Virgil Miller

Virgil Miller

Birth : 1886-12-20, Coffeen, Illinois, USA

Death : 1974-10-05

History

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Virgil Miller (December 20, 1886 - October 5, 1974) was an American cinematographer who was the director of photography for 157 films between 1917 and 1956. Miller's credits include The Phantom of the Opera (1925), Danger - Love at Work (1937), Mr. Moto Takes a Chance (1938), The Mummy's Curse (1944), Navajo (1952), Crazylegs (1953), and six Charlie Chan films. Prior to working for Universal Studios and, eventually, most other major studios, Miller was a graduate from and a professor at Kansas State University teaching physics and electrical engineering. In 1913 he became the first director and founder of the electrical department of Universal Studios. He also coordinated very early special effects including filming stampedes, explosions, and shrinking people.

Profile

Virgil Miller

Movies

Unchained
Director of Photography
This fact-based prison drama tells the tale of a band of prisoners living in the innovative 2,600-acre prison at Chino, California. The place takes a humanistic approach to reform and there are no armed guards, no lockups and no uniforms. The underlying philosophy is that if these things are not there, the prisoners will not want to escape, and will instead accept their punishment. A new inmate arrives and soon accustoms himself to the new idea. The story includes the Oscar nominated song Unchained Melody.
Miss Robin Crusoe
Director of Photography
This 1954 feminist version of "Robinson Crusoe" stars Amanda Blake as a woman shipwrecked on a jungle island. Also with George Nader and Rosalind Hayes.
Murder Without Tears
Director of Photography
A man hires someone to murder his wife and use a legal loophole to get away with it.
Navajo
Director of Photography
A young Navajo Indian boy is caught up in the conflict of cultures when he rejects the white man's school. Told in semi-documentary style.
To the Coast of Devon
Director of Photography
The first half of this Traveltalk entry is spent in the town of Bath, where we learn about the long history and architecture of the area. We then go to the coastal resort towns of Teignmouth and Torquay.
Pastoral Panoramas
Director of Photography
This Traveltalk series short highlights rural areas of England. We stop at the village of Bradford-on-Avon, with its thatched roofs, also Stoke Poges, the burial place of British poet Thomas Gray.
Land of Tradition
Director of Photography
This Traveltalk series short visits an array of locations associated with England's heritage. Included are Runnymede, Windsor, Ascot, Lincoln, Wells, Salisbury, Glastonbury, and the ancient Stonehenge site.
A Wee Bit of Scotland
Director of Photography
In this Traveltalk series short visit to Scotland, we visit several places with familiar names, including Inverness, capital of the ancient Pictish Kingdom; Loch Ness, home of the famous elusive monster; and Saint Andrews, the birthplace of golf.
Glimpses of Old England
Director of Photography
This Traveltalk series short focuses on the sights and culture that define "Old England". Included is a visit to the Cotswold Hills area, a ride on the Wye River, and visits to Tintern Abbey in Wales and Laycock Abbey in Wiltshire, England.
Roaming Through Northern Ireland
Director of Photography
A look primarily at the beauty of the countryside and seacoast, starting at Carrick-a-Rede Island then on to Enniskillen, the cathedral at Downpatrick, an appreciation of Medieval Irish craft and architecture, visits to a peat farm and the ruins of Castle Dunluce, and the pastoral beauty of County Down. There we visit the resort seacoast town of Bangor. It's on to Cushendun in County Antrim and finishing at the Giant's Causeway as we examine fascinating rock formations and the mysteries of creation.
Scholastic England
Director of Photography
This MGM Traveltalk short focuses on the history of England's colleges in Cambridge, Oxford, and Eton and the towns that surround the campuses.
Night Life in Chicago
Director of Photography
This short Traveltalk visit to Chicago looks at some hotels known for their evening entertainment and for the rich and famous people who come to their dining rooms. Featured are the Walnut Room of the Bismarck Hotel, the Ambassador Hotel's Pump Room, and the boardwalk at the Edgewater Beach Hotel.
Wandering Through Wales
Director of Photography
Located in the United Kingdom, the Principality of Wales, home to 2.5 million people, is filled with rolling mountains, and green valleys. Because of its culture and language, it is unique within the UK. Much of the economy is based on small independent farms, but also includes coal and slate mining. Its many castles - including Caernarfon and Conwy - comprise its most famous built landmarks. Another landmark is the Menai suspension bridge - spanning the Menai Straits - the longest such structure in the UK. As Wales is a largely coastal jurisdiction, the Welsh have taken advantage of water opportunities, whether it be for fishing, or for recreation at one of the many coastal resorts, such as the most famous, Llandudno. There are also mountain resorts, such as Betws-y-Coed. Mount Snowdon, the highest peak in Wales, offers great hiking and climbing opportunities.
