Eugen Schüfftan

Eugen Schüfftan (21 July 1893, in Breslau, Silesia, Germany, now Wroclaw, Poland – 6 September 1977, in New York City) was a German cinematographer.

He invented the Schüfftan process, a special effects technique that employed mirrors to insert actors into miniature sets. One of the early uses of the process was for Metropolis (1927), directed by Fritz Lang. The technique was widely used throughout the first half of the 20th century until it was supplanted by the travelling matte and bluescreen techniques.

Schüfftan won the 1962 Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White for his work on the film The Hustler.

Selected filmography

Year	Film	Director	Notes
1924	Die Nibelungen	Fritz Lang
1927	Metropolis	Fritz Lang
1927	Napoléon	Abel Gance
1930	People on Sunday	Curt Siodmak, Robert Siodmak, Edgar G. Ulmer, Fred Zinnemann
1930	Farewell	Robert Siodmak
1930	The Stolen Face	Philipp Lothar Mayring, Erich Schmidt
1931	The Street Song	Lupu Pick
1931	The Scoundrel	Eugen Schüfftan, Franz Wenzler
1931	My Wife, the Impostor	Kurt Gerron
1931	I'd Rather Have Cod Liver Oil	Max Ophüls
1932	Coeurs joyeux	Hanns Schwarz, Max de Vaucorbeil
1932	The Mistress of Atlantis	Georg Wilhelm Pabst
1932	Gypsies of the Night	Hanns Schwarz
1932	L'Atlantide	Georg Wilhelm Pabst
1932	Queen of Atlantis	Georg Wilhelm Pabst
1932	The Faceless Voice	Leo Mittler
1933	The Oil Sharks	Rudolf Katscher
1933	Du haut en bas	Georg Wilhelm Pabst
1933	Läufer von Marathon	Ewald André Dupont
1933	Invisible Opponent	Rudolf Katscher
1934	The Scandal	Marcel L'Herbier
1934	The Crisis is Over	Robert Siodmak
1934	Irish Hearts	Brian Desmond Hurst
1935	The Invader	Adrian Brunel
1935	Children of the Fog	John Quin
1935	La Tendre ennemie	Max Ophüls
1936	The Robber Symphony	Friedrich Feher
1936	Komedie om geld	Max Ophüls
1936	María de la O	Francisco Elías	With Carmen Amaya and Pastora Imperio
1937	Bizarre, Bizarre	Marcel Carné
1937	The Cheat	Marcel L'Herbier
1937	Yoshiwara	Max Ophüls
1938	The Novel of Werther	Max Ophüls
1938	Port of Shadows	Marcel Carné
1938	Mollenard	Robert Siodmak
1944	It Happened Tomorrow	René Clair
1950	The Hunted	Borys Lewin
1952	The Road to Damascus	Max Glass
1953	The Venus of Tivoli	Leonard Steckel
1954	A Parisian in Rome	Erich Kobler
1955	Ulysses	Mario Camerini
1958	Head Against the Wall	Georges Franju
1960	Eyes Without a Face	Georges Franju
1961	The Hustler	Robert Rossen
1961	Something Wild	Jack Garfein
1963	Captain Sindbad	Byron Haskin
1964	Lilith	Robert Rossen