“JAMES WONG HOWE: THE MAN WHO PAINTED WITH LIGHT” - 3/16/2026 (132)

Today, we’re going to step behind the camera and shine a spotlight—quite literally—on one of the most brilliant craftsmen Hollywood has ever seen. A man who helped shape the way movies look. If you’ve ever admired the stark black-and-white photography in Hud, the shadowy nighttime streets of Sweet Smell of Success, or the striking boxing scenes in Body and Soul, then you’ve already seen the artistry of cinematographer JAMES WONG HOWE. And whether you realized it or not, you were looking at the work of someone who had a huge influence on the visual language of film. Join us as we examine the life and career of this technical master. 

SHOW NOTES: 

Sources:

James Wong Howe: The Camera Eye (2010), by Alain Silver;

“Focusing In On James Wing Howe,” May 31, 2024, TriviaMafia.com;

“James Wong Howe: Unsung Hero of Golden Age Hollywood,” April 27, 2022, by Nicholas Rapold, The Financial Times;

“James Wong Howe: Master of Lights,” December 14, 2012, by Roger Ebert; RogerEbert.com;

“James Wong Howe Dies; Noted Cinematographer,” July 16, 1976, by Robert Hanley, New York Times;

Oscars.org

Wikipedia.com;

TCM.com;

IMDBPro.com;

Movies Mentioned:

Hud (1963), starring Paul Newman, Patricia Neal, and Melvyn Douglas;

The Sweet Smell of Success (1957), starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, & Susan Harrison;

Body & Soul (1947)l starring John Garfield, Lilli Palmer, Anne Revere, Hazel Scott, & Canda Lee;

Male and Female (1919), starring Gloria Swanson;

The Spanish Dancer (1923), starring Pola Negri;

Peter Pan (1924);

Shanghai Express (1932)l starring Marlene Dietrich & Anna May Wong;

Manhattan Melodrama (1934), starring Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, William Powell, & Mickey Rooney;

The Thin Man (1934), starring William Powell & Myrna Loy; 

Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936), with Freddie Bartholomew;

The Prisoner of Zenda (1937), starring Madeleine Carroll & Douglas Fairbanks Jr,;  

Algiers (1938), starring Charles Boyer & Hedy Lamarr:  

Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940), with Raymond Massey;

Fantasia (1940);

The Strawberry Blonde (1941), starring James Cagney, Olivia de Havilland, & Rita Hayworth;

King’s Row (1942), starring Ann Sheridan & Ronald Davis; 

Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), starring James Garfield & Joan Leslie;

The Hard Way (1943), starring Ida Lupino & Joan Leslie;

The North Star (1943), starring Dana Andrews & Anne Baxter;

Air Force (1943), with John Garfield;

Confidential Agent (1945), starring Charles Boyer & Lauren Bacall; 

Nora Prentiss (1947), starring Ann Sheridan: 

He Ran All the Way (1951), with John Garfield & Shelley Winters;

The Baron of Arizona (1950) starring Vincent Price & Ellen Drew;

The Rose Tattoo (1955) starring Anna Magnani, Burt Lancaster & Marisa Pavan;

Seconds (1966), starring Rock Hudson;

Go, Man, Go (1954), starring Dane Clark & Sidney Poitier;

Funny Lady (1975), starring Barbra Streisand;

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