This page is a work in progress and I will be adding more material as I discover it myself and through the many kindnesses of Dr Falk Schwarz and Kathryn Franco.
1877, December 12: Léon Krasker is born in Tultza, now Tulcea, in the province of Dobroga in Roumania, now spelt Romania.
1881: Mathilde Krasker née Rubel is born in Czernowitz then in Austria, often referred to as “Little Vienna”, now Czernivtsi in Ukraine.
1905: Georges Krasker, brother of Robert Krasker, is born to Léon and Mathilde Krasker in France.
1906: Georgette Krasker, sister of Robert Krasker, is born to Léon and Mathilde Krasker in Great Britain. Georgette’s nickname is Getty.
1908: Marie Krasker, sister of Robert Krasker, is born to Léon and Mathilde Krasker in Great Britain. Marie’s nickname is Mitzi.
1910, April 12: Léon and Mathilde Krasker arrive in Western Australia on the SS Nera, embarking at Fremantle, accompanied by four children: one boy and three girls. The family resides in Perth for one month before moving to Sharks Bay, now known as Shark Bay.
1910: Stephanie Krasker, sister of Robert Krasker, is born to Léon and Mathilde Krasker in Denham, Sharks Bay, Western Australia.
1912, November 16: Léon Krasker applies to Department for External Affairs for naturalization as an Australian under the Commonwealth of Australia’s Naturalization Act 1903 in Sharks Bay, Western Australia. He anglicizes his first name to Leon and describes his profession as Pearl Buyer or Pearl Dealer. Leon Krasker swears his Oath of Allegiance in front of Resident Magistrate Arthur Reginald Adams in Denham.
1913: Leon Krasker’s application, oath of allegiance and statutory declaration documents appear to have been mislaid delaying his naturalization as an Australian until 1913.
1913, August 21: Robert Krasker is born in Alexandria, Egypt. His family had stopped over there during a business trip from Australia to Europe and back.
1914, January 28: Robert Krasker’s birth in Alexandria, Egypt, is registered in Perth, Western Australia with the family address being noted as 99 Hay Street, Subiaco, Western Australia.
1914, August 4: Great Britain declares war on Germany, automatically including all dominions and colonies of the British Empire including Australia.
1916, March 24: Leon Krasker applies to Commonwealth Military Forces for permission to travel on the SS Mooltan from Fremantle to Adelaide on March 27, 1916. His permit document states his address as 99 Hay Street, Subiaco, that he spent his schooldays in France, lived 6 years in WA, 12 years in France and 5 years in England, that his trade is Pearl Dealer, that his wife’s maiden name is Matilda Rudel, born in France, that his father is David Krasker, born in Roumania, aged 60 and living in Paris and that his mother is Sophie Krasker also living in Paris. His children are stated to be 5 in number, aged 10, 8, 7, 5½ and 2½ with 1 born in France, 2 in London, 1 in Australia and 1 in Egypt.
1916, September 26: Leon Krasker dies in Sharks Bay, Western Australia, after falling from his horse Battler near what later became known as Krasker’s Tank located between Denham and Herald Bight. The family address is recorded as 25 Knight’s Terrace, Denham, Western Australia.
1917, March 26: Mathilde Krasker, Pearl Dealer, widow, aged 37, of 99 Hay Street, Subiaco, Western Australia applies to Commonwealth Military Forces for permission to travel from Fremantle to Melbourne on the SS Salsette to Melbourne on March 31, 1917. Mathilde Krasker writes that she attended school in France and has lived seven years in Western Australia, twelve years in France and five years in England. Her father is noted as Ruben Norman, deceased, of Roumania and her mother is noted as Fanny Norman, living in Egypt. The Application for Permit document notes she has five children aged 11, 9, 8, 6½ and 3½ with 1 born in France, 2 in London, 1 in Australia and 1 in Egypt. Her Melbourne address for correspondence is c/o Mr Kozminsky, 4 Block Arcade, Melbourne.
1918, November 11: World War I ends when the Allies and Germany conclude an armistice.
1923, February 7: Mathilde Krasker is recorded by an Immigration Officer in London as being en route to Paris with her five children, having departed from Fremantle and arriving in England at Plymouth. No other details were noted.
