Haskell Wexler: Gutsy Cinematography

From American Cinematographer, Island of Lost Souls interview by Conrad Hall, ASC (July 1999)

Wexler: "... However, in one shot where Mary Elizabeth is singing in the bar, she's way over in the left-hand side of the frame and there's a big, black, undifferentiated area on the right. I was upset when I saw that shot in the film, because John had told me that he was going to dissolve one of the boat sequences into that area of the frame. In the finished film, though, there's nothing there; it just looks like an ugly frame. Then I thought, 'Well maybe some people like Conrad will think it's daring!' [Laughs.] Sometimes when you do stuff poorly but you've developed something of a reputation, people say, 'Wow, that's gutsy.'"

- Haskell Wexler, ASC