James Basevi

James Basevi ( born June 21, 1890 in Plymouth, England, † March 27, 1962 in Bellflower, California ) was an American production designer and film technicians British origin.

Life

James Basevi in 1890, the son of Ethel Wina (born Gill) and William Henry Basevi in the English Plymouth to the world. After studying architecture and his military service in World War I, he emigrated in 1919 to Canada. Five years later he moved to the United States and began his film career in Hollywood as a production designer. Initially, he worked as assistant to the set designer Cedric Gibbons, as well as in King Vidor's silent film The Big Parade (The Big Parade, 1925), increased at MGM but soon even the so-called art director on. In the 1930s, he was then primarily responsible for special effects, so even with the disaster films of San Francisco ( 1936) ... and then came the hurricane ( The Hurricane, 1937), which revolutionized the genre with innovative special effects.

In William Wyler's film adaptation Wuthering Heights ( Wuthering Heights, 1939) he came again as production designer for use, and received his first Oscar nomination in the category Best Art Direction. In 1941 he moved to 20th Century Fox, where he won for The Song of Bernadette ( The Song of Bernadette ) in 1944 together with Thomas Little and William S. Darling Oscar. Throughout his career he worked with some renowned directors together, including Fred Niblo, William Wyler, Henry King, Alfred Hitchcock, Ernst Lubitsch, Elia Kazan and especially John Ford for Hitchcock's Spellbound ( Spellbound, 1945), he designed the dream sequences on designs Salvador Dalí.

1956 Basevi retired from the film business. He died in 1962 at the age of 71 years in Bellflower, California.

Filmography (selection)

Design

Special effects

Awards

Oscar

Nominated:

Won: