Shooting exteriors of All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

Born in New York City. A portrait photographer, he entered the film industry with the Eclair company in 1911. Toward the end of the decade, he began a long association with Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., first as a camera operator and later as a director of photography. In 1918 he was among the founders of A.S.C., and by the end of the silent era, he had over 50 films to his credit. In 1929, at the dawn of the sound era, Edeson pioneered in location sound photography as the cameraman of the successful Western IN OLD ARIZONA (1929). A superb black-and-white artist and a master at creating atmosphere, he reached the peak of his long career with Warner Bros. in the 30s and early 40s. He shot a 70 mm wide-screen version of Raoul Walsh's THE BIG TRAIL in 1930. (Lucien Andriot shot the standard version of the film.) Some notable non-nominated credits among his almost 80 talkies include THE PATENT LEATHER KID (1927), DOCTORS' WIVES, WATERLOO BRIDGE and FRANKENSTEIN (all 1931), THE OLD DARK HOUSE, RED DUST (uncredited) and FLESH (all 1932), A STUDY IN SCARLET, THE INVISIBLE MAN and HIS DOUBLE LIFE (all 1933), PALOOKA and HERE COMES THE NAVY (both 1934), DEVIL DOGS OF THE AIR and MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (both 1935), SATAN MET A LADY, GOLD DIGGERS OF 1937 and CHINA CLIPPER (all 1936), MR. DODD TAKES THE AIR (1937), COWBOY FROM BROOKLYN (1938), WINGS OF THE NAVY and EACH DAWN I DIE (both 1939), THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT and TUGBOAT ANNIE SAILS AGAIN (both 1940), THE MALTESE FALCON and SEGEANT YORK (battle sequences) (both 1941), ACROSS THE PACIFIC and THE MALE ANIMAL (both 1942), THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS (1943), SHINE ON, HARVEST MOON (1944), THE TIME, THE PLACE AND THE GIRL (1946), MY WILD IRISH ROSE (1947), TWO GUYS FROM TEXAS (1948) and his last film, THE FIGHTING O'FLYNN (1949). He retired in 1949.    Nominated for Cinematography 1928-29: IN OLD ARIZONA    Nominated for Cinematography 1929-30: ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT    Nominated for Cinematography (Black & White) 1943: CASABLANCA 3 nominations