Cape Breton Island
Director of Photography
This Traveltalk series entry visits the easternmost area of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. We learn that although the island was originally settled by the French, most of the island's inhabitants are of Scottish descent. We are also told that the main industries of the island are agriculture, fishing, and mining. After a look at Bras d'Or Lake, we visit the village of Baddeck. Near there is the grave of Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone. The last stop is the industrial city of Sydney, home of steel plants, foundries, and coal mines.
On the Shores of Nova Scotia
Director of Photography
In this Traveltalk look at Canada's province of Nova Scotia, we visit several coastal communities. The first stop is Lunenburg, where deep sea fishing and shipbuilding are the main industries. Other stops include Blue Rocks, where lobstering is an important source of income, and Peggy's Cove, known for its artist community. Here we meet artist Earl Bailly, who contracted polio at the age of 3 and learned to paint by holding the brush between his teeth.
The Vigilantes Return
Director of Photography
Marshal Johnnie Taggart (Jon Hall) , posing as an outlaw named "Ace" Braddock, comes to Bannack, Montana to restore law and order. But he is recognized by Kitty, co-owner with Clay Curtwright of the infamous Bull Whip saloon. But "bad-girl" Kitty keeps her mouth shut. When Johnnie's pal Andy reports a stage holdup, Curtwright's henchman, Ben Borden, talks the sheriff and Judge Holden into suspecting Johnnie. Johnnie reveals himself to Judge Holden as a government marshal, and the judge voices his opinion that Curtwright is the leader of the road agents, but voices it in the presence of his granddaughter, Louise Holden. The Judge doesn't know that Louise is in love with Curtwright, and she tips him off as to Johnnie's real identity. Curtwright frames Johnnie for a murder and arranges for the crooked sheriff to promote a lynching and Andy and Kitty help Johnnie escape jail. Johnnie rounds up vigilantes and heads for a showdown at the Bull Whip saloon
The Falcon in San Francisco
Director of Photography
While on vacation, the Falcon is arrested for kidnapping after striking up a friendship with a girl who's nurse has been recently murdered.
The Woman in Green
Director of Photography
Sherlock Holmes investigates when young women around London turn up murdered, each with a finger severed. Scotland Yard suspects a madman, but Holmes believes the killings to be part of a diabolical plot.
The House of Fear
Director of Photography
The Good Comrades are a collection of varied gentlemen who crave one thing - solitude. They reside at Drearcliff House, ancestral home of their eldest member. All seems serene and convivial until one by one the members begin to perish in the most grisly of manners. Foul play is suspected by the Good Comrades' insurance agent, who turns to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson for guidance.
The Mummy's Curse
Director of Photography
After being buried in quicksand for the past 25 years, Kharis is set free to roam the rural bayous of Louisiana, as is the soul of his beloved Princess Ananka, still housed in the body of Amina Mansouri, who seeks help and protection at a swamp draining project.
The Pearl of Death
Director of Photography
The famous Borgia Pearl, a valuable gem with a history of bringing murder and misfortune to its owner since the days of the Borgias, is brought to London, thanks in part to Sherlock Holmes. But before long the jewel is stolen, due to an error on Holmes' part, and shortly thereafter, a series of horrible murders begin, the murderer leaving his victims with their spines snapped and surrounded by a mass of smashed china.
Trial by Trigger
Director of Photography
California logger Bill Cardigan must save his stand of redwoods from being bought by unscrupulous Dan Fallon, a logging company owner from Michigan.
Colorful Colorado
Director of Photography
This Traveltalk series short starts off in Denver, capital of Colorado. Known as a recreational and health center, it is noted for its beautiful parks. The Museum of Natural History has specimens of local animal life. About an hour's drive from Denver on Lookout Mountain is the grave of Col. William Cody, 'Buffalo Bill', known as a scout and a plainsman. In Colorado Springs, there is a monument to the great American humorist Will Rogers who loved the stretches of open country. Much of the mountain area of Colorado is owned by the Federal government as national forest and there are many well stocked trout streams. In Mesa Verde National Park you will find the cave dwellings once used by Native Americans.
Mackinac Island
Director of Photography
