James Wong Howe

Director Of Photography

About

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Also Known As

Wong Tung Jim, James Howe, Low Key Hoe

Birth Place

China

Born

August 28, 1899

Died

July 12, 1976

Biography

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In the USA from 1904, Howe worked his way up from the position of janitor at the Lasky Studios in 1917 to become one of the greatest, and most prolific, Hollywood cinematographers of all time. His achievement seems today all the more remarkable given the paucity of people of Asian descent who were able to obtain major positions in the Hollywood system. The list of directors with whom he ...

Filmography

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Invisible Avenger (1958)

Go Man Go (1954)

Chijlku wo mawasuru chikara (1930)

Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography (1992)

James Wong Howe, A.S.C.: A Lesson in Light (1973)

Funny Lady (1975)

Director Of Photography

Photos & Videos

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Manhattan Melodrama (1934) -- (Movie Clip) Skip it, Kid

Strawberry Blonde, The (1941) -- (Movie Clip) We Have A Lady Present

Family & Companions

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Sanora Babb

Wife

Novelist.

Biography

In the USA from 1904, Howe worked his way up from the position of janitor at the Lasky Studios in 1917 to become one of the greatest, and most prolific, Hollywood cinematographers of all time. His achievement seems today all the more remarkable given the paucity of people of Asian descent who were able to obtain major positions in the Hollywood system. The list of directors with whom he worked reads like a history of American cinema, stretching from Victor Fleming and Allan Dwan in the 1920s to Sidney Lumet and John Frankenheimer in the 60s, with a number of landmark figures in between.

Nicknamed 'Low Key Hoe' for his unadorned style, Howe pioneered the use of deep-focus photography and of the hand-held camera; for Robert Rossen's matador feature "The Brave Bulls" (1951), he strapped cameras to the actors' waists to capture an unprecedented perspective on the action. He also brought great excitement to the boxing scenes in Rossen's "Body and Soul" (1947) by photographing them in the ring while wearing roller skates. Howe also directed several films and TV shows and formed three production companies during his career.

Filmography

Director (Feature Film)

Invisible Avenger (1958)

Go Man Go (1954)

Chijlku wo mawasuru chikara (1930)

Cast (Feature Film)

Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography (1992)

James Wong Howe, A.S.C.: A Lesson in Light (1973)

Cinematography (Feature Film)

Funny Lady (1975)

Director Of Photography

The Horsemen (1971)

The Last of the Mobile Hotshots (1970)

Director of Photography

The Molly Maguires (1970)

Director of Photography

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1968)

Director of Photography

Director of Photography

This Property Is Condemned (1966)

Director of Photography

Director of Photography

The Glory Guys (1965)

Director of Photography

The Outrage (1964)

Director of Photography

Director of Photography

Tess of the Storm Country (1960)

Director of Photography

Song Without End (1960)

Director of Photography

The Story on Page One (1959)

Director of Photography

The Last Angry Man (1959)

Director of Photography

Bell, Book and Candle (1959)

Director of Photography

The Old Man and the Sea (1958)

Director of Photography

Director of cine

Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

Death of a Scoundrel (1956)

Director of Photography

Director of Photography

The Rose Tattoo (1955)

Director of Photography

Main Street to Broadway (1953)

Director of Photography

Come Back, Little Sheba (1953)

Director of Photography

Jennifer (1953)

Director of Photography

The Lady Says No (1952)

Director of Photography

The Brave Bulls (1951)

Director of Photography

Behave Yourself! (1951)

Director of Photography

He Ran All the Way (1951)

Director of Photography

The Baron of Arizona (1950)

Director of Photography

The Eagle and the Hawk (1950)

Director of Photography

Director of Photography

The Time of Your Life (1948)

Director of Photography

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)

Director of Photography

Body and Soul (1947)

Director of Photography

Director of Photography

Nora Prentiss (1947)

Director of Photography

My Reputation (1946)

Director of Photography

Confidential Agent (1945)

Counter-Attack (1945)

Director of Photography

Objective, Burma! (1945)

Director of Photography

Danger Signal (1945)

Director of Photography

Passage to Marseille (1944)

Director of Photography

The Hard Way (1943)

Director of Photography

Hangmen Also Die! (1943)

Director of Photography

The North Star (1943)

Air Force (1943)

Director of Photography

Kings Row (1942)

Director of Photography

Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

Director of Photography

Shining Victory (1941)

Director of Photography

The Strawberry Blonde (1941)

Director of Photography

Navy Blues (1941)

Dance seq Photographer

Out of the Fog (1941)

Director of Photography

My Love Came Back (1940)

Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940)

Director of Photography

Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940)

Director of Photography

City for Conquest (1940)

A Dispatch from Reuters (1940)

