nominations • Academy Awards: Oscar, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White, for The Young Lions; 1959. • Academy Awards: Oscar, Best Cinematography, for Pepe; 1961. • Academy Awards: Oscar, Best Cinematography, for The Sand Pebbles; 1967.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1906
Joseph MacDonald born at Mexico City.
1968
Joseph MacDonald died at Woodland Hills.
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Mexico City.
Birth place
Woodland Hills.
Death place
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Joseph MacDonald is connected to 1 other published record in the VALÉORINE Encyclopedia.
Within the Encyclopedia
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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