This Traveltalk series short begins in Chicago, where the narrator and his crew board a cruise ship. After a 20-hour trip up Lake Michigan, they arrive at Mackinac Island, near the southeast tip of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. On the island, we see many of the attractions for which it is famous. These include Arch Rock, Old Fort Mackinack, and a hotel owned by Chauncey Depew. No automobiles are allowed on the island. Transportation is limited to bicycles and horse-drawn carriages.
Weird Woman
Director of Photography
After bringing his beautiful new wife Paula home to America from a remote island on which she was raised, Professor Norman Reed begins to feel the clash between his world of rational science and hers of bizarre dancing and freaky voodoo rituals. Norman's stuck-up friends also sense Paula's strangeness, and soon their meddling gossip and suspicious scheming push the poor woman to use her magic to defend herself and her husband – and maybe even to kill! Or is it just the power of suggestion...?
Visiting St. Louis
Director of Photography
This FitzPatrick Traveltalk series short visit to St. Louis, Missouri starts with a brief history lesson. We then see several of the city's architectural landmarks and the many types of vessels that travel on the Mississippi River. Time is also spent at the zoological garden in Forest Park, where we see rhinoceros, giraffes, polar bears, giant pandas, and a group of trained elephants.
Calling Dr. Death
Director of Photography
Losing his memories of the last few days, neurologist Dr. Steele is told that his wife has been brutally murdered. Steele, aware of his conniving wife's infidelity, believes he may have been the killer and enlists the aid of his pretty nurse Stella to hypnotize him into recovering his lost memories.
Dr. Renault's Secret
Director of Photography
A remake of the 1927 horror film "The Wizard". Dr. Larry Forbes arrives in a remote French village to visit his fiancée who lives with her scientist father Dr. Renault and his Ape-like manservant Noel. Several Murders coincide with Dr. Forbes arrival, with clues pointing in multiple directions.
Berlin Correspondent
Director of Photography
Dana Andrews plays Bill Roberts, an American radio commentator station in Berlin in the months before Pearl Harbor. Having witnessed Nazi brutalities first hand, Roberts hopes to alert his listeners of impending dangers, and does so by sending out coded messages during his broadcasts. The Gestapo begins to suspect something and assigns glamorous secret agent Karen Hauen (Virginia Gilmore) to spy on Roberts. When she discovers that her own father (Erwin Kaiser) is supplying Roberts with vital secrets, she turns her back on the Nazis and joins our hero in his efforts.
Ride, Kelly, Ride
Director of Photography
Jockey (Stephens) struggles against gamblers with the help of stable trainer (Pallette) and horse onwer's daughter (Quigley).
Pier 13
Director of Photography
A policeman makes the startling discovery that his girlfriend is involved in a waterfront smuggling racket.
Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise
Director of Photography
On a cruise ship from Honolulu to San Francisco, the famous Chinese detective encounters four more murders while trying to figure out the murder of a Scotland Yard friend.
City in Darkness
Director of Photography
Chan, in Paris for a reunion with friends from World War I, becomes involved in investigating the murder of a munitions manufacturer who was supplying arms to the enemy, even as the rising clouds of World War II force the city into nightly blackout status..
Inside Story
Director of Photography
A good-hearted reporter attempts to find the loneliest woman in New York so he can give her an old-fashioned Christmas on a farm..
Mr. Moto's Last Warning
Director of Photography
A Japanese man claiming to be Mr. Moto, of the International Police, is abducted and murdered soon after disembarking from a ship at Port Said in Egypt. The real Mr. Moto is already in Port Said, investigating a conspiracy against the British and French governments.
Mysterious Mr. Moto
Director of Photography
The Japanese detective rounds up a league of assassins for Scotland Yard.
Mr. Moto Takes a Chance
Director of Photography
In the jungle near Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Mr. Moto poses as an ineffectual archaeologist and a venerable holy man with mystical powers to help foil two insurgencies against the government.
Walking Down Broadway
Director of Photography
Five closely knit showgirls sign a pact to reunite one year after the closing of their Broadway production, but the lives of all five take many different turns, often for the worse.
Thank You, Mr. Moto
Director of Photography
Mr. Moto Heads to China on a quest for seven ancient scrolls that reveal the location of Genghis Khan's tomb—a crypt filled with fabulous treasure! But Moto isn't the only one stalking the scrolls—so is a shadowy band of thieves. But when his ruthless rivals go too far, the mild-mannered detective's quest for antiquities becomes a passion for vengeance—because if he can't bring these villains to justice... he'll bring them to their knees.
Courage of the West
Director of Photography
Rangers go after bandits holding up Wells Fargo offices.
Drift Fence
Director of Photography
