Archie Stout

Left to right: Irene Rich, Gail Russell, and John Wayne in Angel and the Badman. Archibald Job Stout (March 30, 1886 – March 10, 1973), ASC was an American cinematographer whose career spanned from 1914 to 1954. In a wide-ranging career, he also worked on such films as the original version of The Ten Commandments (1923) and several Hopalong Cassidy and Tarzan films. His last film was the airborne disaster movie The High and the Mighty in 1954.

Personal life Archibald "Archie" Job Stout was born in Renwick, Iowa, to Frank and Mary Stout on March 30, 1886. Stout and Fuller divorced, and Archie would go on to marry Evelyn M. Stout during much of the 1920s. Archie then moved on to Los Angeles to try his hand at working in real estate, but this venture did not last long, and instead he began to work as a forest ranger.

Stout eventually became a part of director John Ford's camera crew, working on Fort Apache (1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), Rio Grande (1950), Wagon Master (1950) and The Quiet Man (1952). Between his background with nature and his eye for exterior shots, Stout would go on to be "among the top dozen cinematographers associated with Westerns".

In an interview, Archie said in the first eight years of his career he "roughly made 300 pictures for Mack Sennett and the Christie boys". On October 30, 1944, Junior was killed in action as his unarmed airplane was flying over the island of Jersey. The German soldiers had seen the glint of the camera, and had thought it was a machine gun, and shot down the plane.

Legacy In an interview with American Cinematographer in 1945, Archie said:

"I actually believe my work with the Akeley was the father of all dolly shots, for until I made follow shots with that camera, our cameras never moved. With the introduction of camera movement, cameramen had the opportunity of improving their art. Mobility of the camera has done much for cinematography".

While this assessment is not proven, it is undeniable that Stout's exterior shots and Westerns will surely continue to impact the way filmmakers tell stories, specifically ones located in the great outdoors.

Partial filmography

The Ten Commandments (photographer) (1923) The Drivin' Fool (1923) Varsity (1928) Men Are Like That (photographer) (1929) Dangerous Paradise (1930) Young Eagles (1930) Manslaughter (1930) The Benson Murder Case (1930) The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu (1930) The Sea God (1930) Rider of the Plains (1931) Ships of Hate (1931) In Line of Duty (1931) Land of Wanted Men (1931) Forgotten Women (1931) Two Fisted Justice (1931) A Son of the Plains (1931) It Pays to Advertise (1931) Police Court (1932) Son of Oklahoma (1932) Ghost City (1932) Law of the North (1932) Hidden Valley (1932) Single-Handed Sanders (1932) The Man from Arizona (1932) South of Santa Fe (1932) The Arm of the Law (1932) Honor of the Mounted (1932) Heritage of the Desert (1932) The County Fair (1932) Young Blood (1932) Sagebrush Trail (photography) (1933) Under the Tonto Rim (photography) (1933) Sunset Pass (photography) (1933) Galloping Romeo (1933) The Fugitive (1933) Happy Landing (1934) Riders of Destiny (photography) (1933) The Man from Utah (photographed by) (1934) The Last Round-Up (1934) The Lawless Frontier (photography) (1934) The Trail Beyond (photography) (1934) Randy Rides Alone (photographed by) (1934) The Star Packer (photographed by) (1934) West of the Divide (1934) Blue Steel (photographed by) (1934) West of the Divide (photographed by) (1934) The Lucky Texan (photographed by) (1934) Flirting with Danger (1934) 'Neath the Arizona Skies (photography) (1934) Lawless Range (photography) (1935) Dark Waters (1935) Westward Ho (photography) (1935) Hop-a-long Cassidy (1935) Paradise Canyon (photography) (1935) The Dawn Rider (photography) (1935) The Desert Trail (photography) (1935) Texas Terror (photographed by, uncredited) (1935) Conflict (1936) Sea Spoilers (1936) The Hurricane (1937) Professor Beware (1938) Rulers of the Sea (1939) Beau Geste (1939) The Westerner (special effects photography) (1940) It Happened Tomorrow (1944) Tarzan and the Amazons (1945) Captain Kidd (1945) Abilene Town (director of photography) (1946) Angel and the Badman (photography) (1947) Tarzan and the Huntress (1947) Fort Apache (1948) She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (camera operator: second unit - uncredited) / (director of photography: second unit - uncredited) (1949) Rio Grande (second unit photography) (1950) Wagon Master (second unit photography) (1950) Outrage (1950) Never Fear (1950) Hard, Fast and Beautiful (1951) The Quiet Man (second unit photography) (1952) Big Jim McLain (director of photography) (1952) The Sun Shines Bright (1953) Hondo (photography) (1953) Island in the Sky (photographed by) (1953) Trouble Along the Way (director of photography) (1953) The High and the Mighty (photographed by) (1954)