Tasman Higgins

{{Short description|Australian cinematographer (1888–1953)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}} {{Use Australian English|date=June 2020}} {{Infobox person | image = | caption = | birth_name = Tasman George Higgins | birth_date = {{birth date|1888|04|08|df=yes}}<ref>[https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/higgins-tasman-george-7063 adb.anu.edu.au ''Tasman George Higgins'']</ref> | birth_place = Glebe, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia | death_date = {{death date and age|1953|06|04|1888|04|08|df=yes}} | death_place = Parramatta, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | other_names = | occupation = Cinematographer | years_active = 1912–1944 | spouse = Gladys Mary Walker (m. 1915–1953) (his death) }}

'''Tasman Higgins''' (8 April 1888 – 4 June 1953) was an Australian cinematographer during the early days of the Australian film industry, working for such directors as Charles Chauvel, Raymond Longford, Beaumont Smith, Louise Lovely and Rupert Kathner. He was the brother of Arthur and Ernest Higgins, with whom he occasionally collaborated.<ref>[https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/higgins-tasman-george-7063 Tasman Higgins] at Australian Dictionary of Biography</ref>

His most notable association was with Charles Chauvel, starting with ''In the Wake of the Bounty'' (1933), which was Errol Flynn's first film and involved three months of location filming on Pitcairn Island.<ref name="wake">{{cite magazine|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|magazine=Filmink|date=10 December 2025|access-date=10 December 2025|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-australian-films-in-the-wake-of-the-bounty/|title=Forgotten Australian Films: In the Wake of the Bounty}}</ref><ref>C. E. Chauvel, ''In the Wake of "The Bounty": To Tahiti and Pitcairn Island'' (Sydney, 1933)</ref> Other credits include ''Heritage'' (1935), ''Uncivilised'' (1936)<ref name="civil">{{cite magazine|date=27 September 2025|access-date=27 September 2025|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|magazine=Filmink|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-australian-films-uncivilised/|title=Forgotten Australian Films: Uncivilised}}</ref> and the cavalry scenes of ''Forty Thousand Horsemen'' (1940).<ref>Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, ''Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production'', Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 193.</ref><ref name="forty">{{cite magazine|date=9 October 2025|access-date=9 October 2025|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|magazine=Filmink|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-australian-films-forty-thousand-horsemen/|title=Forgotten Australian Films: Forty Thousand Horsemen}}</ref>

==Select filmography== *''The Tide of Death'' (1912) *''Australia Calls'' (1913) *''The Silence of Dean Maitland'' (1914) *''A Coo-ee from Home'' (1918) *''The Hordern Mystery'' (1920) *''The Life Story of John Lee, or The Man They Could Not Hang'' (1920) *''When the Kellys Were Out'' (1922) *''Daughter of the East'' (1924) *''Jewelled Nights'' (1925) *''Environment'' (1927) *''The Rushing Tide'' (1927) *''Caught in the Net'' (1928) *''Odds On'' (1928) *''Fellers'' (1930) *''The Hayseeds'' (1933)<ref name="hay">{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmink|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-australian-films-the-hayseeds/|title=Forgotten Australian Films: The Hayseeds|date=3 September 2025|access-date=3 September 2025}}</ref> *''In the Wake of the Bounty'' (1933) *''When the Kellys Rode'' (1934) *''Heritage'' (1935)<ref name="heritage">{{cite magazine|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|magazine=Filmink|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-australian-films-heritage/|date=19 November 2025|access-date=19 November 2025|title=Forgotten Australian Films: Heritage}}</ref> *''Uncivilised'' (1936) *''The Avenger'' (1937) *''Below the Surface'' (1938) *''Forty Thousand Horsemen'' (1940) *''Racing Luck'' (1941)

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{IMDb name|id=0383495}} * [http://colsearch.nfsa.gov.au/nfsa/search/summary/summary.w3p;adv=no;group=;groupequals=;page=0;parentid=;query=Person%3A%22%2FPerson%2Fkey%2F20093-1%22;querytype=;resCount=10 Tasman Higgins] at National Film and Sound Archive *[https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/higgins-tasman-george-7063 Tasman Higgins] at Australian Dictionary of Biography *[https://archive.org/details/InTheWakeOfTheBount Abridged copy (5 minutes of more "risqué" shots removed) of ''In the Wake of the Bounty''] for download at Internet Archive

{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Tasman}} Category:Australian cinematographers Category:1888 births Category:1953 deaths Category:People from Hobart