Wong Tung Jim,

A.S.C. The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), founded in Hollywood in 1919, is a cultural, educational, and professional organization that is neither a labor union nor a guild. The society was organized to advance the science and art of ci ...

(; August 28, 1899 – July 12, 1976), known professionally as James Wong Howe (Houghto), was a Chinese-born American cinematographer who worked on over 130 films. During the 1930s and 1940s, he was one of the most sought after cinematographers in Hollywood due to his innovative filming techniques. Howe was known as a master of the use of shadow and one of the first to use deep-focus cinematography, in which both foreground and distant planes remain in focus. Born in Canton (

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, sou ...

), China, Howe immigrated to the United States at age five and grew up in Washington. He was a professional boxer during his teenage years, and later began his career in the film industry as an assistant to Cecil B. DeMille. Howe pioneered the use of

wide-angle lens In photography and cinematography, a wide-angle lens refers to a lens whose focal length is substantially smaller than the focal length of a normal lens for a given film plane. This type of lens allows more of the scene to be included in the ...

es and

low-key lighting Low-key lighting is a style of lighting for photography, film or television. It is a necessary element in creating a chiaroscuro effect. Traditional photographic lighting ( three-point lighting) uses a key light, a fill light and a back light ...

, as well as the use of the crab dolly. Despite the success of his professional life, Howe faced significant racial discrimination in his private life. He became an American citizen only after the repeal of the

Chinese Exclusion Act The Chinese Exclusion Act was a United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. The law excluded merchants, teachers, students, travelers, and diplo ...

in 1943, and due to

anti-miscegenation laws Anti-miscegenation laws or miscegenation laws are laws that enforce racial segregation at the level of marriage and intimate relationships by criminalizing interracial marriage and sometimes also sex between members of different races. Anti-mi ...

, his marriage to a white woman was not legally recognized in the United States until 1948. Howe earned 10 nominations for the

Academy Award for Best Cinematography The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work on one particular motion picture. History In its first film season, 1927–28, this award (like others such as the acting awards) w ...

, winning twice for ''

The Rose Tattoo ''The Rose Tattoo'' is a three-act play written by Tennessee Williams in 1949 and 1950; after its Chicago premiere on December 29, 1950, he made further revisions to the play for its Broadway premiere on February 2, 1951, and its publication by ...

'' (1955) and '' Hud'' (1963). He was selected as one of the 10 most influential cinematographers in a survey of the members of the International Cinematographers Guild.

Career

Background

Howe was born Wong Tung Jim in Taishan,

Canton Province Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

in 1899. His father Wong Howe moved to America that year to work on the

Northern Pacific Railway The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by Congress in 1864 and given nearly of land grants, wh ...

and in 1904 sent for his family. The Howes settled in

Pasco, Washington Pasco ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Franklin County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 59,781 at the 2010 census, and 75,432 as of the July 1, 2019 Census Bureau estimate. Pasco is one of three cities (the others b ...

, where they owned a general store. A Brownie camera, said to have been bought at Pasco Drug (a now-closed city landmark) when he was a child, sparked an early interest in photography. After his father's death, the teenaged Howe moved to Oregon to live with his uncle and briefly considered (1915–16) a career as a bantamweight boxer. After compiling a record of 5 wins, 2 losses and a draw, Howe moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in hopes of attending aviation school but ran out of money and went south to Los Angeles. Once there, Howe took several odd jobs, including work as a commercial photographer's delivery boy and as a busboy at the

Beverly Hills Hotel The Beverly Hills Hotel, also called the Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows, is located on Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California, Beverly Hills, California. One of the world's best-known hotels, it is closely associated with Cinema of the ...

. After a chance encounter with a former boxing colleague who was photographing a

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'. Born in Danville, Quebec, in 1880, he started in films in the ...

short on the streets of Los Angeles, Howe approached cinematographer Alvin Wyckoff and landed a low-level job in the film lab at

Famous Players-Lasky Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company—originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays—and ...

Studios. Soon thereafter he was called to the set of '' The Little American'' to act as an extra

clapper Clapper or Clappers may refer to: Miscellaneous *Clapper, part of a bell *Clapper (musical instrument), consisting of two pieces of wood struck together *Clapper bridge, an ancient form of bridge * Clapper Post, urban postal service of Vienna (XV ...

boy, which brought him into contact with silent film director Cecil B. DeMille in 1917. Amused by the sight of the diminutive Asian holding the slate with a large cigar in his mouth, DeMille kept Howe on and launched his career as a camera assistant. To earn additional money, Howe took publicity stills for Hollywood stars.