Although Larry "Buster" Crabbe earns top billing, the hero of Drift Fence is former Western star Tom Keene as Jim Travis, who, at a rodeo, meets city dweller Jim Traft (Benny Baker), who has come west to erect a fence that will prevent Clay Jackson (Stanley Andrews) from continuing his cattle rustling business. A tough Western type, Travis suggests that he impersonate Traft and the building of the fence soon begins. But Travis is opposed by Slinger Dunn (Crabbe) and his family, whose small ranch will suffer from the division of the land. A romance between Travis and Slinger's sister, Paula (Katherine DeMille), paves the way for a meeting of the minds, however, and Slinger switches sides completely upon learning that Travis is a Texas Ranger in disguise. An in-house production (as opposed to Harry Sherman's Hopalong Cassidy Westerns), Drift Fence was the closest Paramount came to a B-Western in the mid-'30s. Zane Grey's original novel was published in 1932.
Gang War
Cinematography
Saxophone player Clyde meets a woman named Flowers, and teaches her to dance. He later discovers that gangster boss "Blackjack" is also in love with her. "Blackjack" is also battling gang boss Mike Luego in a violent turf war.
Finders Keepers
Director of Photography
Silent military comedy whose only print exists in the Library of Congress.
Irish Hearts
Director of Photography
Sheila, a feisty Irish girl, loves Emmett, a somewhat shady Irish boy. When Emmett goes to America, Sheila and her father follow and join him. However, when he loses his job, Sheila is forced to get a job in a cheap restaurant. There she meets Rory, a poor American boy who works in a shipyard. Rory falls in love with her but she still loves Emmett. Then she finds out that Emmett has been taking up with a brassy "flapper" named Clarice.
Finger Prints
Director of Photography
A gang of inept crooks and even more inept lawmen search for a cache of hidden money.
Broken Hearts of Hollywood
Director of Photography
Virginia Perry, a former movie star, leaves her family and returns to Hollywood to make a comeback, but age has taken its toll and she is cast in small character roles. Meanwhile, her daughter, Betty Ann, has won a beauty contest, and heads for Hollywood. They end up in the same, film, with Mom playing her Mom. Marshall tries to take advantage of the naive Betty. Somebody gets shot. Somebody is put on trial.
The Phantom of the Opera
Director of Photography
A grotesquely disfigured composer known as "The Phantom" haunts Paris' opera house, where he's secretly grooming Christine Daae to be an opera diva. Luring her to his remote underground lair, The Phantom declares his love. But Christine loves Raoul de Chagny and plans to elope with him. When The Phantom learns this, he abducts Christine.
The Saddle Hawk
Director of Photography
Ben Johnson, a sheepherder who hates sheep, is instructed by his employer, Vasquez, to escort beautiful Rena Newhall to her father's ranch. On the journey, Rena is abducted by Zach Marlin, who takes her to Buck Brent, an outlaw who has sworn vengeance on Jim Newhall, Rena's father, for sending him to jail years before. Ben later poses as an outlaw, joins Brent's band, and takes a hand in rustling the elder Newhall's cattle. On that raid, Ben contrives to get himself captured and convinces Rena's father both of his own good intentions and of the treachery of Marlin. Ben rejoins Brent's gang, but he is soon exposed as a fraud by Marlin.
The Thrill Chaser
Director of Photography
In this partially lost silent film, a man working as a motion picture extra in Hollywood westerns impresses a visiting sheikh with his boxing skills and is engaged to go to Arabia, where he becomes involved in warring and falls in love with a beautiful princess.
The Trap
Director of Photography
A miner's happiness is destroyed when a rival steals his mine. He becomes obsessed with revenge, and plans a trap for the man who took his mine.
Red Courage
Director of Photography
Pinto Peters and his pal Chuckwalla Bill ride into town just as the editor of the local newspaper is being urged to leave by a gang of thugs led by Joe Reedly. The pair give the editor $100 and get a bill of sale for the newspaper, only to find out later that Reedly holds a mortgage of $200 against it. This they pay off and start a campaign to clean up the town. They meet with considerable opposition until they enlist the services of Judge Fay.
The Eagle
Director of Photography
Brace Up
Director of Photography
Hero Henry Court (Herbert Rawlinson) is very much his parents' child, having inherited the predominant character traits of both his go-getting father and his shy, retiring mother. The "father" side of his nature manifests itself on the college football field, where Henry excels. Unfortunately, the "mother" side is evidenced by a streak of cowardice, which surfaces at all the wrong times. Hoping to expunge the cowardly part of his make-up, Henry hires a bunch of self-styled mentalists to "concentrate" his problems away. Pretty soon, Henry is a virtual slave to the whims of the mentalists, who push his emotional buttons with reckless abandon.