William Fraker
In 1960s Hollywood, the Darwinian expansion of the independent studios produced a talented new crop of cinematographers. One such visionary-to-be (who at 85 continues to shoot and teach) is style chameleon and storyteller extraordinaire William Fraker. Billy (to pals) began his ascent to rank among Tinseltown’s elite lensmen by way of near manifest destiny. Raised by a doting grandmother—a portrait photographer—and a studio photographer father and brother, it’s no wonder Fraker wound up in the biz.
After service in the Pacific during WWII, Fraker used the G.I. Bill to attend USC Film School in 1949. Along with fellow student Conrad Hall, he pursued the newly offered major of cinematography studying under montage-master Slavko Vorapich (of The Good Earth and Frank Capra’s Meet John Doe).
Upon graduating from USC in 1950, membership into the camera guild was totally unattainable for the young Fraker. To survive, he hustled “grab-shot” assignments at 20 bucks a reel for the likes of Lockheed or Kaiser Steel.
Finally, in 1954, his destiny was fulfilled. “The phone rang”, said Fraker, “and it was the head of the camera guild (Herb Aller) inviting me to join the local. He told me to come to the union office the following day and to bring 300 bucks for my initiation fees. I immediately borrowed the cash, flew down there and was sworn in within 15 minutes.”
Among Fraker’s early guild gigs were The Lone Ranger in 1954 and The Ozzie and Harriet Show, where he reunited with his old college chum Hall. Over the next several years, Fraker progressed from loader, to 2nd AC, to camera operator. Asked what he learned from Hall, the suddenly animated DP responded, “I loved Connie. His tremendous abilities allowed him to break traditional rules and showed me that trusting one’s instincts was the surest way to original, better shots.” This issue was put to the test on The Professionals in 1966 when he was operator for Hall.
Fraker recalled his first (and nearly his last) conversation with director Richard Brooks. Holding a pan shot on Claudia Cardinale (instead of cutting away as Brooks had instructed), he was questioned by the angry director at scene’s end. “What the hell did you do that for?” Brooks asked. “Because it was so damn beautiful,” Fraker replied candidly. Certain he was going to be fired, he was surprised to be invited to dailies the following day. When the take in-question was shown, (with its “hold” of the actress and the horse), Brooks had the projectionist stop the machine. “Fraker,” Brooks began sternly, “You were right to stay on her. Your shot was better.”
As a result of this “better shooting,” Fraker’s next move was up to DP. UPM James Pratt hired him in 1965 to lens a picture called Games. Other films followed: Mark Rydell’s The Fox as well as the James Coburn spy spoof The President’s Analyst.
As the nation changed in 1968, Hollywood films also marched to the beat of a different drummer. For cinematographer Bill Fraker, that change came in the form of two extraordinary films: Rosemary’s Baby and Bullitt. Rosemary’s Baby was brilliantly written and acted, and was photographed using only 18 and 25mm lenses (at director Roman Polanski’s insistence), which allowed for a natural look to the dimly lit interiors while providing a fuller frame for facial closeups and increased depth of focus.
Fraker admits that Polanski is his favorite director. “Roman is a visual storyteller second to none. He is a man of stunningly unique vision who can take the most complex of human emotions and lay them bare on the screen.”
As Polanski’s film was the perfect psycho-horror flick of that year, Peter Yates’ Bullitt set a new standard for cop-action dramas. Starring the “king of cool” Steve McQueen, partnered with an equally cool Mustang Fastback, the picture’s gut-wrenching chase scene through San Francisco is still considered by many to be the finest of all time. Shot at 24 fps. on Arriflex cameras using 200 foot mags, the entire chase route (eight square blocks at a time) was walked by Fraker and Yates to work out shots and safety margins.
Solar Films (McQueen’s company) was using a low-slung, open cockpit camera car. Fraker recalled questioning stunt driver Pat Houstons about their speed as they lapped the Golden Gate Bridge at over 100 miles per hour. Fearing for his life, Fraker told the veteran driver to slow down. Without lifting his foot from the accelerator, Houstons said, “I’ve mortgaged the house for the bread to build this vehicle and I will be damned before I crash it, as it is my money we’re driving.” “At the fastest,” Fraker recalled, “we did 124 mph along the streets of Russian Hill.” Seeing the finished picture along with an audience in a theater, Fraker was astounded when folks broke into thunderous applause at the end of the chase scene. “It was a moment of satisfaction,” he re called tearfully, “that I shall never forget.”
Reflecting on the films of his 50-plus year career, Bill Fraker takes great pride in the wide spectrum of the ever-evolving style of his lens work. From Oscar nominated efforts such as Looking for Mr. Goodbar, Heaven Can Wait, War Games, and Murphy’s Romance to the eclectic portfolio of his other films, he is one DP who “did it his way.” Whether operating 3rd camera for Milos Forman on One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, lensing intricate fog effects in Spielberg’s Close Encounters, or shooting the sequel to a hit like The Exorcist, Fraker proved that he can shoot it all—and well.
Because he finds much of Hollywood to be a redundant mass of CPAs these days, Fraker’s involvement with the biz is strictly on his own terms. What has kept him going all these years is teaching young film students at USC—a vocation he truly loves. Offering words of advice to the next generation of filmmakers, he said, “Dedication to one’s craft is key. Never stop learning.”