Silent film

One of those still photographs launched Howe's career as a cinematographer when he stumbled across a means of making silent film star

Mary Miles Minter Mary Miles Minter (born Juliet Reilly; April 25, 1902Louisiana Birth Certificate, Caddo Parish, No. 119, Book A, Page 97, Birth Date: April 25, 1902, Name: Mary M. Reilly ic – Original Caddo birth record was recorded as "J.H. Riley's Child" ...

's eyes look darker by photographing her while she was looking at a dark surface. Minter requested that Howe be first cameraman, that is director of photography, on her next feature, and Howe shot Minter's closeups for '' Drums of Fate'' by placing black velvet in a large frame around the camera. Throughout his career, Howe retained a reputation for making actresses look their best through lighting alone and seldom resorted to using gauze or other diffusion over the lens to soften their features. Howe worked steadily as a cinematographer from 1923 until the end of the era of

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

. In 1928, Howe was in China shooting backgrounds for a movie he hoped to direct. The project he was working on was never completed (although some of the footage was used in '' Shanghai Express''), and when he returned to Hollywood, he discovered that the "talkies" had largely supplanted silent productions. With no experience in that medium, Howe could not find work. To reestablish himself, Howe first co-financed a Japanese-language feature shot in Southern California entitled ''Chijiku wo mawasuru chikara'' (''The Force that Turns the Earth around its Axis''), which he also photographed and co-directed. When that film failed to find an audience in California's

nisei is a Japanese-language term used in countries in North America and South America to specify the ethnically Japanese children born in the new country to Japanese-born immigrants (who are called ). The are considered the second generation, ...

communities or Japan, Howe shot the low-budget feature ''Today'' for no salary. Finally, director/producer

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name." A ...

, whom he had met on '' The Little American'', hired him for ''

The Criminal Code ''The Criminal Code'' is a 1931 American pre-Code romantic crime drama film directed by Howard Hawks and starring Walter Huston and Phillips Holmes. The screenplay, based on a 1929 play of the same name by Martin Flavin, was written by Fred ...

'' and then director William K. Howard selected him to be the cinematographer on ''Transatlantic''.

Sound film and the war years

Howe's innovative work on ''Transatlantic'' reestablished him as one of the leading cinematographers in Hollywood, and he worked continuously through the 1930s and 1940s, generally on several movies per year. Howe gained a reputation as a perfectionist who could be difficult to work with, often overruling and even berating other members of the film crew. In a 1945 issue of ''The Screen Writer'', Howe stated his views of a cameraman's responsibility, writing in ''The Cameraman Talks Back'' that " e cameraman confers with the director on: (a) the composition of shots for action, since some scenes require definite composition for their best dramatic effect, while others require the utmost fluidity, or freedom from any strict definition or stylization; (b) atmosphere; (c) the dramatic mood of the story, which they plan together from beginning to end; (d) the action of the piece." Howe's broad view of a cinematographer's responsibilities reflected those established for first cameramen in silent films and continued through the studio era where most directors were also contract employees mainly in charge of actor performances. Howe was nominated for an Academy Award in 1944 in the "Best Cinematography: Black-and-White" category for his work on the movie ''

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

'', a nomination he shared with

Elmer Dyer Elmer Dyer, A.S.C. (August 24, 1892 – February 8, 1970) was an American cinematographer, the first film cameraman to specialize in aerial photography. Dyer was born in Lawrence, Kansas and died in Hollywood. During World War II Dyer was assi ...

, A.S.C., and

Charles A. Marshall Charles A. Marshall (July 21, 1898 – January 8, 1985) was an American cinematographer. He was nominated at the 16th Academy Awards for the film ''Air Force''. He shared the nomination with Elmer Dyer and James Wong Howe. This was in Best Cinem ...

. In the early 1930s, while at MGM, Howe, who had generally been billed as "James Howe", began listing his name in film credits as "James Wong Howe". Over the course of his career, he was also credited as "James How", "Jimmie Howe", and "James Wong How." Often publicized as a Chinese cameraman, Howe was prevented from becoming a U.S. citizen until the repeal of the

in 1943. Prior to World War II, Howe met his future wife, novelist

Sanora Babb Sanora Babb (April 21, 1907 – December 31, 2005) was an American novelist, poet, and literary editor. Early life and career Sanora Babb was born in Otoe territory in what is now Oklahoma, though neither her mother nor father were of the Otoe ...

