ABSTRACT
Many award-winning British cameramen worked at British International Pictures (BIP), an ambitious studio founded in 1927. It did not have a strong identity, or definable “spirit” like later British studios, and although its finance was principally British, its staff was international, with many including technicians, directors, set designers and cinematographers from German-speaking nations. Cinematography was prioritised by the studio in an effort to appeal to international markets. Alfred Hitchcock and Jack Cox collaborated on several films at BIP that are indicative of this endeavour, from the flamboyant
cinematography and editing in The Ring (1927) to the languid, sophisticated style of The Farmer’s Wife (1928). As the example of Cox demonstrates, although cameramen from abroad had a significant impact on the way cinematography developed in Britain, British cameramen also made a vital contribution. Cameraman Leonard Harris recalled working with Robert Stevenson on The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934). “‘Oh my goodness,’ he [Stevenson] said, ‘We’ve had all cameramen, American, German and all sorts, but there’s nothing like Jack Cox’” (Harris 1981).
