Arthur J. Ornitz

Birth : 1916-11-27, New York City, New York, USA

Death : 1985-07-10

History

Arthur J. Ornitz (November 28, 1916 – July 10, 1985) was an American cinematographer.

Movies

The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana
Director of Photography
The second Charles and Diana movie, with two virtual unknowns in the leads: Christopher Baines had acted on the British stage and on the BBC, but Catherine Oxenberg, a U.S.-born, British-raised professional model, here made her acting debut. Of particular interest was the casting of Dana Wynter as Queen Elizabeth, Stewart Granger as Prince Philip, Olivia de Havilland as the Queen Mother, and Ray Milland as a general factotum around the Palace.
Hanky Panky
Director of Photography
The complete innocent, Michael Jordon, is drawn into a web of secrecy and government secrets when a girl carrying a mysterious package gets into a taxi with him. When she is later murdered, Michael is the chief suspect and on the run.
Tattoo
Director of Photography
Karl Kinsky, an unbalanced tattoo artist, becomes obsessed with Maddy, a model he meets when he is hired to body-paint several women for a photo shoot, making the women look like they have large tattoos. As Kinsky grows more obsessed with Maddy, he becomes increasingly determined that Maddy should bear his "mark" -- forever.
The Chosen
Director of Photography
In a 1940s New York, two Jewish teenage boys are determined to remain friends despite the deep differences between their two families.
Playing for Time
Director of Photography
When a Jewish songstress is plucked from the stage and sent to Auschwitz, she and other musicians find themselves assigned to a terrible task—using their talents to soothe fellow prisoners who are sentenced to die in the gas chambers.
Hardhat & Legs
Director of Photography
A sex education teacher falls for a construction worker with a gambling problem.
Mayflower: The Pilgrims' Adventure
Director of Photography
In 1620, the Assembly of the Pilgrims decides to emigrate to the young America because of the persecution they suffer by the English crown. The film tells the adventurous journey of the Pilgrims to an unknown land and future.
Oliver's Story
Director of Photography
Oliver Barrett IV is emotionally devastated by the death of his wife Jenny, and, while he tries to lose himself in his work as a lawyer, the long hours don't ease his pain, especially when he finds that his leftist views conflict with those of the senior partners at the firm. Eventually, Oliver's inconsolable grief begins to alienate those around him, until he finds new love with Marcie Bonwit, the wealthy and beautiful heiress to the Bonwit Teller fortune. Despite his affection for her, Oliver finds it difficult to leave the memory of Jenny behind, which causes major problems in their relationship.
An Unmarried Woman
Director of Photography
A wealthy woman from Manhattan's Upper East Side struggles to deal with her new identity and her sexuality after her husband of 16 years leaves her for a younger woman.
Wilma
Director of Photography
The story of American track sprinter Wilma Rudolph, who overcame physical handicaps to win three gold medals in the 1960 Olympics.
The Quinns
Director of Photography
A drama about three generations of Irish-American firefighters in the New York City Fire Department, and their careers, romances, and growing pains. This pilot film was not picked up to series.
Thieves
Director of Photography
Martin and Sally Cramer grew up on the hardscrabble Lower East Side, where Sally still teaches; meanwhile, Martin's the head of a fancy private school. Romantic dalliances with others convince them that they're meant to be together despite their differences, a decision that's cemented, oddly enough, by an over-the-top argument that draws the police.
Next Stop, Greenwich Village
Director of Photography
An aspiring Jewish actor moves out of his parents' Brooklyn apartment to seek his fortune in the bohemian life of Greenwich Village in 1953.
e’Lollipop
Director of Photography
"e’Lollipop" is the extraordinary story of two inseparable South African children, Tsepo and his orphaned friend Jannie. Jannie is sent to a missionary station in Tsepo’s village where they become best friends as Jannie finds his place in his new home. Life is full of childhood fun and antics until tragedy strikes: Jannie, now 10 years old, is seriously injured. In the face of much adversity, Tsepo and his community pull together so that Jannie can get specialised medical treatment. A daunting challenge lies ahead... At what cost will Jannie survive? Tsepo and Jannie’s inspirational story unfolds against the breathtaking backdrops of a dramatic African landscape and New York City in the mid-1970s. "e’Lollipop" is a life-changing story that reminds us of the true value of friendship, community, sacrifice and family - despite our color or creed.
Law and Disorder
Director of Photography
In crime ridden New York of the seventies two cops has had enough. They decide to take justice into their own hands. Things turn exciting and humorous. No hoodlum goes safe.
Death Wish
Director of Photography
After his wife is murdered by street punks, a pacifistic New York City architect becomes a one-man vigilante squad, prowling the streets for would-be muggers after dark.
Serpico
Director of Photography
Frank Serpico is an idealistic New York City cop who refuses to take bribes, unlike the rest of the force. His actions get Frank shunned by the other officers, and often placed in dangerous situations by his partners. When his superiors ignore Frank's accusations of corruption, he decides to go public with the allegations. Although this causes the Knapp Commission to investigate his claims, Frank has also placed a target on himself.
Badge 373
Director of Photography
When his partner is killed, tough Irish detective Eddie Ryan vows to avenge the death, whatever the cost. As he begins unraveling clues, his behavior becomes so outrageous that he's obliged to turn in his badge, but the experience only emboldens him. Ryan eventually learns that his partner was caught up in a Puerto Rican gun-running scheme masterminded by a crook named Sweet Willie, who wants to foment revolutionary war.
Black Snake
Director of Photography
A man searches for his brother on an island where a vicious woman keeps slaves on a plantation.
Honor Thy Father
Director of Photography
Joseph Bologna stars as Bill Bonanno in this made-for-television adaptation of the controversial bestseller from Gay Talese, chronicling the rise of New York's infamous Bonanno organized crime family. When his father disappears in 1964 and Bill is compelled to take over the "empire," other mafiosi attempt to take what's theirs. Brenda Vaccaro and Richard S. Castellano fill out the impressive cast of this gripping crime tale.
The Possession of Joel Delaney
Director of Photography
Manhattan socialite begins to fear for her troubled younger brother when he starts behaving bizarrely and he seems to have been friends with a backstreet murderer.
Minnie and Moskowitz
Director of Photography
Depressed and jaded after being dumped by her married boyfriend, aging beauty Minnie Moore wonders if she'll ever find love. After shaggy-haired parking lot attendant Seymour Moskowitz comes to her defense from an angry and rebuffed blind date, he falls hopelessly in love with her despite their myriad differences. Minnie reluctantly agrees to a date with Moskowitz, and, slowly but surely, an unlikely romance blossoms between the two.
The Anderson Tapes
Director of Photography
Thief Duke Anderson—just released from ten years in jail—takes up with his old girlfriend in her posh apartment block, and makes plans to rob the entire building. What he doesn't know is that his every move is being recorded on audio and video, although he is not the subject of any surveillance.
House of Dark Shadows
Director of Photography
The story of vampire Barnabas Collins, the possible cure offered him by Dr. Julia Hoffman, and his search for love amidst the horror.
The Boys in the Band
Director of Photography
A witty, perceptive and devastating look at the personal agendas and suppressed revelations swirling among a group of gay men in Manhattan. Harold is celebrating a birthday, and his friend Michael has drafted some other friends to help commemorate the event. As the evening progresses, the alcohol flows, the knives come out, and Michael's demand that the group participate in a devious telephone game, unleashing dormant and unspoken emotions.
Change of Mind
Director of Photography
A white man's brain is transplanted into a black man's skull.
Me, Natalie
Director of Photography
Since she was a child, Natalie Miller has always thought she was an ugly ducking. Despite her mother's encouragement that she will grow up to be pretty, Natalie has never believed it will happen. She rents a Greenwich Village apartment from an eccentric landlady and gets a job at the Topless Bottom Club. She rides a motorcycle to work, decorates her loft with a moose head, and rides up and down a dumbwaiter to get to her apartment. There Natalie meets David an artist, and the two have a love affair before she discovers he is married.
Charly
Director of Photography
An experiment on a simpleton turns him into a genius. When he discovers what has been done to him he struggles with whether or not what was done to him was right.
The Tiger Makes Out
Director of Photography
