A Word from William Daniels

There is much to admire about the art of cinema, in this case, the artistry of silent cinema. Many names that are famous for their work in the 1930s-1950s actually got their start in the silent era. One such master of light and shadow was William Daniels. Forever known as the man who shot Garbo, let me say simply that Garbo was no fool. She knew who lit her and made her look like she did on screen, it was William Daniels. Garbo had the power to request her preferred cameraman and she chose Daniels.

I vary my work considerably according to the story. Even my lighting of Garbo varied from picture to picture. There wasn’t one Garbo face in the sense there was a Dietrich face. I’d give each director what he wanted. But, of course, I could improvise. And the directors always left the lighting to you. For instance, in Flesh and the Devil…for the arbor love scene I just wanted a faint glow to illuminate Garbo and Gilbert’s faces. So, I gave Jack Gilbert two tiny pencil carbons to hold. When they kissed the carbons lit up. His hands shielded the mechanism from the lens. - William Daniels

As Clarence Brown famously said about Gilbert and Garbo during the making of Flesh and the Devil, he had a love story going on that could not be beat. You can see it here, helped by the artistry of William Daniels.

People who know nothing of silent film repeat the trope that the films were primitive. They were nothing of the sort. They were well thought out films, shot with care and weave a magic that is often lacking in this day of CGI and green screen.