Director of Photography

Torrid Zone (1940)

Saturday's Children (1940)

Daughters Courageous (1939)

On Your Toes (1939)

Director of Photography

Dust Be My Destiny (1939)

Four Wives (1939)

The Oklahoma Kid (1939)

They Made Me a Criminal (1939)

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938)

Comet over Broadway (1938)

The Prisoner of Zenda (1937)

Troopship (1937)

Fire over England (1937)

Under the Red Robe (1937)

Three Live Ghosts (1936)

Rendezvous (1935)

O'Shaughnessy's Boy (1935)

The Night Is Young (1935)

Biography of a Bachelor Girl (1935)

Mark of the Vampire (1935)

The Flame Within (1935)

Hollywood Party (1934)

Viva Villa (1934)

Have a Heart (1934)

The Show-Off (1934)

The Thin Man (1934)

Stamboul Quest (1934)

Manhattan Melodrama (1934)

Hello, Sister! (1933)

Photographer for initial period

The Power and the Glory (1933)

Beauty for Sale (1933)

Amateur Daddy (1932)

Dance Team (1932)

Man About Town (1932)

Chandu the Magician (1932)

After Tomorrow (1932)

Transatlantic (1931)

The Spider (1931)

The Criminal Code (1931)

Surrender (1931)

The Yellow Ticket (1931)

Chijlku wo mawasuru chikara (1930)

Director of Photography

Director of Photography

Desert Nights (1929)

Director of Photography

Laugh, Clown, Laugh (1928)

Director of Photography

The Perfect Crime (1928)

Director of Photography

Four Walls (1928)

Director of Photography

Sorrell and Son (1927)

Director of Photography

The Rough Riders (1927)

Director of Photography

Sea Horses (1926)

Director of Photography

Director of Photography

The Song and Dance Man (1926)

Director of Photography

Padlocked (1926)

Director of Photography

Not So Long Ago (1925)

Director of Photography

The Charmer (1925)

Director of Photography

The King on Main Street (1925)

Director of Photography

The Best People (1925)

Director of Photography

The Breaking Point (1924)

Director of Photography

Peter Pan (1924)

Director of Photography

The Side Show of Life (1924)

Director of Photography

The Alaskan (1924)

Director of Photography

To the Last Man (1923)

Director of Photography

Drums of Fate (1923)

Director of Photography

The Spanish Dancer (1923)

Director of Photography

The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1923)

Director of Photography

The Call of the Canyon (1923)

Director of Photography

Visual Effects (Feature Film)

Moulin Rouge! (2001)

Special Effects tech

Misc. Crew (Feature Film)

Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography (1992)

Cinematography (Short)

Hollywood Party (1937)

Cinematographer (Uncredited)

Life Events

1904

Immigrated to USA from China at age five

1919

Was a photography assistant on such films as "Male and Female", "Puppy Love" and "Told in the Hills"

1922

Debut as director of photography

1954

Debut as director with "Go, Man, Go"

Photo Collections

The Thin Man - Behind-the-Scenes Photos

Here are few behind-the-scenes photos taken during the shooting of The Thin Man (1934), starring William Powell and Myrna Loy.

Videos

Manhattan Melodrama (1934) -- (Movie Clip) Skip it, Kid Old pal and gangster Blackie (Clark Gable) visits the new D-A Jim (William Powell), with lots of catching-up to do, in W.S. Van Dyke's Manhattan Melodrama, 1934, from a script by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and Oliver H.P. Garrett.

Strawberry Blonde, The (1941) -- (Movie Clip) We Have A Lady Present Biff (James Cagney) is ready to abandon buddy Hugo (Jack Carson) when he finds out the friend Virginia (Rita Hayworth) has brought to their clandestine date is a nurse, the headstrong Amy (Olivia de Havilland), early in Raoul Walsh's The Strawberry Blonde, 1941.

Counter-Attack (1945) -- (Movie Clip) Too Much Courage Paul Muni as Alexei leads the band of Russian military engineers arrived to a key Eastern Front theater, bragging recklessly until the commander Kostyuk (Roman Bohnen) demands their attention, revealing his plans to surprise the Germans, Marguerite Chapman as comrade Lisa, in director Zoltan Korda’s Counter-Attack, 1945.

Counter-Attack (1945) -- (Movie Clip) It's Psychological Trapped with seven Nazi soldiers in the basement of a bombed building behind German lines while on a reconnaissance mission, Soviet commando Alexei (Paul Muni) with comrade Lisa (Margeurite Chapman) suspects one is an officer with crucial information, George MacReady stepping forward, in Columbia’s Counter-Attack, 1945.