, whom he married in 1937 in Paris. Due to anti-

miscegenation Miscegenation ( ) is the interbreeding of people who are considered to be members of different races. The word, now usually considered pejorative, is derived from a combination of the Latin terms ''miscere'' ("to mix") and ''genus'' ("race") ...

laws, the marriage would not be legally recognized in the United States until 1948. Babb died in 2005, aged 98.

Post-war work

After the end of World War II, Howe's long-term contract with Warner Bros., lapsed, and he visited China to work on a documentary about rickshaw boys. When he returned Howe found himself gray-listed. While never a Communist, Howe was named in testimony as a sympathizer. Howe and his wife Sanora Babb, who had been a member of the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel ...

, moved to Mexico for a time; Howe was cinematographer for the RKO movie '' Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House'' (1948) starring

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one of ...

Myrna Loy Myrna Loy (born Myrna Adele Williams; August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress. Trained as a dancer, Loy devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. ...

and

Melvyn Douglas Melvyn Douglas (born Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg, April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981) was an American actor. Douglas came to prominence in the 1930s as a suave leading man, perhaps best typified by his performance in the romantic comedy ''Ninotchk ...

. Howe had trouble finding employment until writer/director

Samuel Fuller Samuel Michael Fuller (August 12, 1912 – October 30, 1997) was an American film director, screenwriter, novelist, journalist, and World War II veteran known for directing low-budget genre movies with controversial themes, often made ou ...

hired him to shoot ''

The Baron of Arizona ''The Baron of Arizona'' is a 1950 American Western film directed by Samuel Fuller and starring Vincent Price and Ellen Drew. The film concerns a master forger's attempted use of false documents to lay claim to the territory of Arizona late in ...

'' released in 1950. Again reestablished, Howe's camerawork continued to be highly regarded. In 1949 he shot tests and was hired for a never made comeback film starring

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragic ch ...

(a screen adaptation of Balzac's ''

La Duchesse de Langeais '' La Duchesse de Langeais '' is an 1834 novel by French author Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) and included in the ''Scènes de la vie parisienne'' section of his novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine''. It is part of his 1839 trilogy ''Histoire ...

''). In 1956, Howe won his first

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for ''

''. The film's director

Daniel Mann Daniel Chugerman (August 8, 1912 – November 21, 1991), known professionally as Daniel Mann, was an American stage, film and television director. Originally trained as an actor by Sanford Meisner, between 1952 and 1987 he directed over 31 feat ...

originally had been a stage director and later stated that he gave Howe control over almost all decisions about the filming other than those regarding the actors and dialogue. In ''

Sweet Smell of Success ''Sweet Smell of Success'' is a 1957 American film noir drama film directed by Alexander Mackendrick, starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison, and Martin Milner, and written by Clifford Odets, Ernest Lehman, and Mackendrick fr ...

'' (1957), Howe worked with director

Alexander Mackendrick Alexander Mackendrick (September 8, 1912 – December 22, 1993) was an American-born director and professor, long based in Scotland. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and later moved to Scotland. He began making television commercials befor ...

to give the black-and-white film a sharp-edged look reminiscent of New York tabloid photography such as that taken by Arthur "Weegee" Fellig. During the 1950s, Howe directed his only English-language feature films, ''

Invisible Avenger ''Invisible Avenger'' is a 1958 American film noir crime film directed by James Wong Howe, Ben Parker and John Sledge. The film was a compilation of two television pilot episodes of a 1957 Republic Pictures TV show called ''The Shadow''. When t ...

'', one of many film adaptations of ''

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator, and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by writer Walter ...

'', and ''

Go Man Go Go Man Go (1953–1983) was an American Quarter Horse stallion and race horse. He was named World Champion Quarter Running Horse three times in a row, one of only two horses to achieve that distinction. Go Man Go was considered to be of difficu ...

'', a movie about the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of ...

. Neither was a critical or commercial success. In 1961 Howe directed episodes of ''

Checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...

'' and ''

87th Precinct The 87th Precinct is a series of police procedural novels and stories by American author Ed McBain (a writing pseudonym of Evan Hunter). McBain's 87th Precinct works have been adapted, sometimes loosely, into movies and television on several o ...

'', then returned to cinematography.

Later life and work

Howe's best known work was almost entirely in black and white. His two Academy Awards both came during the period when Best Cinematography Oscars were awarded separately for color and black-and-white films. However, he successfully made the transition to color films and earned his first Academy Award nomination for a color film in 1958 for ''

The Old Man and the Sea ''The Old Man and the Sea'' is a novella written by the American author Ernest Hemingway in 1951 in Cayo Blanco (Cuba), and published in 1952. It was the last major work of fiction written by Hemingway that was published during his lifetime. O ...

