Canton-born James Wong Howe was one of the few Hollywood cinematographers whom the average movie fan knew by name. Arriving in America with his family at age five, Howe settled in Washington state. At 11, he was given a cheap brownie camera as payment for doing odd jobs for a local druggist. After World War I service and a desultory career as a prizefighter, he went to work as a handyman for the Famous Players-Lasky studio in Hollywood, shooting still pictures of various costume tests just for the experience. While taking a photo of film star Mary Miles Minter, Howe hit upon a method of making her blue eyes photograph darker; Minter began talking up Howe to everyone she met, and thus his cinematography career was underway. Overcoming the racial prejudice of certain Hollywood cameramen, Howe turned out some of the best, most evocatively lit and composed work in the business; he also developed a close working association with prestigious director William K. Howard. Howe took a vacation to China during the industry's switch to talkies, and upon returning to the states discovered he was considered "old fashioned" and unemployable. His old friend Howard came to his rescue again, engaging Howe to photograph Transatlantic (1931), in which he pioneered the use of low-hanging ceilings (ten years before Orson Welles was lauded for this "innovation" in Citizen Kane!) Howe also shot Howard…  » Read more