James Basevi (born 21 September 1890, Plymouth, Devon,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

– d. 27 March 1962,

Bellflower, California Bellflower is a city located in southeast Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was founded in 1906 and incorporated on September 3, 1957. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 79,190, up f ...

) was a British-born art director and

special effects Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual w ...

expert. After his military service during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

Basevi emigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

and later on to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. He began his career in 1924 with MGM, designing sets for silent films. After the advent of

talkie A sound film is a motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decad ...

s, Basevi became the head of MGM's special effects department, helping to create the

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

scene in ''

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

'' (

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

). He also worked on the storm sequence in

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

's '' The Hurricane'' for

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film studio, film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm o ...

. In

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

, he shared an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

for

art direction Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in Theatre, theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

with

William S. Darling William S. Darling (born Vilmos Béla Sándorházi; 14 September 1882 – 15 December 1963) was a Hungarian-American art director who was prominent in Hollywood during the 1920s and 30s. Darling received six Academy Award nominations, win ...

for '' The Song of Bernadette''. He was nominated for Oscars for ''

Wuthering Heights ''Wuthering Heights'' is an 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, initially published under her pen name Ellis Bell. It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moors, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and their turbulent r ...

'' (

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidde ...

), '' The Westerner'' (

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

), '' The Gang's All Here'' (

) and '' The Keys of the Kingdom'' (

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in No ...

Filmography

* ''

The Big Parade ''The Big Parade'' is a 1925 American silent war drama film directed by King Vidor, starring John Gilbert, Renée Adorée, Hobart Bosworth, Tom O'Brien, and Karl Dane. Written by World War I veteran, Laurence Stallings, the film is abou ...

'' (1925) * '' The Circle'' (1925) * ''

The Tower of Lies ''The Tower of Lies'' is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Victor Sjöström. It was written by Agnes Christine Johnston and Max Marcin, based upon Selma Lagerlöf's 1914 novel ''The Emperor of Portugallia'' (MGM actually purchas ...

'' (1925) * '' Soul Mates'' (1925) * '' Pretty Ladies'' (1925) * ''

Confessions of a Queen ''Confessions of a Queen'' is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Victor Sjöström based upon a novel by Alphonse Daudet Alphonse Daudet (; 13 May 184016 December 1897) was a French novelist. He was the husband of Julia Daudet and ...

'' (1925) * '' The Devil's Circus'' (1926) * '' Dance Madness '' (1926) * '' Bardelys the Magnificent'' (1926) * '' The Temptress'' 1926) * ''

The Mysterious Island ''The Mysterious Island'' (french: L'Île mystérieuse) is a novel by Jules Verne, published in 1875 in literature, 1875. The original edition, published by Pierre-Jules Hetzel, Hetzel, contains a number of illustrations by Jules Férat. The no ...

'' (1929) * '' Tarzan and His Mate'' (1934) special effects * '' China Seas'' (1935) special effects * ''

'' (1936) special effects * '' Dead End'' (1937) special effects * '' History Is Made at Night'' (1937) special effects * '' The Good Earth'' (1937) special effects * '' The Hurricane'' (1937) special effects * '' The Adventures of Marco Polo'' (1938) special effects * ''

Blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which ar ...

'' (1938) special effects * '' The Cowboy and the Lady'' (1938) * '' The Real Glory'' (1939) * ''

'' (1939) * '' They Shall Have Music'' (1939) * '' Raffles'' (1939) * '' The Westerner'' (1940) * ''

The Long Voyage Home ''The Long Voyage Home'' is a 1940 American drama film directed by John Ford. It stars John Wayne, Thomas Mitchell and Ian Hunter. It features Barry Fitzgerald, Wilfrid Lawson, John Qualen, Mildred Natwick, and Ward Bond, among others. The f ...

'' (1940) * '' Tobacco Road'' (1941) * ''

A Yank in the R.A.F. ''A Yank in the R.A.F.'' is a 1941 American black-and-white war film directed by Henry King and starring Tyrone Power and Betty Grable. Released three months before the attack on Pearl Harbor plunged the United States into World War II, it is ...

'' (1941) * '' Son of Fury'' (1942) * '' Moontide'' (1942) * '' China Girl'' (1942) * '' The Black Swan'' (1942) * '' Thunder Birds'' (1942) * '' Guadalcanal Diary'' (1943) * ''

Paris After Dark ''Paris After Dark'' is a 1943 American war drama film directed by Léonide Moguy and starring George Sanders, Philip Dorn and Brenda Marshall. It portrays the activities of the French resistance in occupied Paris during World War II. The portraya ...

'' (1943) * ''

The Ox-Bow Incident ''The Ox-Bow Incident'' is a 1943 American Western film directed by William A. Wellman, starring Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews and Mary Beth Hughes, with Anthony Quinn, William Eythe, Harry Morgan and Jane Darwell. Two cowboys arrive in a Weste ...

'' (1943) * '' Sweet Rosie O'Grady'' (1943) * '' Claudia'' (1943) * '' They Came to Blow Up America'' (1943) * '' Hello, Frisco, Hello'' (1943) * '' Jitterbugs '' (1943) * ''

Bomber's Moon ''Bomber's Moon'' is a 1943 American wartime propaganda film, produced by 20th Century Fox, based on an unpublished magazine serial "Bomber's Moon" by Leonard Lee. Plot Captain Jeff Dakin ( George Montgomery) is shot down over Germany on a bomb ...

