Cinematographer. Allen Davey received notoriety for being an award-winning American cinematographer. Beginning his film industry career, he worked under pioneer Hollywood director Edward LeSaint for several films. His first was the 1917 film “The Soul of Kura,” which became lost as “dust in a reel.” He filmed a seventeen-year-old Carole Lombard in the 1925 silent black-and-white western “Hearts and Spurs.” He had made at least 30 black-and-white silent movies at Fox Film, which became 20 th Century Fox in the early 1930s, by the time he switched to MGM Studios. From 1939 to 1967, there were separate Academy Awards recognition for color and for black-and-white cinematography; at this point, he turned his skills to focusing on color filming. In 1938 he was the recipient, along with Oliver T. Marsh, of an honorary Oscar for the skills used in the Technicolor film “Sweethearts,” a romantic musical starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. In 1939 he is credited for being an associate cinematographer in “The Wizard of Oz.” He was nominated for four Oscars in the category of Best Cinematography: He and Oliver T. Marsh were nominated in 1940 for “Bittersweet;” he and Charles Clarke were nominated in 1943 for “Hello, Frisco, Hello;” he and Rudolph Mate' were nominated in 1944 for “Cover Girl;” and he and Tony Gaudio in 1945 for “A Song to Remember.” Several members of his family were involved in the film industry . His sister married film director David Horsley, and his wife's brother was Ray Rennahan, the cinematographer, who received the Best Cinematography Oscar for the 1940 film, “Gone With the Wind.” Following his father's footsteps, his son, Allen Millburn Davey, Jr., became a cinematographer.
Cinematographer. Allen Davey received notoriety for being an award-winning American cinematographer. Beginning his film industry career, he worked under pioneer Hollywood director Edward LeSaint for several films. His first was the 1917 film “The Soul of Kura,” which became lost as “dust in a reel.” He filmed a seventeen-year-old Carole Lombard in the 1925 silent black-and-white western “Hearts and Spurs.” He had made at least 30 black-and-white silent movies at Fox Film, which became 20 th Century Fox in the early 1930s, by the time he switched to MGM Studios. From 1939 to 1967, there were separate Academy Awards recognition for color and for black-and-white cinematography; at this point, he turned his skills to focusing on color filming. In 1938 he was the recipient, along with Oliver T. Marsh, of an honorary Oscar for the skills used in the Technicolor film “Sweethearts,” a romantic musical starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. In 1939 he is credited for being an associate cinematographer in “The Wizard of Oz.” He was nominated for four Oscars in the category of Best Cinematography: He and Oliver T. Marsh were nominated in 1940 for “Bittersweet;” he and Charles Clarke were nominated in 1943 for “Hello, Frisco, Hello;” he and Rudolph Mate' were nominated in 1944 for “Cover Girl;” and he and Tony Gaudio in 1945 for “A Song to Remember.” Several members of his family were involved in the film industry . His sister married film director David Horsley, and his wife's brother was Ray Rennahan, the cinematographer, who received the Best Cinematography Oscar for the 1940 film, “Gone With the Wind.” Following his father's footsteps, his son, Allen Millburn Davey, Jr., became a cinematographer.
Bio by: Linda Davis
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