''. He won his second Academy Award for 1963's '' Hud''. His cinematography remained inventive during his later career. For instance, his use of fish-eye and wide-angle lenses in ''

Seconds The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...

'' (1966) helped give an eerie tension to director

John Frankenheimer John Michael Frankenheimer (February 19, 1930 – July 6, 2002) was an American film and television director known for social dramas and action/suspense films. Among his credits were ''Birdman of Alcatraz'' (1962), '' The Manchurian Candidate'' ( ...

's science fiction movie. During the mid to late 1960s, he taught cinematography at UCLA's Film School. Some of his students include

Dean Cundey Dean Raymond Cundey, A.S.C. (born March 12, 1946) is an American cinematographer and film director. He is known for his collaborations with John Carpenter, Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, as well as his extensive work in the horror genre, ...

Stephen H. Burum Stephen Henry Burum, A.S.C. (born November 25, 1939) is an American cinematographer. Biography Burum was born in Dinuba, California, a small Central Valley town near Visalia. He graduated from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in t ...

, and

Alex Funke Alex Funke (born October 12, 1944 in Santa Barbara, California) is a special effects photographer. Career He worked with Charles and Ray Eames for eleven years, a period he deemed important to his career success. His first Oscar was a shared one f ...

. Howe would take a minimal set and teach how to achieve a particular mood and style with just lighting. Cundey said, "it was my most valuable class I took in film school" and it changed his career direction to cinematography. After working on '' The Molly Maguires'' (1970), Howe's health began to fail, and he entered semi-retirement. In 1974, he was well enough to be selected as a replacement cinematographer for '' Funny Lady''. He collapsed during the filming;

American Society of Cinematographers The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), founded in Hollywood in 1919, is a cultural, educational, and professional organization that is neither a labor union nor a guild. The society was organized to advance the science and art of cinem ...

president

Ernest Laszlo Ernest Laszlo, A.S.C. (born Ernő László; April 23, 1898 – January 6, 1984) was a Hungarian-American cinematographer for over 60 films, and was known for his frequent collaborations with directors Robert Aldrich and Stanley Kramer. He w ...

filled in for Howe while he was recovering in the hospital. ''Funny Lady'' earned Howe his tenth and final Oscar nomination. Three documentaries were made about Howe during the last two decades of his life. Association of Asian Pacific American Artists has given the James Wong Howe Award. Past winners of "The Jimmy" have included

Arthur Dong Arthur Dong is an American filmmaker and author whose work centers on Asia America and anti-gay prejudice. He was raised in San Francisco, California, graduating from Galileo High School in June 1971. He received his BA in film from San Franci ...

, Genny Lim, and Jude Narita.

Personal life

James Wong Howe with his wife, Sanora Babb

Howe met his wife, a white woman named

, before World War II. They traveled to Paris in 1937 to marry, but their marriage was not recognized by the state of California until 1948, after the law banning interracial marriage was abolished. Due to the ban, the "morals clause" in Howe's studio contracts prohibited him from publicly acknowledging his marriage to Babb. They would not cohabit due to his traditional Chinese views, so they had separate apartments in the same building. During the early years of the

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative United States Congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives, create ...

hearings, Babb was

blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, ...

due to supposedly having Communist ties from her marriage to Howe; she moved to Mexico City to protect the "graylisted" Howe from racial harassment. Howe raised his godson, producer and director

Martin Fong Martin Fong (died 2014) was a film producer, director, cinematographer, stylist, actor, celebrity photographer, and was notable as one of the first major American tap dancers of Chinese descent to dance on the Las Vegas strip. James Wong How ...

after Fong arrived in the United States. He is buried at Pierce Bros.

Westwood Memorial Park Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary is a cemetery and mortuary located in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles. It is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in Westwood, with an entrance from Glendon Avenue. The cemetery was ...

in Los Angeles.

Technical innovations

Howe's earliest discovery was the use of black velvet to make blue eyes show up better on the

orthochromatic In chemistry, orthochromasia is the property of a staining, dye or stain to not change color on binding to a target, as opposed to Metachromasia, metachromatic stains, which change color. The word is derived from the Greek ''wikt:ortho-, orthos'' ...

film stock in use until the early 1920s. Orthochromatic film was "blue blind"; it was sensitive to blue and green light, which showed as white on the developed film. Reds and yellows were darkened. Faced with the problem of actors' eyes appearing washed out or even stark white on film, Howe developed a technique of mounting a frame swathed with black velvet around his camera so that the reflections darkened the actors' eyes enough for them to appear more natural in the developed film. Howe earned the nickname " Low-Key Howe" because of his penchant for dramatic lighting and deep shadows, a technique that came to be associated with

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American '' ...