'' (1943) * '' Wintertime'' (1943) * '' Happy Land'' (1943) * '' The Dancing Masters'' (1943) * '' The Gang's All Here'' (1943) * '' Stormy Weather'' (1943) * '' Holy Matrimony'' (1943) * '' The Gang's All Here'' (1943) * ''

Heaven Can Wait Heaven Can Wait may refer to: * ''Heaven Can Wait'' (1943 film), a comedy based on the stage play ''Birthday'' by Leslie Bush-Fekete * ''Heaven Can Wait'' (1978 film), an American football comedy starring Warren Beatty; a remake of the 1941 film ...

'' (1943) * ''

Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The firs ...

'' (1944) * ''

The Moon is Down ''The Moon Is Down'' is a novel by American writer John Steinbeck. Fashioned for adaptation for the theatre and for which Steinbeck received the Norwegian King Haakon VII Freedom Cross, it was published by Viking Press in March 1942. The story t ...

'' (1943) * '' The Song of Bernadette'' (1943) * ''

Home in Indiana ''Home in Indiana'' is a 1944 Technicolor film directed by Henry Hathaway. The film, that stars Walter Brennan, Lon McCallister, Jeanne Crain, June Haver and Charlotte Greenwood, is based on the novel ''The Phantom Filly'' by George Agnew Chamber ...

'' (1944) * ''

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

'' (1944) * '' In the Meantime, Darling'' (1944) * ''

Wilson Wilson may refer to: People *Wilson (name) ** List of people with given name Wilson ** List of people with surname Wilson * Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender *Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson Rod ...

'' (1944) * '' The Eve of St. Mark'' (1944) * '' Lifeboat'' (1944) * '' Casanova Brown'' (1944) * '' The Lodger'' (1944) * ''

The Fighting Sullivans ''The Fighting Sullivans'', originally released as ''The Sullivans'', is a 1944 American biographical war film directed by Lloyd Bacon and written by Edward Doherty, Mary C. McCall Jr., and Jules Schermer. It was nominated for a now-discontinu ...

'' (1944) * '' The Purple Heart'' (1944) * '' Four Jills in a Jeep'' (1944) * '' Ladies of Washington'' (1944) * '' Roger Touhy, Gangster'' (1944) * ''

Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fifth ...

'' (1944) * '' Pin Up Girl'' (1944) * '' Bermuda Mystery'' (1944) * ''

Buffalo Bill William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but he lived for several years ...

'' (1944) * '' The Keys of the Kingdom'' (1944) * '' Spellbound'' (1945) * '' The Dark Corner'' (1946) * '' Home, Sweet Homicide'' (1946) * '' Johnny Comes Flying Home'' (1946) * '' If I'm Lucky'' (1946) * '' It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog'' (1946) * '' Somewhere in the Night'' (1946) * ''

My Darling Clementine ''My Darling Clementine'' is a 1946 American Western film directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda as Wyatt Earp during the period leading up to the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. The ensemble cast also features Victor Mature (as Doc Holl ...

'' (1946) * '' Claudia and David'' (1946) * ''

Margie Margie is a feminine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Margaret, Marjorie or Margarita. Margie may refer to: People * Margie Ackles (born 1939), American retired figure skater * Marjorie Margie Alexander (1948–2013), American ...

'' (1946) * '' Duel in the Sun'' (1946) * '' 13 Rue Madeleine'' (1946) * '' Strange Triangle'' (1946) * ''

Carnival in Costa Rica ''Carnival in Costa Rica'' is a 1947 American musical film directed by Gregory Ratoff and written by Samuel Hoffenstein, John Larkin, and Elizabeth Reinhardt. It was released in Technicolor by Twentieth Century-Fox. Dick Haymes, Vera-Ellen, ...

'' (1947) * '' Thunder in the Valley'' (1947) * '' The Homestretch'' (1947) * '' The Late George Apley'' (1947) * '' The Brasher Doubloon'' (1947) * ''

The Shocking Miss Pilgrim ''The Shocking Miss Pilgrim'' is a 1947 American musical comedy film in Technicolor written and directed by George Seaton and starring Betty Grable and Dick Haymes. The screenplay, based on a story by Ernest Maas and Frederica Maas, focuses o ...

'' (1947) * '' Captain from Castile'' (1947) * '' Three Godfathers'' (1948) * '' Fort Apache'' (1948) * '' Somewhere in the Night'' (1948) * '' Mighty Joe Young'' (1949) * ''

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon ''She Wore a Yellow Ribbon'' is a 1949 American Technicolor Western film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne. It is the second film in Ford's "Cavalry Trilogy", along with '' Fort Apache'' (1948) and ''Rio Grande'' (1950). With a bud ...

'' (1949) * '' To Please a Lady'' (1950) * '' Wagonmaster'' (1950) * '' Night Into Morning'' (1951) * ''

The People Against O'Hara ''The People Against O'Hara'' is a 1951 American crime film noir directed by John Sturges and based on Eleazar Lipsky's novel. The film features Spencer Tracy, Pat O'Brien, John Hodiak, and James Arness. Plot James Curtayne ( Tracy) was ...

'' (1951) * '' Across the Wide Missouri'' (1951) * '' My Man and I'' (1952) * ''

Just This Once ''Just This Once'' is a 1993 romance novel written in the style of Jacqueline Susann by a Macintosh IIcx computer named "Hal" in collaboration with its programmer, Scott French. French reportedly spent $40,000 and 8 years developing an artifi ...

'' (1952) * '' Island in the Sky'' (1952) * '' Battle Circus'' (1953) * '' East of Eden'' (1954) * ''

The Searchers ''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American Technicolor VistaVision epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas-Native American wars, and stars John Way ...

'' (1956)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Basevi, James 20th Century Studios people British art directors Best Art Direction Academy Award winners 1890 births 1962 deaths Special effects people Artists' Rifles soldiers British emigrants to the United States