1926, March 8: Mathilde Krasker, aged 46, and her five children are recorded as arriving at Fremantle on the SS Cephée which travelled from Dunkirk to Brisbane. The children are recorded as Georges, merchant, 21; Georgette, 19, occupation nil; Marie, 15, studente; Robert, 11, scholar; Stephanie, 14, studente.
1929, January 16: Mathilde Krasker, aged 48, is recorded as arriving in Plymouth from Australia on the SS Balranald with her five children with their proposed address being c/o Banque National de Credit, Boulevard des Italiens, (Paris). They are George Krasker, Clerk, 23; Georgette, Typist, 21; Marie, Typist, 18; Stephanie, Typist, 17; Robert, 14, Clerk. Mathilde Krasker is recorded as having the occupation of Home Duties.
1929, October 29: The Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the start of the Great Depression.
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{Entries in this section will record Robert Krasker’s studies in art in Paris followed by studies in photography and optics in Dresden before returning to Paris to work at Paramount Studios under the American cinematographer Philip Tannura followed by returning to London to work for Alexander Korda at London Films in Denham, Buckinghamshire, England under the cinematographer Georges Périnal before Robert Krasker became the youngest feature film Director of Photography at the age of 28. Information about the dates he worked on over nineteen films before he became a Director of Photography in his own right are unavailable.}
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1933, January 30: Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany.
1938, October 14: Robert Krasker, aged 25, Cameraman of 13 Tudor Court, W3, is recorded as embarking from London on the P&OSN Company ship Mooltan for Port Said. A total of fourteen crew and cast members were traveling together to work on The Four Feathers on location in Sudan.
1939, January 6: Robert Krasker, photographer, aged 25, of 13 Tudor Court, Ealing, England is recorded as arriving in London having embarked from Port Sudan on the P&OSN Company ship Strathmore. He had contracted a severe case of malaria that led to severe diabetes resulting in a lifetime disability.
1939, September 3: Britain and France declare war on Germany.
1940, May 26: Dunkirk evacuation aka Operation Dynamo.
1941: Cinematography of The Saint Meets the Tiger and Rose of Tralee – Robert Krasker becomes the youngest feature film cinematographer aka lighting cameraman aka Director of Photography at the age of 28.
1941, December 8: Britain and the US declare war on Japan.
1942: Cinematography of The Gentle Sex and One of Our Aircraft is Missing.
1943: Cinematography of The Lamp Still Burns.
1943, summer 1943 to January 1944: Cinematography of Henry V.
1944, spring: Cinematography of Caesar and Cleopatra.
1944, June 6: D-Day aka The Normandy Landings
1945, mid-January to May: Cinematography of Brief Encounter.
1945, May 8: V-E Day, Victory in Europe Day
1945, August 15: V-J Day, Victory over Japan Day
1945, September to January 1946: Cinematography of Odd Man Out.
1946, summer to autumn: Cinematography of Uncle Silas.
1947, summer to February 1948: Cinematography of Bonnie Prince Charlie.
1948, October 22 to March 1949: Cinematography of The Third Man.
1949, April 4 to June 24: Cinematography of The Angel with the Trumpet.
1949, July to mid-October: Cinematography of State Secret.
1950, spring to summer: Cinematography of The Wonder Kid.
1950, August 3 to November: Cinematography of Cry, the Beloved Country.
1951, March to May: Production of Another Man’s Poison.
1951, October: Robert Krasker, BSC arrives in Sydney via the SS Orcades to try to set up a feature film studio to work on Australian and international productions, staying on a yacht in Sydney Harbour for the duration. He returns to London sometime in early 1952.
1952, mid-June to August 27: Cinematography of Never Let Me Go.
1952: autumn to winter: Cinematography of Malta Story.
1953, mid-April to mid-October: Cinematography of Romeo and Juliet.
1953, mid-November to end of December: Cinematography of Senso.
1954, January to April: Cinematography of That Lady.
1955, February 17 to July 9: Cinematography of Alexander the Great.
1955, July to early December: Cinematography of Trapeze.
1956, March to May: Cinematography of The Rising of the Moon.
1956, August 20 to early December: Cinematography of The Story of Esther Costello.
1957, January 28 to end of April: Cinematography of The Quiet American.
1957, summer to autumn: Cinematography of Behind the Mask.