. Later in his career, as film-stocks became faster and more sensitive, Howe continued to experiment with his photography and lighting techniques, such as shooting one scene in ''The Molly Maguires'' solely by candlelight. Howe also was known for his use of unusual lenses, film stocks, and shooting techniques. For the 1927 film ''The Rough Riders'', Howe created an early version of a crab dolly, a form of

camera dolly A camera dolly is a wheeled cart or similar device used in filmmaking and television production to create smooth horizontal camera movements. The camera is mounted to the dolly and the camera operator and focus puller or camera assistant usu ...

with four independent wheels and a movable arm to which the camera is attached. For the boxing scenes of '' Body and Soul'' (1947), he entered the boxing ring on roller-skates, carrying an early hand-held camera. ''

Picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...

'' (1955) features a very early example of the helicopter shot, filmed by the second-unit cinematographer,

Haskell Wexler Haskell Wexler, ASC (February 6, 1922 – December 27, 2015) was an American cinematographer, film producer, and director. Wexler was judged to be one of film history's ten most influential cinematographers in a survey of the members of the Inte ...

, and planned by Wexler and Howe. Howe was the first minority cinematographer admitted to the ASC, and mentored other minority cinematographers, such as

John Alonzo John A. Alonzo, ASC (June 12, 1934 – March 13, 2001) was an American cinematographer, television director, and actor known for his diverse body of work in both film and television. Alonzo pioneered handheld work, lighting techniques and hig ...

, who shot ''

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Aust ...

'' and many other productions in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Alonzo credited Howe with giving him his big break on the film ''

'' as a camera operator, doing hand-held sequences during the wild party scenes with

Rock Hudson Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One of the most popular movie stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades. A prominent heartthrob in the Gold ...

. Alonzo became known for his hand-held technique. Howe also shot ''

The Outrage ''The Outrage'' is a 1964 American Western film directed by Martin Ritt and starring Paul Newman, Laurence Harvey, Claire Bloom, Edward G. Robinson and William Shatner. It is a remake of Akira Kurosawa's 1950 Japanese film ''Rashomon'', based ...

,'' a remake of ''

Rashomon is a 1950 Jidaigeki psychological thriller/ crime film directed and written by Akira Kurosawa, working in close collaboration with cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa. Starring Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyō, Masayuki Mori, and Takashi Shimura as v ...

''. During the chase scenes through the woods, Howe had the actors run around him in a circle, which when filmed, looks like a chase. Alonzo used this technique in ''Sounder,'' in the wooded chase sequence. Although the innovation of

deep focus Deep focus is a photographic and cinematographic technique using a large depth of field. Depth of field is the front-to-back range of focus in an image, or how much of it appears sharp and clear. In deep focus, the foreground, middle ground, and b ...

cinematography is usually associated with

Gregg Toland Gregg Wesley Toland, A.S.C. (May 29, 1904 – September 28, 1948) was an American cinematographer known for his innovative use of techniques such as deep focus, examples of which can be found in his work on Orson Welles' ''Citizen Kane'' ...

, Howe used it in his first sound film, '' Transatlantic'', 10 years before Toland used the technique in ''

Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...

''. For deep focus, the cinematographer narrows the

aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An ...

of the camera lens, and floods the set with light, so that elements in both the foreground and background remain in sharp focus. The technique requires highly sensitive film and was difficult to achieve with early film stocks. Along with Toland and

Arthur Edeson Arthur Edeson, A.S.C. (October 24, 1891 – February 14, 1970) was a film cinematographer, born in New York City. His career ran from the formative years of the film industry in New York, through the silent era in Hollywood, and the sound era the ...

, Howe was among the earliest cinematographers to use it successfully.

Frequent collaborators

Herbert Brenon Herbert Brenon (born Alexander Herbert Reginald St. John Brenon; 13 January 1880 – 21 June 1958) was an Irish-born U.S. film director, actor and screenwriter during the era of silent films through the 1930s. Brenon was among the early film ...

