Devereaux Jennings

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Joseph Devereaux Jennings (born September 22, 1884 in Salt Lake City , Utah , † March 12, 1952 in Hollywood , California ) was an American cameraman and special effects artist who was awarded an honorary Oscar in 1939 and an Oscar in the category in 1948 "Best Special Effects" was nominated for the western The Undefeated , and in 1951 in the same category for the monumental film Samson and Delilah .

Life

Born in Salt Lake City , Utah , Jennings studied at the university there . He started his film career in 1910 with Thomas Harper Ince at the New York Motion Picture Corporation . He later worked for Fox , where he was behind the camera for Fame and Fortune (1918), The Daredevil (1920) and other early films by and with Tom Mix .

In the mid-1920s, Jennings made several comedies with Buster Keaton , including The General and Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1927) and The Student (College) (1927). He experienced the beginning of the sound film era at Warner Bros. , where he shot in two-color Technicolor early on, for example the musical film Bride of the Regiment and the musical comedy Golden Dawn (both 1930). Jennings was also behind the camera for William A. Wellman's Oscar-nominated crime drama The Public Enemy, starring James Cagney and Jean Harlow . From the beginning of the 1930s he began to deal increasingly with the trick-effect technique and gradually specialize in it. He eventually moved to Paramount Pictures , where his younger brother, Gordon Jennings , ran the special effects department. At the Academy Awards in 1939 , the brothers and nine other Paramount technicians were awarded an honorary Oscar “for outstanding achievements in the field of special photographic and sound effects in the Paramount Pictures production Pirates in Alaska ” .

In 1948 Jennings was nominated, again with his brother and four other animation technicians, for the historical adventure film The Undefeated by Cecil B. DeMille with Gary Cooper and Paulette Goddard for an Oscar in the category Best Special Effects, but had to do A. Arnold Gillespie , Warren Newcombe , Douglas Shearer and Michael Steinore and the drama Typhoon take precedence.

For Cecil B. DeMille's monumental film Samson and Delilah with Hedy Lamarr and Victor Mature Jennings and his brother Gordon received another Oscar nomination together with Paul K. Lerpae in 1951 . However, the trophy went to George Pal and his science fiction film Endstation Moon . The 1952 circus film The Greatest Show in the World , which again directed Cecil B. DeMille and starred James Stewart , Charlton Heston and Betty Hutton , was Jenning's last film work.

Jennings was a founding member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) and was active in the film industry until his death. He left the ASC sometime before 1922. He died of cancer on March 12, 1952, two months after the premiere of his last film.

Filmography (selection)

on the camera

  • 1915: The Edge of the Abyss (Cinematographer as JD Jennings )
  • 1915: Matrimony (short film; as JD Jennings )
  • 1915: The Winged Idol ( as JD Jennings )
  • 1916: Lieutenant Danny, USA ( as JD Jennings )
  • 1917: The Scarlet Pimpernel ( as JD Jennings )
  • 1918: Fame and Fortune ( as JD Jennings )
  • 1919: The Forbidden Room
  • 1920: The Daredevil ( as Dev Jennings )
  • 1921: The Mistress of Shenstone
  • 1922: The Glory of Clementina ( as Dev Jennings )
  • 1923: The Gunfighter ( as Dev Jennings )
  • 1924: Those Who Dare
  • 1925: The Eagle (The Eagle)
  • 1925: Cobra
  • 1926: The Killer of Alabama ( Battling Butler ; as JD Jennings, photography )
  • 1926: The General (The General; as Dev Jennings, photographed by )
  • 1927: The Student (College; as Dev Jennings, photographed by )
  • 1928: Steamboat Bill, Jr. ( Steamboat Bill, Jr .; as Dev Jennings, photographed by )
  • 1929: Cilly ( Sally ; as Dev Jennings, photography )
  • 1930: Bride of the Regiment ( as Dev Jennings )
  • 1930: Golden Dawn ( as Dev Jennings, photography )
  • 1930: Oh, Sailor Behave! ( as Dev Jennings )
  • 1931: The Public Enemy ( The Public Enemy , as Dev Jennings, photography )
  • 1931: War Mamas (short film; as Dev Jennings )
  • 1932: The Famous Ferguson Case ( as Dev Jennings )
  • 1934: Rhythm on the Roof (short film)
  • 1935: Musical Cocktail (short film)
  • 1936: Rhythm on the Range (special photographic effects)
  • 1936: Hark Ye Hark! (Short film)
  • 1937: The Wyoming gambling den ( Born to the West ; as Dev Jennings, photographed by )

photographic special effects

Awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Other names under which he worked: J. Devereaux Jennings, Devereux Jennings, Dev Jennings, Dev. Jennings, J. Dev Jennings, J. Dev. Jennings, JD Jennings according to TCM - Turner Classic Movies
  2. ↑ a b c d JD Jennings at thease.com (English). Retrieved February 25, 2016.
personal data
SURNAME Jennings, Devereaux
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Jennings, Joseph Devereaux (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American cameraman and special effects artist
DATE OF BIRTH September 22, 1884
PLACE OF BIRTH Salt Lake City , Utah , United States
DATE OF DEATH March 12, 1952
Place of death Hollywood , California , United States