1958, March 13: Robert Krasker arrives in New York from London en route to Los Angeles to visit Irving Rapper, director of Another Man’s Poison (1951).
1958, mid-May to July 6: Cinematography of The Doctor’s Dilemma.
1958, autumn: Cinematography of Have Jazz Will Travel and The Sound of Jazz.
1959, early March to mid-April: Cinematography of Libel.
1959, June to August: Cinematography of Romanoff and Juliet.
1960, spring to summer: Cinematography of The Criminal.
1960, October to April 1961: Cinematography of El Cid.
1961, May to August: Cinematography of Billy Budd.
1961, autumn to winter for six weeks: Cinematography of Guns of Darkness.
1962, late June to winter: Cinematography of The Running Man.
1962, November 13: Robert Krasker arrives in New York from London en route to Los Angeles to visit Robert E. Gottschalk at his company Panavision: he was creator of Panavision movie cameras and Panaflex cinema lenses.
1963, January 25 to late August: Cinematography of The Fall of the Roman Empire.
1964, April: Cinematography of The Collector.
1964, winter to February 1965: Cinematography of The Heroes of Telemark.
1965, October to December 10: Cinematography of The Trap.
1966: Between retiring from cinematography due to ill health and his death, Robert Krasker reportedly took up film reviewing though we have yet to discover for which publications and in which countries. There is some cause to doubt that he actually did this at all given the evidence provided is one article for an Australian publication where he wrote about his experience photographing Romeo and Juliet.
1979: Cinematography of Gertcha and possibly more television advertisements in this series.
1981, August 16: Robert Krasker dies at 1 Harrogate House, 29 Sloane Square, London SW1 with a verdict of aortic stenosis. His death is registered in the records of the District of Kensington & Chelsea, volume 13, page 1629.
1981, August 20: The Times publishes notice of the death and funeral of Robert Krasker:
“KRASKER – On August 16th, 1981, suddenly, but peacefully, at Sloane Square, Robert, aged 67 years, beloved brother, uncle and friend. Funeral Service at Mortlake Crematorium, 10.30 a.m., Tuesday, 25th August, 1981. Flowers and enquiries to: W. S. Bond Ltd., 127 Fulham Palace Road, W.6. Phone 748 3185.
1981, August 26: The Times publishes its obituary for Robert Krasker:
“Robert Krasker, the film cameraman who worked on some of the most distinguished British pictures of the 1940s, died on August 16 at the age of 67. He won an Oscar for black and white photography on The Third Man and was a highly respected craftsman of the classic school of lighting cameramen.
He was an Australian, born in Perth [sic] in 1913, who studied art in Paris and photography in Dresden before coming to London in 1930. He entered the film industry with Sir Alexander Korda’s London Films, working as assistant cameraman or camera operator on such pictures as Things to Come, The Drum, The Four Feathers and The Thief of Baghdad. His first film as director of photography was in 1941 and after working on The Gentle Sex and The Lamp Still Burns he attracted wider attention for Laurence Olivier’s film of Henry V in 1944. He collaborated with David Lean on Brief Encounter and another leading British director of the period, Sir Carol Reed, on Odd Man Out and The Third Man; his atmospheric lighting and bold use of camera angles contributed greatly to the artistic impact of all three films.
During the 1950s Krasker spread into international pictures, including Visconti’s Senso, Reed’s first American film Trapeze, Romeo and Juliet, Alexander the Great and The Quiet American. Later he provided striking black and white images for Joseph Losey’s The Criminal and Ustinov’s Billy Budd, while helping to enrich the visual sweep of the Anthony Mann colour epics, El Cid and The Fall of the Roman Empire. Other later work included Mann’s The Heroes of Telemark and William Wyler’s The Collector.”
1982, January 27: Probate for Robert Krasker of 1 Harrogate House, 29 Sloane Square, London SW1 was recorded in London at £65,704 820001197Z.
1986, July 15: The Canberra Times reports that “A collection of photographs by Australian-born cameraman Robert Krasker was sold for £1540 ($A3751) at Sotheby’s last week to the British Film Institute.”
2023, May 6: Robert Krasker, BSC is inducted into the Australian Cinematographers Society Hall of Fame.
The Robert Krasker Project 