Gordon Jennings, A.S.C. (1896 – January 11, 1953) was an American

special effect 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 wor ...

s artist. He received seven

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

(mainly for Best Special Effects) and was nominated for eight more in the same category. After starting 1919 in Hollywood as

camera assistant A focus puller or first assistant camera (1st AC) is a member of a film crew's camera department whose primary responsibility is to maintain the camera lens's optical focus on whatever subject or action is being filmed. "Pulling focus" refers to ...

he worked from 1932 until 1953 on the visual and special effects of more than 180 films. His older brother was cinematographer Devereaux Jennings (1884-1952), who filmed, for instance,

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...

's monumental '' The General'' in 1926.

Awards and nominations

Jennings received seven Academy Awards (mainly for "Best Special Effects") and was nominated for eight more. In 1942, he beat himself winning the Academy Award for his work in 1941 on ''

I Wanted Wings ''I Wanted Wings'' is a 1941 American drama film directed by Mitchell Leisen and based on a book by Lieutenant Beirne Lay Jr. The film stars Ray Milland and William Holden. The supporting cast includes Wayne Morris, Brian Donlevy, Constance Mo ...

'' with

Farciot Edouart Farciot Edouart, ASC (born Alexander Farciot Edouart; November 5, 1894 – March 17, 1980) was a motion picture special effects artist and innovator, a recognized specialist and innovator in the area of "process photography", also known as rear pr ...

against his second nomination for '' Aloma of the South Seas'' with Louis Mesenkop. In 1952, he was decorated twice for ''

When Worlds Collide ''When Worlds Collide'' is a 1933 science fiction novel co-written by Edwin Balmer and Philip Wylie; they also co-authored the sequel ''After Worlds Collide'' (1934). It was first published as a six-part monthly serial (September 1932 through Fe ...

'' and with an "Award for Technical Achievement". His last receipt of an Academy Award was posthumous, when ''

The War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by ''Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appear ...

'' was decorated during the 1954 ceremony. Won or decorated * 1938: ''

Spawn of the North ''Spawn of the North'' is a 1938 American adventure film about rival fishermen in Alaska starring George Raft and featuring Henry Fonda, Dorothy Lamour, Akim Tamiroff and John Barrymore. The picture was directed by Henry Hathaway and was an ...

'',

Academy Honorary Award The Academy Honorary Award – instituted in 1950 for the 23rd Academy Awards (previously called the Special Award, which was first presented at the 1st Academy Awards in 1929) – is given annually by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Moti ...

"for outstanding achievement in creating Special Photographic and Sound Effects in the Paramount production, Spawn of the North" * 1941: ''

'' * 1942: ''

Reap the Wild Wind ''Reap the Wild Wind'' is a 1942 American adventure film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Ray Milland, John Wayne, and Paulette Goddard, with a supporting cast featuring Raymond Massey, Robert Preston, Lynne Overman, Sus ...

'' * 1944: Scientific or Technical Award (Class III) "for the design and construction of the Paramount nodal point tripod" * 1951: ''

'', Category "Special Effects", not competitively but as Special Achievement Academy Award * 1951: Scientific or Technical Award (Class II) "for the design, construction and application of a servo-operated recording and repeating device" * 1953: ''

'', Category "Special Effects", not competitively but as Special Achievement Academy Award (posthumous) Nominated * 1939: ''

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

'' * 1940: ''

Typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

'' * 1940: ''

Dr. Cyclops ''Dr. Cyclops'' is a 1940 American science fiction horror film from Paramount Pictures, produced by Dale Van Every and Merian C. Cooper, directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack, and starring Thomas Coley, Victor Kilian, Janice Logan, Charles Halton, ...

'' * 1941: '' Aloma of the South Seas'' * 1943: ''

So Proudly We Hail! ''So Proudly We Hail!'' is a 1943 American war film directed and produced by Mark Sandrich and starring Claudette Colbert, Paulette Goddard – who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance – a ...

'' * 1944: '' The Story of Dr. Wassell'' * 1947: '' Unconquered'' * 1950: ''

Samson and Delilah Samson and Delilah are Biblical figures. Samson and Delilah may also refer to: In music * ''Samson and Delilah'' (opera), an opera by Camille Saint-Saëns * ''Samson & Delilah'' (album), released in 2013 by V V Brown * "Samson and Delilah" (t ...

Filmography

* ''

The Island of Doctor Moreau ''The Island of Doctor Moreau'' is an 1896 science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells (1866–1946). The text of the novel is the narration of Edward Prendick who is a shipwrecked man rescued by a passing boat. He is left on the islan ...

'' (1933) * ''

Peter Ibbetson ''Peter Ibbetson'' is a 1935 American black-and-white drama/ fantasy film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Gary Cooper and Ann Harding. The film is loosely based on the 1891 novel of the same name by George du Maurier. A tale of a love th ...

'' (1935) * ''

The Plainsman ''The Plainsman'' is a 1936 American Western film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur. The film presents a highly fictionalized account of the adventures and relationships between Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jan ...

'' (1936) * ''

If I Were King ''If I Were King'' is a 1938 American biographical and historical film starring Ronald Colman as medieval poet François Villon, and featuring Basil Rathbone and Frances Dee. It is based on the 1901 play and novel, both of the same name, by Just ...

