Frank Hurley

Known for

Directing

Born

October 15, 1885

Birthplace

Glebe, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Died

January 16, 1962 (aged 76)

Biography

James Francis "Frank" Hurley (1885–1962) was an Australian photographer and filmmaker. He served as the official cinematographer on multiple polar expeditions, capturing raw footage that resulted in early documentary films such as Home of the Blizzard (1913) and South (1919).

Hurley also worked as an official military photographer and cinematographer during both WWI and WWII, documenting campaigns across Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. His broader filmography includes directing ethnographic documentaries and serving as a principal cinematographer on Australian narrative feature films.

Best known work

Endurance

2024

South

1919

Forty Thousand Horsemen

1940

Jungle Woman

1926

Pearls and Savages

1921

The Squatter's Daughter

1933

Sagebrush and Silver

1941

The Silence of Dean Maitland

1934

Strike Me Lucky

1934

Siege of the South

1930

Filmography

2024
Endurance
as Self (archive footage)
1967
Australia at War 1914-1918
Director of Photography
1963
Antarctic Pioneers
as Self - Narrator/Interviewee, Director, Cinematography
1949
Pageant of Power Educational SeriesTV
Director, Producer, Cinematography
1945
Mid-East
as Self - Narrator (voice), Producer, Director
1944
The Road to Russia
Director, Cinematography
1941
Inside Tobruk
Director, Cinematography
1941
Sagebrush and Silver
Director
1941
Advance to Libya
Director
1940
Forty Thousand Horsemen
Camera Operator
1939
Isle of Many Waters
as Self - Narrator (voice), Director, Cinematography
1939
We of the A.I.F.
Cinematography
1938
A Nation is Built
Director, Writer
1938
Follow the Sun
Director, Cinematography, Writer
1937
Vulcan's Crucible
Director, Producer, Cinematography
1937
Tall Timbers
Story
1937
The Keeper of the Trees
Director, Cinematography
1936
Treasures of Katoomba
as Self - Narrator (voice), Director, Writer, Director of Photography, Sound
1936
Silver City
as Self - Narrator (voice), Director, Cinematography, Producer, Writer
1936
Pageant of Power
Director, Cinematography
1934
Strike Me Lucky
Cinematography
1934
Here is Paradise
Director
1934
The Silence of Dean Maitland
Director of Photography
1933
The Squatter's Daughter
Director of Photography
1933
Into the Frozen South
Cinematography