During a typically disaster-filled day, Ben Harris, an angry and frustrated bachelor mailman living in a cluttered Greenwich Village basement, learns he has been paying rent to a woman who hasn't owned his building in 6 years. No longer able to endure the injustices of society, he decides to activate the ferocious tiger within himself by abducting a helpless female and dragging her back to his lair.
A Thousand Clowns
Director of Photography
Twelve-year-old Nick lives with his Uncle Murray, a Mr.Micawber-like Dickensian character who keeps hoping something won't turn up. What turns up is a social worker, who falls in love with Murray and a bit in love with Nick. As the child welfare people try to force Murray to become a conventional man (as the price they demand for allowing him to keep Nick), the nephew, who until now has gloried in his Uncle's iconoclastic approach to life, tries to play mediator. But when he succeeds, he is alarmed by the uncle's willingness to cave in to society in order to save the relationship.
Carol for Another Christmas
Director of Photography
Daniel Grudge, a wealthy industrialist and fierce isolationist long embittered by the loss of his son in World War II, is visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve who lead him to reconsider his attitude toward his fellow man.
The World of Henry Orient
Director of Photography
A mischievous, adventuresome fourteen-year-old girl and her best friend begin following an eccentric concert pianist around New York City after she develops a crush on him.
Act One
Director of Photography
This autobiographical story traces the career of playwright Moss Hart. Moss struggles as a dramatic writer until he concentrates his efforts on writing comedy. He suffers through a series of professional and romantic failures before a meeting with George S. Kaufman which changes his fortunes.
Requiem for a Heavyweight
Director of Photography
Mountain Rivera is a veteran heavyweight and near-champion who suddenly finds himself washed up in the only trade he knows—prizefighting. Yet, threatened by gangsters for welshing on a gambling debt, Mountain’s opportunistic manager, Maish Rennick, schemes to get the ex-boxer into a phony wrestling match to make some quick money. Although he and his loyal trainer, Army, oppose the degrading proposition, the disillusioned Mountain begins to wonder if he has any options left.
Jacktown
Cinematography
A young man is charged with statutory rape.
The Young Doctors
Director of Photography
An aging doctor's resentment of his young assistant could lead to tragedy.
Teenage Millionaire
Director of Photography
A teenager whose father is a millionaire radio station owner secretly records a song and plays it on one of his father's stations. It becomes a hit.
The Connection
Director of Photography
A title card announces that the film is a result of found footage assembled by cameraman J.J. Burden working for the acclaimed documentary filmmaker Jim Dunn, who has disappeared. Leach, a heroin addict, introduces the audience to his apartment where other heroin addicts, a mix of current and former jazz musicians, are waiting for Cowboy, their drug connection, to appear. Things go out of control as the men grow increasingly nervous and the cameraman keeps recording.
After Hours
Director of Photography
Documentary short showcasing the genius of jazz greats Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge, Cozy Cole, and Milt Hinton, among others.
The Pusher
Director of Photography
A detective investigating the murder of a heroin addict discovers that there is a connection between the junkie and his fiance, who is his boss' daughter.
Kiss Her Goodbye
Director of Photography
In this tense psychological drama, an emotionally unstable young woman and her brother drift from town to town. When a sympathetic motel maid takes pity on the girl -- and becomes romantically involved with her brother -- it could inadvertently spell doom for all of them.
The Goddess
Director of Photography
Booze, pills and loneliness mark a young actress' rise to stardom.
Unknown Man's Story
Director of Photography
Erik Dahl escapes from prison where he is serving a sentence for smuggling. He seeks out his family, but the police have already been there, and he will have to flee. Erik alters their appearance and start a new life as fishmonger in a small town, but he plans to leave the country...
Řecké děti
Director of Photography
Power and the Land
Director of Photography
A documentary showing the struggle to bring electricity to rural areas of the United States.
Wanted - A Master
Director
A dog living in a junkyard learns that all stray dogs will be exterminated by 3 o'clock that afternoon, so sets off to find a master before the deadline.