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#TIL about James Wong Howe, Hollywood cinematographer, active 1917-1975

One of the most sought after cinematographers in Hollywood & twice Oscar-winner, he pioneered use of wide-angle lenses, deep focus, low-key lighting (& invented the crab dolly), helping usher in the style later known as *film noir*.
#TIL about James Wong Howe, Hollywood cinematographer, active 1917-1975

Rachel Thorn wrote a thread today about Chandu The Magician (1932) mentioning that Wong Howe was the cinematographer, and the #SundayFunnies watch party (hosted by LA Sooner) will (probably) show mystery-comedy classic The Thin Man (1934), on which Howe also worked, on 4th October.

(Most links here go to a person's or film's page on the Eggplant instance of NeoDB, Fediverse alternative to Letterboxd, Goodreads etc.)

Wong Howe started work in Hollywood by literally hopping the fence at Lasky Studios (later renamed Paramount) & talking his way into carrying camera equipment for Cecil B. DeMille in the 1910s, & his last film as DP was 1975's Funny Lady with Herbert Ross.

In between, he worked with directors like:

(Seconds was already on my wishlist, I'll probably add a bunch of these & other Wong Howe films, too.)

He, uhhh, even worked with the President of the United States: Ronald Reagan in Kings Row.

And Wong Howe was nominated 10 times for the Oscar for Best Cinematography, winning twice:

Youtube - Oscar host Jerry Lewis introduces Cantinflas, who introduces the Best Cinematography Oscar for James Wong Howe & The Rose Tattoo

He was always innovating, for example when he wore roller skates in a boxing ring to shoot a boxing scene, to bring in a close-up feel & realism. James Wong Howe on roller skates in a boxing ring, he squats down to get a shot of the two boxers Filming Body and Soul. From TheASC.com - Wrap Shot: Body and Soul

He won the trust of actors—including major stars like Marlene Dietrich, Kim Novak, and Hedy Lamarr—because he knew how to capture their best features, and he earned a lot of his work this way. Criterion.com - James Wong Howe’s Way with Light

He built his Hollywood career all while being denied US citizenship simply because he'd been born in China, his marriage going unrecognized by the state of California because of his "race", and living apart from his wife, as "living in sin" would be a violation both of his values and the "morals clauses" then common in Hollywood contracts. (He was also "graylisted" in the 50s because his wife, novelist & poet Sanora Babb, was suspected of communist sympathies.)

Also #TIL NeoDB doesn't yet have a field for Cinematographer / Director of Photography (hopefully soon!), so I guess his entry here for now will only have the few films on which he was director, like

Some links re James Wong Howe: