Silver Screen Craftsmen, Pt. 1- James Wong Howe

Born: 28 August 1899, Kwangchow [also Canton; now Guangzhou], China, as Wong Tung Jim. Died: 12 July 1976, West Hollywood, Calif., USA.

Career: When he was five his family emigrated to the United States and settled in Pasco, Washington, where his father, Wong How, owned a general store. His grade-school teacher gave him the name James Wong Howe. When he was sixteen, Howe pursued a brief career as a professional boxer in Oregon, but he soon left the ring and moved to Los Angeles in 1917. Became delivery boy for Raymond Stagg, a commercial photographer in Los Angeles. Was hired by the Lasky-Famous Players Studios to pick up scraps of nitrate stock and wrapping paper from the floor of the camera room. Graduated to clapper boy for Cecil B. DeMille and Alvin Wyckoff. 'I got in front and held this slate. But in those days I always smoked cigars. Somehow I found the money to buy a cigar, and I'd have this big cigar in my mouth with this slate in front and I looked bewildered, and it was quite comical. And Mr. DeMille saw this strange face every time a scene number would come up and I'd be peeking over and wondering what's going on. "Alvin," he said, "who's that?" "Well," he said" it's Jimmy Howe. He's one of the extra assistants put on." Mr. DeMille said: "He looks very funny. It gives me a laugh. Keep him on with me." So that's how I became one of the permanent assistants on his staff there.' [From interview with George C. Pratt, 1958.] From 1917-22 asst to Alvin Wyckoff and Henry Kotani. He was also active as 2nd cameraman [he duplicated the shots of the 1st cameraman in order to make the so-called foreign negative, because, at that time, duplication was not possible]. His breakthrough came in 1922, when he was able to take still photographs of actress Mary Miles Minter in which he made her pale blue eyes register on the film by having her look at a dark surface. Shortly after that, Howe was named a head cameraman and soon earned a reputation for original lighting methods and photographic creativity on such films as 'The Trail of the Lonesome Pine' [Paramount, 1923] and 'The Alaskan' [Paramount, 1924]. Late in 1928 he was in China shooting a doc [unfinished]. 'I tried to do something with this film, put it together, try to make travelogues. So I was out for a while. That's the reason for the lack of credits in this period.' A lot of his footage was later used in 'Around the World [in 80 Minutes] with Douglas Fairbanks' & 'Shanghai Express'. When sound came in, everybody in Hollywood had to re-establish himself. Howe got re-established with 'Transatlantic'. Was known as James Howe or James How until 1933, when Majestic Pictures and Fox publicized him as a Chinese cameraman. Under contract to Fox [1931-33], MGM [1933-35] and Warner [until 1948]. Became freelance in 1948. Married the novelist Sanora Babb in 1937 in Paris, though the marriage was not legalized in California until 1957 because of the State Miscegenation Law, which prohibited interracial marriage. Similarly, the state's restrictive immigration rules prevented Howe from being naturalized as a citizen until 1958. Retired in 1969. For the last seven years of his life he was sick and frequently hospitalized. He was reportedly offered the first two 'The Godfather' films, but just wasn't strong enough to accept. In 1974, producer Ray Stark and director Herbert Ross wanted a replacement for cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond on 'Funny Lady'. They contacted Howe because they believed he could make Barbra Streisand look her best. Howe's health was stable, and the day after Ray Stark called, he was on the set ready to shoot. But a short time later, he collapsed on the set and had to be rushed to the hospital. Ernest Laszlo substituted for him until Howe recovered and returned to finish the film.  Filmed commercials for Texaco, Eastern Airlines.  Was member of the ASC. Appeared in the doc's 'James Wong Howe' [1965, Theodore Taylor], 'James Wong Howe, ASC: A Lesson in Light' [1973, Arthur Kaye] & 'James Wong Howe' [1974, Beulah Quo]. 

Courtesy of the American Society of Cinematographers http://www.theasc.com/

James Wong Howe was nominated for 10 Academy Awards for Best Cinematography.  He won in that category twice, for The Rose Tattoo in 1955 & Hud in 1963. A complete listing of Howe's films can be found here.

James Wong Howe behind the camera for Peter Pan, 1924

Howe in later years filming Seconds, 1966

-Maureen Lang

Comments

[rjj]

This is nice, ML. Thank you for it.

Is that last image from Hud?

His 1928 China footage really would be something to see. I hope it is lying around in some archive somewhere waiting for a film student with a modest grant. Also hope their use in the abovementioned films has not complicated the rights issues. Speaking of archives ... for those with little patience and lower standards, his Dong Kingman and "They Made Me a Criminal" can be found here:

http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=James%20Wong%20Howe

Searching on his name at YouTube only turns up "Thin Man." Have to look for others by title. "Hud" is there.

more thanks.

