Behind the Scenes of Classic Hollywood Films

Photographer Ernst Haas was first published in LIFE, documenting prisoners of war after World War II. Working with legendary photographers Robert Capa and Henry Cartier-Bresson, Haas became one of the premier experimental photographers of the 1950s. In photo book On Set, Haas’ work with directors like Gene Kelly and Michael Cimino is distilled into a series of iconic film stills. See a selection of them below.

Gregory Peck and Chuck Connors in Big Country [1958] (Ernst Haas, On Set, Published by Steidl) Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer in West Side Story [1961] (Ernst Haas, On Set, Published by Steidl) Orson Welles in The Third Man [1949] (Ernst Haas, On Set, Published by Steidl)

Sophia Loren and Cary Grant in The Pride and the Passion [1957] (Ernst Haas, On Set, Published by Steidl)