Last Angry Man, The (1959) -- (Movie Clip) Around The Rugged Rock Nephew Myron (Joby Baker) and TV producer Thrasher (David Wayne) are enthralled as neighborhood legend Dr. Abelman (Paul Muni, in his last film) works his magic on rebellious Brooklyn teen Josh Quincy (Billy Dee Williams, in his movie debut) in The Last Angry Man, 1959.

Last Angry Man, The (1959) -- (Movie Clip) We Made The Mirror! Young newspaperman Myron (Joby Baker) introduces TV Producer Thrasher (David Wayne) to his uncle, Brooklyn Dr. Sam Abelman (Paul Muni) who doesn't want to become a famous do-gooder, in The Last Angry Man, 1959.

Last Angry Man, The (1959) -- (Movie Clip) We Want the Doctor! Godfrey Cambridge and Billy Dee Williams make their screen debuts together as they drop off a sick girl (Cicely Tyson!) at the door of Brooklyn Dr. Sam Abelman (Paul Muni) in director Daniel Mann's The Last Angry Man, 1959.

Viva Villa! (1934) -- (Movie Clip) Fiction Woven Out Of Truth Commanding prologue and screenplay by Ben Hecht, directed by either ultimately-dismissed Howard Hawks or credited Jack Conway, with Phillip Cooper as the young title character and Frank Puglia his dad, from MGM’s hit Viva Villa!, 1934, starring Wallace Beery.

Viva Villa! (1934) -- (Movie Clip) For The Gringo Paper? Taking a town as his notoriety grows, Wallace Beery as Pancho Villa browses females (C.B. DeMille's part-Italian adopted daughter Katherine as Rosita, in one of her earliest roles) then, with sidekick Sierra (Leo Carrillo), meets nervous American journalist Sykes (Stuart Erwin), in Viva Villa!, 1934.

Viva Villa! (1934) -- (Movie Clip) This Is Your Country! Writer Ben Hecht never thought much of Hollywood or screenplays in general, but had few peers for this kind of scene, with Wallace Beery as the bandit title character meeting the scholarly revolutionary Madero (Henry B. Walthall), in MGM’s Viva Villa!, 1934.

Viva Villa! (1934) -- (Movie Clip) Pancho Villa Sent For Me Some scale as the revolution gathers pace, Wallace Beery (title character) rallies volunteers, visits sympathetic aristocrat Teresa (Fay Wray) and reporter Sykes (Stuart Erwin), then a montage, with writer Ben Hecht more successful than the rear-screen process shots, David Durand the bugle boy, inViva Villa! , 1934.

Viva Villa! (1934) -- (Movie Clip) The Law Of Pancho Villa's Court First appearance for Wallace Beery in the title role, his mob seizing a town after several peasants were convicted and hanged, with aide Sierra (Leo Carrillo), flipping the script on the ruling class (Nigel De Brulier the magistrate), in MGM’s Viva Villa!, 1934.

This Property Is Condemned - (Original Trailer) A small-town girl (Natalie Wood) fights her mother's opposition when she falls for a big-city businessman (Robert Redford) in This Property Is Condemned (1966).

My Love Came Back -- (Original Trailer) A millionaire helps a pretty lady violinist (Olivia de Havilland) with her career in My Love Came Back (1940).

Navy Blues (1941) - (Original Trailer) Look for a young Jackie Gleason with lots of Warners' best comedians in the service comedy Navy Blues (1941).

Saturday's Children - (Original Trailer) A young inventor's new marriage is jeopardized by financial problems. Starring John Garfield.

Dispatch From Reuters, A - (Original Trailer) An entrepreneur (Edward G. Robinson) builds an international news agency.

Daughters Courageous - (Original Trailer) A father (Claude Rains) returns to the family he left years earlier and tries to solve their problems. Co-starring John Garfield.

Bell Book and Candle - (Original Trailer) Beautiful witch Kim Novak places a love spell on James Stewart in the comedy Bell Book And Candle (1959) also starring Jack Lemmon.

Counter-Attack - (Original Trailer) A Russian officer (Paul Muni) is trapped in a bombed building with seven Nazi soldiers in Counter-Attack (1945).

Whipsaw - (Original Trailer) G-Man Spencer Tracy falls for glamorous jewel thief Myrna Loy in Whipsaw (1935).

Danger Signal - (Original Trailer) Zachary Scott is the cad who turns sisters into enemies in the thriller Danger Signal (1945).

Abe Lincoln in Illinois - (Original Trailer) Raymond Massey portrays the rail-splitter in his journey from log cabin to the White House in Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940).

Old Man and the Sea, The - (Original Trailer) A Cuban fisherman (Spencer Tracy) believes his long dry spell will end when he catches a legendary fish in Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea (1958).

Companions

Sanora Babb

Wife

Novelist.

Bibliography

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