[Maureen Lang]

rjj,

Good catch- that screen cred is indeed from the opening sequence of "Hud." As you no doubt are already aware, many of James Wong Howe's films, including his Academy Award winners & all his nominated movies, have been made available via youtube & other sites, but to truly appreciate his skill behind the camera a large screen HD or Blue-ray viewing is in order.

Howe is one of those fascinating artists whose professional (& personal) story add immensely to an understanding of film & its development as an art form.

[Mike D]

I live in the Tri-cities, Wa (Pasco is one of the cities). A few year ago, I was attending the symphony which was held in the Pasco high school auditorium. Outside the auditorium is one of those display cases in which class pictures, trophy's, etc. are shown. I think it was the senior class of 1918 which had a picture of a Chinese guy (hat on backwards) looking through the lens of a motion picture camera. No one knew who that fellow was, but I tracked it down to being James Wong Howe. A famous person that no one remembers, locally.

Mike D

[johnf]

Shanghai Express is a great film. Quite groundbreaking in its making a studio-bound film a visually ravishing thing to watch. IMDB says he's uncredited. Is it just the stock film he added or was he actually shooting in the Studio? Seems to have done quite a lot with Ford in the 30's too.

[Maureen Lang]

Mike D,

What a shame that Pasco HS had neglected to identify Howe, as he might be one of their more famous alums. I hope now there is at least a name tag next to that photo in the trophy case.

johnf,

Howe seems to have been quite conscientious about receiving screen credit for his work, so I'd speculate that he did not do any principal photography on "Shanghai Express." Also, since Howe otherwise worked exclusively for Fox Studios at the time "Express" was filming (during 1931-32 he was cinematographer on a total of five features for Fox), a loan out to Paramount Pictures during that time period seems unlikely imo.

[How]

I enjoyed reading this post and going to the links. Very interesting, Maureen. I know you have some contacts at ASC office. Can you find out if they recommend a definitive work or web site on international cinematographers past and presnt. Thanks.

Panaman

[Maureen Lang]

Thank you for reading the post & commenting, Panaman. Here are some websites for info on international cinematographers:

International Cinematographers Guild
http://www.cameraguild.com/

Film History: An International Journal (includes IJ downloads)
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/film_history/

Society For Cinema & Media Studies
http://www.cmstudies.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

[Sidney O. Smith III]

Yep...James Wong Howe is one of the best. Hud is a significantly serious film. Hits a mythological and archetypal realm. Seems to have ushered in the anti-hero genre.

But what about the Spaniard Jose Luis Alcaine in Rhustler’s Rhapsody? Hugh Wilson at the time (I stress at the time, unfortunately, and greatly alas) could have written Preston Sturgis into the dust. No doubt, particularly at the 22 minute episodic…no easy chore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OaA3LZHbQs&feature=related

Rule of thirds intact and with depth, even if inverted. And if you’ll notice…the last line of this scene was picked up and then made famous by Nora Ephron in Sleepless. No? It sure looks like it was Wilson’s line…all the way.

Like the ol’saying…dying is easy, comedy is hard. Not my scene necessarily (I mean comedy but dying too, now that I think about it) but you gotta respect the art form. Wilson and Alcaine, at this time, were two of the best. I believe the description with most coinage is synergistic but whatever….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCasdCghhvQ&feature=related

[Maureen Lang]

Thanks for the comment, & the hilarious links from "Rustlers' Rhapsody." Alcaine's work on "Volver," "Las Trece Rosas," & "Belle Epoque" place him, for me, in the absolute top tier of contemporary cinematographers.

I'll be doing a post on Elgin Lessley's long collaboration with Buster Keaton next. Keaton's two reeler "The Frozen North" (lensed by Lessley) has a similar take to "Rhapsody" on genre-heavy Westerns and their heroes/villains, satirizing William S. Hart, Zane Grey, awa Erich von Stroheim, all in 22 minutes.

Unfortunately for modern audiences, one snippet of the film is lost- according to Keaton it's from the standard "gunman walking into a saloon" scene. "Hands Up!" he shouts in the title card & all hands raise including those of coy nude "September Morn" hanging over the bar.

[Kiwi]

Maureen, how a bout a mention somewhere for our friend Allen Daviau? I know he's won the ASC and BSC awards. And such a lovely man, our friend Ally.