* John Cromwell *

Victor Fleming Victor Lonzo Fleming (February 23, 1889 – January 6, 1949) was an American film director, cinematographer, and producer. His most popular films were '' Gone with the Wind'', for which he won an Academy Award for Best Director, and '' The Wiza ...

* William K. Howard *

Charles Maigne Charles Maigne (November 11, 1879 – November 28, 1929) was an American screenwriter and film director of the silent era. He wrote for 32 films between 1916 and 1928. He also directed 18 films between 1918 and 1923. He was born in Richmon ...

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three ...

Sidney Olcott Sidney Olcott (born John Sidney Allcott, September 20, 1872 – December 16, 1949) was a Canadian-born film producer, director, actor and screenwriter. Biography Born John Sidney Allcott in Toronto, he became one of the first great direc ...

Martin Ritt Martin Ritt (March 2, 1914 – December 8, 1990) was an American director and actor who worked in both film and theater, noted for his socially conscious films. Some of the films he directed include '' The Long, Hot Summer'' (1958), '' The Black ...

David O. Selznick David O. Selznick (May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive who produced '' Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and ''Rebecca'' (1940), both of which earned him an Academy Award for Best Picture. ...

* W. S. Van Dyke *

Raoul Walsh Raoul Walsh (born Albert Edward Walsh; March 11, 1887December 31, 1980) was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh. He wa ...

Filmography

* '' Drums of Fate'' (1923) * '' The Trail of the Lonesome Pine'' (1923) * ''

The Woman With Four Faces ''The Woman With Four Faces'' is a lost 1923 American silent crime melodrama film directed by Herbert Brenon and starring Betty Compson. Famous Players-Lasky produced while Paramount Pictures released. The story is based on a play (possibly unpro ...

'' (1923) * '' To the Last Man'' (1923) * ''

The Spanish Dancer ''The Spanish Dancer'' is a 1923 American silent costume epic starring Pola Negri as a gypsy fortune teller, Antonio Moreno as a romantic count, and Wallace Beery as the king of Spain. The film was directed by Herbert Brenon and also features a ...

'' (1923) * ''

The Call of the Canyon ''The Call of the Canyon'' is a 1923 American silent Western film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Richard Dix, Lois Wilson, and Marjorie Daw. Based on the novel ''The Call of the Canyon'' by Zane Grey, the film is about a returning wa ...

'' (1923) * '' The Breaking Point'' (1924) * ''

The Alaskan ''The Alaskan'' is a 1924 American silent adventure drama film based on a novel by James Oliver Curwood set in northwoods country, as his novels tend to be, in this case Alaska. The film was produced and released by Paramount Pictures and dire ...

'' (1924) * ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

'' (1924) * '' The Charmer'' (1925) * ''

Not So Long Ago ''Not So Long Ago'' is a 1925 American silent drama film produced by Jesse Lasky and Adolph Zukor and distributed by Paramount. It was directed by Sidney Olcott with Betty Bronson and Ricardo Cortez in the leading roles. Plot As described in a ...

'' (1925) * ''

The Best People ''The Best People'' is a 1925 American silent comedy film produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount. It was directed by Sidney Olcott with Warner Baxter in the leading role. The film was remade in 1930 as '' Fast and Loose ...

'' (1925) * ''

The King on Main Street ''The King on Main Street'', also known as ''The King'', is a 1925 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Monta Bell and starring Adolphe Menjou and Bessie Love. The film was adapted for the screen by Bell, and was based on the play ...

'' (1925) * ''

Padlocked ''Padlocked'' is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Allan Dwan and written by Rex Beach, Becky Gardiner, and James Shelley Hamilton. The film stars Lois Moran, Noah Beery Sr., Louise Dresser, Helen Jerome Eddy, Allan Simpson, Floren ...

'' (1926) * ''

Sea Horses A seahorse (also written ''sea-horse'' and ''sea horse'') is any of 46 species of small marine fish in the genus ''Hippocampus''. "Hippocampus" comes from the Ancient Greek (), itself from () meaning "horse" and () meaning "sea monster" or ...

'' (1926) * '' Mantrap'' (1926) * '' The Rough Riders'' (1927) * '' Sorrell and Son'' (1927) * '' Laugh, Clown, Laugh'' (1928) * '' The Perfect Crime'' (1928) * ''

Desert Nights ''Desert Nights'' (also known as ''Thirst'') is a 1929 American silent adventure/romantic drama film starring John Gilbert, Ernest Torrence, and Mary Nolan. Directed by William Nigh, the film is the last silent film starring John Gilbert. Plo ...

