In 1945 Robert Krasker, by then an established camera operator turned Director of Photography, was abruptly sacked from David Lean’s production of Great Expectations during the shooting of the film’s notoriously atmospheric marsh sequences. Contemporary accounts and later histories record that both director David Lean and producer Ronald Neame were unhappy with Krasker’s handling of the marsh work — a rare public clash between a director and his cinematographer in British postwar cinema. Although sources differ on the precise causes (some blaming creative differences about tone and lighting, others pointing to technical or scheduling concerns), the sacking became a notable production controversy because those marsh scenes were central to establishing the film’s gothic, brooding mood.
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AI concept artworkArchive Record · 1940s
David Lean’s 1945 Firing of Robert Krasker over the Marshes — a Behind-the-Scenes Battle on Great Expectations
Robert Krasker / Great Expectations / 1940s
In 1945 Robert Krasker, by then an established camera operator turned Director of Photography, was abruptly sacked from David Lean’s production of Great Expectations during the shooting of the film’s notoriously atmospheric marsh sequences. Contemporary accounts and later histories record that both director David Lean and producer Ronald Neame were unhappy with Krasker’s handling of the marsh work — a rare public clash between a director and his cinematographer in British postwar cinema. Although sources differ on the precise causes (some blaming creative differences about tone and lighting, others pointing to technical or scheduling concerns), the sacking became a notable production controversy because those marsh scenes were central to establishing the film’s gothic, brooding mood.
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