Osmond Borradaile

Who was Osmond Borradaile?

Osmond Hudson Borradaile, OC was a Canadian cameraman, cinematographer and veteran of First and Second World War.

Osmond Borradaile grew up in Alberta, moving often during his childhood. While living in Medicine Hat, he saw one of his first movies when he was seven years old.

He started in Hollywood filming silent movies during which period he made movies starring, among others, Wallace Reid and legends such as Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson and Lillian Gish. He then went on to "talkies" working closely on numerous films with Cecil B. DeMille. He filmed the aerial sequences for Howard Hughes' "Hell's Angels" this being a precursor to the location and outdoor shooting that would become his trademark. Borradaile's speciality was filming natural environments to serve as backdrops and stock footage. Much of this footage was taken in Africa, where he met and filmed the rituals and daily lives of several tribes. He also behind the camera for the films of Sabu, including Elephant Boy and The Drum and The Four Feathers which won the Oscar for Best Colour Cinematography. In the late 1940s, Borradaile travelled to Antarctica to file sequences for Scott of the Antarctic, one of the most ambitious film projects for the time period.