'' (1929) * '' The Rescue'' (1929) * ''

'' (1931) * '' Transatlantic'' (1931) * ''

Surrender Surrender may refer to: * Surrender (law), the early relinquishment of a tenancy * Surrender (military), the relinquishment of territory, combatants, facilities, or armaments to another power Film and television * ''Surrender'' (1927 film), an ...

'' (1931) * ''

The Yellow Ticket ''The Yellow Ticket'' is a 1931 pre-Code American drama film based on the 1914 play of the same name by Michael Morton, produced by the Fox Film Corporation, directed by Raoul Walsh, and starring Elissa Landi, Lionel Barrymore and Laurence Ol ...

'' (1931) * '' Man About Town'' (1932) * ''

The Power and the Glory ''The Power and the Glory'' is a 1940 novel by British author Graham Greene. The title is an allusion to the doxology often recited at the end of the Lord's Prayer: "For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever, amen." ...

'' (1933) * '' Baby Face'' (1933) * ''

Manhattan Melodrama ''Manhattan Melodrama'' is a 1934 American pre-Code crime film, produced by MGM, directed by W. S. Van Dyke, and starring Clark Gable, William Powell, and Myrna Loy. The movie also provided one of Mickey Rooney's earliest film roles. (Rooney ...

'' (1934) * ''

The Thin Man ''The Thin Man'' (1934) is a detective novel by Dashiell Hammett, originally published in a condensed version in the December 1933 issue of ''Redbook''. It appeared in book form the following month. A film series followed, featuring the main cha ...

'' (1934) * ''

Stamboul Quest ''Stamboul Quest'' is a 1934 American spy film set in World War I, directed by Sam Wood, starring Myrna Loy and George Brent and featuring Lionel Atwill. The screenplay was written by Herman J. Mankiewicz from a story by Leo Birinski. Plot ...

'' (1934) * ''

Mark of the Vampire ''Mark of the Vampire'' (also known as ''Vampires of Prague'') is a 1935 American horror film, starring Lionel Barrymore, Elizabeth Allan (British actress), Elizabeth Allan, Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, and Jean Hersholt, and directed by Tod Br ...

'' (1935) * ''

The Flame Within ''The Flame Within'' is Stream of Passion's second studio album released on May 27, 2009, by Napalm Records. It is the follow-up to their debut album, ''Embrace the Storm''. It is the first album with guitarists Eric Hazebroek and Stephan Schul ...

'' (1935) * ''

O'Shaughnessy's Boy ''O'Shaughnessy's Boy'' is a 1935 film starring Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper and directed by Richard Boleslawski. The picture was partly set in a circus. The cinematographer was James Wong Howe. Plot summary The plot involves a one-armed lio ...

'' (1935) * '' Three Live Ghosts'' (1936) * '' Fire Over England'' (1937) * ''

The Prisoner of Zenda ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in orde ...

'' (1937) * ''

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' is an 1876 novel by Mark Twain about a boy growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the 1840s in the town of St. Petersburg, which is based on Hannibal, Missouri, where Twain lived as a boy. In the no ...

'' (1938) * ''

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques d ...

'' (1938) * ''

They Made Me a Criminal ''They Made Me a Criminal'' is a 1939 American crime drama film directed by Busby Berkeley and starring John Garfield, Claude Rains, and The Dead End Kids. It is a remake of the film '' The Life of Jimmy Dolan'' (1933). The film was later featu ...

'' (1939) * ''

The Oklahoma Kid ''The Oklahoma Kid'' is a 1939 Western film starring James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart. The film was directed for Warner Bros. by Lloyd Bacon. Cagney plays an adventurous gunslinger in a broad-brimmed cowboy hat while Bogart portrays his blac ...

'' (1939) * '' Daughters Courageous'' (1939) * ''

Dust Be My Destiny ''Dust Be My Destiny'' is a 1939 American drama film starring John Garfield as a man who gets into trouble after being sentenced to a work farm. Plot Joe Bell (John Garfield) becomes embittered after he is jailed for 16 months for burglary . Late ...

'' (1939) * ''

Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcor ...

'' (1940, uncredited for

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscriptio ...

sequences) * '' Abe Lincoln in Illinois'' (1940) * '' The Strawberry Blonde'' (1941) * ''

Shining Victory ''Shining Victory'' is a 1941 American drama film based on the 1940 play '' Jupiter Laughs,'' by A. J. Cronin. It stars James Stephenson, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Donald Crisp, and Barbara O'Neil. It is the first film directed by Irving Rapper. ...

'' (1941) * '' Out of the Fog'' (1941) * '' Navy Blues'' (1941) * ''

Kings Row ''Kings Row'' is a 1942 film starring Ann Sheridan, Robert Cummings, Ronald Reagan and Betty Field that tells a story of young people growing up in a small American town at the turn of the twentieth century. The picture was directed by Sam Wood ...

'' (1942) * ''

Yankee Doodle Dandy ''Yankee Doodle Dandy'' is a 1942 American biographical musical film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George To ...

'' (1942) * ''

'' (1943) * ''

Hangmen Also Die ''Hangmen Also Die!'' is a 1943 noir war film directed by the Austrian director Fritz Lang and written by John Wexley from a story by Bertolt Brecht (credited as Bert Brecht) and Lang. The film stars Hans Heinrich von Twardowski, Brian Donlevy, W ...

'' (1943) * '' The North Star'' (1943) * ''

Passage to Marseille ''Passage to Marseille'', also known as ''Message to Marseille'', is a 1944 American war film made by Warner Brothers, directed by Michael Curtiz. The screenplay was by Casey Robinson and Jack Moffitt from the novel ''Sans Patrie'' (''Men Withou ...

'' (1944) * '' Objective, Burma!'' (1945) * ''

Confidential Agent ''Confidential Agent'' is a 1945 American spy film starring Charles Boyer and Lauren Bacall which was a Warner Brothers production. The movie was directed by Herman Shumlin and produced by Robert Buckner with Jack L. Warner as executive producer. ...

'' (1945) * ''

My Reputation ''My Reputation'' is a 1946 American romantic drama film directed by Curtis Bernhardt. Barbara Stanwyck portrays an upper-class widow whose romance with an army officer causes trouble for her gossiping friends, domineering mother and young sons. ...

'' (1946) * ''

Pursued ''Pursued'' is a 1947 American Western film directed by Raoul Walsh with cinematography by James Wong Howe, written by Niven Busch, and starring Theresa Wright and Robert Mitchum. The supporting cast features Judith Anderson, Dean Jagger, Alan ...

'' (1947) * '' Body and Soul'' (1947) * '' Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House'' (1948) * ''

'' (1950) * '' The Eagle and the Hawk'' (1950) * '' He Ran All the Way'' (1951) * '' Main Street to Broadway'' (1953) * '' Jennifer'' (1953) * '' Go,Man,Go!'' (1954) * ''

'' (1955) * ''

'' (1957) * ''

Bell, Book and Candle ''Bell, Book and Candle'' is a 1958 American fantasy romantic comedy film directed by Richard Quine from a screenplay by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1950 Broadway play of the same title by John Van Druten. It stars Kim Novak as a witch who c ...

'' (1958) * '' Hud'' (1963) * ''

'' (1964) * ''

The Glory Guys ''The Glory Guys'' is a 1965 American Western film directed by Arnold Laven and written by Sam Peckinpah, based on the 1956 novel ''The Dice of God'' by Hoffman Birney. Filmed by Levy-Gardner-Laven and released by United Artists, it stars Tom T ...

'' (1965) * '' This Property Is Condemned'' (1966) * ''

'' (1966) * '' Hombre'' (1967) * '' The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter'' (1968) * '' The Molly Maguires'' (1970) * '' Funny Lady'' (1975)

As director

*''

'' (1958) *''

'' (1954)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
The Camera Talks Back
by James Wong Howe
Lighting
by James Wong Howe, Cinematographic Annual, Vol. 2 (1931) pp. 47–59
James Wong Howe Talk
at 1974

San Francisco International Film Festival The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by the San Francisco Film Society, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in i ...

(audio only)
James Wong Howe papers
Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

on James Wong Howe at the Smithsonian Institution Libraries
Photographs of San Francisco's Chinatown by James Wong Howe (1944)

The Bancroft Library The Bancroft Library in the center of the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, is the university's primary special-collections library. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retai ...

James Wong Howe's Google DoodleJames Wong Howe: A Relative's Perspective
by Richard Francis James Lee * {{DEFAULTSORT:Howe, James Wong 1899 births 1976 deaths American cinematographers American film directors of Chinese descent Best Cinematographer Academy Award winners Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Chinese emigrants to the United States Chinese cinematographers People from Pasco, Washington People from Taishan, Guangdong Film directors from Washington (state)

Career

Background

Silent film

Sound film and the war years

Post-war work

Later life and work

Personal life

Technical innovations

Frequent collaborators

Filmography

As director

Awards and nominations

References

Further reading

External links