John J. Mescall

John J. Mescall, A.S.C. (1899–1962) was an American cinematographer. He photographed such silent films as Ernst Lubitsch's The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927), but he is best known for his work in the 1930s at Universal Pictures, where he often worked on the films of James Whale. Mescall was famous for his elaborate (some might say grandiose), effective camera movements, in which the camera would often track completely across or around a set, or even one performer (as it does around Paul Robeson while he sings Ol' Man River in the 1936 film version of Show Boat). He would not always use these kinds of camera movements (The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg has none), but his most famous films all have them.

Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Show Boat (1936), both directed by James Whale, are generally named among Mescall's greatest achievements in cinematography. In the former, his distinctive angles added greatly to the scene depicting the creation of the bride. Mescall also did uncredited work for Whale's The Invisible Man (1933).

Mescall also filmed The Road Back (1937) for Whale, an ill-fated sequel to All Quiet on the Western Front (1930). Both are based on novels by Erich Maria Remarque. Though visually compelling, The Road Back bombed at the box-office, in part due to a well-publicized editing dispute between Whale and Universal executives. The film's cast included Noah Beery Jr. and Richard Cromwell.

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