[Maureen Lang]

Ask & ye shall receive, Kiwi- Here's a four page article on Allen Daviau's career from the January 2007 ASC magazine:

http://www.theasc.com/magazine_dynamic/January2007/AllenDaviau,ASC/page1.php

[Sidney O. Smith III]

I don’t want to go overboard with foreign films, but I do hope Satyajit Ray, along with the cinematographer Subrata Miltra, receive some attention, particularly for the work, the Apu Triology. Once saw some of S. Rays drawings (set designs, etc.) on display in LA; they were works of art in and of themselves. The detail was extraordinary and made for a fascinating juxtaposition next to some of Hitchcoçk’s sketches.

Sometimes have wondered about the Zhang Yimo-Zhao Fei tandem (along with Gong Li), particularly if they had gone the Hollywood studio/CAA route.

[rjj]

"Sometimes have wondered about the Zhang Yimo-Zhao Fei tandem (along with Gong Li), particularly if they had gone the Hollywood studio/CAA route. "

I wondered that, too, then decided his experience with the Chinese system would have prepared him to deal with the Hollywood totalitarians.

The Old Well is a favorite. Yellow Earth is hard to find; haven't seen it.

Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles, while good to look at, is larded with bathos. I hope it indicates new evolutionary phase of self-indulgence and signals the end of his FX period.

Incidentally - Have you seen Terracotta Warrior (as actor)? It is an aborted comedy worth watching for what it could have been had it not been turned into a grotesque sendup of a Hollywood movie. The acting is good (surprisingly funny) but obscured by the directorial/editorial cacomachy.

Apologies if this entry is double posted. The system sent error message that the post was not accepted.

[rjj]

Any opinions on Man with a Movie Camera?

[Maureen Lang]

When a dvd of "Man with a Movie Camera" came out last year a friend brought it over. Hadn't seen it in over 35 years. Still looks like it could have been filmed yesterday with its fluidity of camera movement & crisp, rapid-fire editing. Keep waiting for TCM to feature it in their Silent Sundays line up so it can have a wider audience, but so far no luck. However, the Alloy Orchestra is touring with it this year:

http://www.alloyorchestra.com/tour.schedule.html

As 2010 rolls on, I hope to do several more posts on cinema history & will definitely include this brilliant work. For any who care to view it online, here's a download link for "Man with a Movie Camera." This download is sans score of any kind:

http://www.archive.org/details/ChelovekskinoapparatomManWithAMovieCamera

Parts of the film scored by various composers are also available on youtube, but these snippets give no real idea of the flow & build up of the entire work.

[Bobby Murray]

This is wonderful Maureen, thank you! Great comments.

[Sidney O. Smith III]

Rjj

I agree re: Li et al.

Been kinda’, sorta’ wondering about the old question worded thusly, which comes first, sound or image? In other words, in the beginning was the word (sound) or in the beginning was the image. I tend to go the old school route and prefer the former. The word creates the image and then the story. (Ironically, the pre 1994 Hugh Wilson made that point, perhaps unwittingly but certainly with humor, in the opening of Rustler’s)

I am reminded of a book, I offer in my defense. Ernst Cassirer, Language and Myth. Granted, I hit the wall while reading it but I think it does make some sense.

My point: the sound people (beyond just screenwriters) deserve a lot of credit for their subtle, yet enormously powerful, craftsmanship

[Maureen Lang]

So nice to hear from you in the comments again, Bobby.

Here's a better link imo to "Man with a Movie Camera" with a soundtrack by The Cinematic Orchestra. Pretty good print also, less jumpy than @ archive.org:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2809965914189244913#

Sidney O. Smith III,

Certainly agree with you about the sound dept. tech wizards & their contribution to a finished film, from the crew working on the set to the large team handed the raw edit afterwards who sweeten, doctor, record a score, & tinker the final soundtrack into a blended whole. Tough jobs all 'round working in sound- impossible deadlines, killer hours, sometimes whimsical directorial demands, scant recognition, etc.

Great pay, though.

[Sidney O. Smith III]

I have wondered if some observations from Col. Lang’s essay “Bureaucrats vs. Artists” apply to the film world. Parts of it seem to have a universal application, so to speak.

I tend to think it does. Hugh Wilson is my brother in law and I spent a good deal of time with him in LA until 1994 or so, when he cashed in and moved. Hugh is much the artist, and I saw him take on people who he perhaps saw as bureaucrats and it was a sight to behold. But Hugh was an outsider who made his way through sheer, one-of-a-kind talent until he just got sick of the whole thing and left around 94. Lots of people did not want to seem him succeed.

And I distinctly remember one time after dinner when we had kicked back and were drinking some wine. And that night, he said something that makes sense to me: it is a rat race and the rats are winning. Makes for a good subtitle.

BTW, I do not know his political views of late nor do I know if would agree with me re: my comments at sst. Doesn’t matter because Hugh is one of the good guys.