'' (1938) * ''

I Married a Witch ''I Married a Witch'' is a 1942 American fantasy romantic comedy film, directed by René Clair, and starring Veronica Lake as a witch whose plan for revenge goes comically awry, with Fredric March as her foil. The film also features Robert Benchl ...

'' (1942) * ''

For Whom the Bell Tolls ''For Whom the Bell Tolls'' is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1940. It tells the story of Robert Jordan, a young American volunteer attached to a Republican guerrilla unit during the Spanish Civil War. As a dynamiter, he is assigned ...

'' (1943) * ''

Lady in the Dark ''Lady in the Dark'' is a musical with music by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and book and direction by Moss Hart. It was produced by Sam Harris. The protagonist, Liza Elliott, is the unhappy female editor of a fictional fashion magazine ...

'' (1944) * '' Rainbow Island'' (1944) * ''

Here Come the Waves ''Here Come the Waves'' is a 1944 American romantic comedy musical film directed by Mark Sandrich. It stars Bing Crosby and Betty Hutton. Plot The film opens with naval scenes and a chorus of WAVES singing ‘The Navy Song’ on stage, and conti ...

'' (1944) * ''

Love Letters A love letter is an expression of love in written form. However delivered, the letter may be anything from a short and simple message of love to a lengthy explanation and description of feelings. History One of the oldest references to a l ...

'' (1945) * '' Kitty'' (1945) * '' The Lost Weekend'' (1945) * ''

Two Years Before the Mast ''Two Years Before the Mast'' is a memoir by the American author Richard Henry Dana Jr., published in 1840, having been written after a two-year sea voyage from Boston to California on a merchant ship starting in 1834. A film adaptation under the ...

'' (1946) * ''

Golden Earrings ''Golden Earrings'' is a 1947 romantic spy film made by Paramount Pictures and starring Ray Milland and Marlene Dietrich. It was directed by Mitchell Leisen and produced by Harry Tugend from a screenplay by Frank Butler, Helen Deutsch and Ab ...

'' (1947) * ''

Wild Harvest ''Wild Harvest'' is a 1947 film directed by Tay Garnett and starring Alan Ladd and Dorothy Lamour. Plot Joe Madigan's crew harvests wheat for farmers. Jim Davis, a good mechanic who irresponsibly drinks and gambles too much, is fired by his frie ...

'' (1947) * ''

Sorry, Wrong Number ''Sorry, Wrong Number'' is a 1948 American thriller film noir directed by Anatole Litvak, from a screenplay by Lucille Fletcher, based on her 1943 radio play of the same name. The film stars Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster. It follows a ...

'' (1948) * ''

The Big Clock ''The Big Clock'' is a 1946 novel by Kenneth Fearing. Published by Harcourt Brace, the thriller was Fearing's fourth novel, following three for Random House (''The Hospital'', ''Dagger of the Mind'', ''Clark Gifford's Body'') and five collections ...

'' (1948) * ''

Miss Tatlock's Millions ''Miss Tatlock's Millions'' is an American screwball comedy film directed by Richard Haydn in 1948. Plot Movie stuntman Tim Burke is offered $1000 for a couple of days of work by Denno Noonan. Noonan was the "social secretary" for the mentally in ...

'' (1948) * '' Bride of Vengeance'' (1949) * ''

Song of Surrender ''Song of Surrender'' is a 1949 drama film directed by Mitchell Leisen and starring Wanda Hendrix and Claude Rains. Plot Cast *Wanda Hendrix as Abigail Hunt * Claude Rains as Elisha Hunt *Macdonald Carey as Bruce Eldridge *Andrea King as Phyl ...

'' (1949) * ''

Rope of Sand ''Rope of Sand'' is a 1949 adventure-suspense film noir directed by William Dieterle, produced by Hal Wallis, and starring Burt Lancaster and three stars from Wallis's '' Casablanca'' - Paul Henreid, Claude Rains and Peter Lorre. The film intro ...

'' (1949) * ''

The Furies The Erinyes ( ; sing. Erinys ; grc, Ἐρινύες, pl. of ), also known as the Furies, and the Eumenides, were female chthonic deities of vengeance in ancient Greek religion and mythology. A formulaic oath in the ''Iliad'' invokes ...

'' (1950) * ''

'' (1951) * '' The Turning Point'' (1952) * '' Thunder in the East'' (1952) * ''

Anything Can Happen ''Anything Can Happen'' is a 1952 American comedy-drama film directed by George Seaton, starring José Ferrer and Kim Hunter. José Ferrer stars as Giorgi Papashvily, who emigrates from Georgia in the Soviet Union to the United States and gradu ...

'' (1952) * ''

Son of Paleface ''Son of Paleface'' is a 1952 American Comedy Western film directed by Frank Tashlin and starring Bob Hope, Jane Russell, and Roy Rogers. The film is a sequel to '' The Paleface'' (1948). Written by Tashlin, Joseph Quillan, and Robert L. Welch ...

'' (1952) * '' The Greatest Show on Earth'' (1952) * ''

'' (1953) * ''

Botany Bay Botany Bay (Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...

'' (1953) * ''

The Stooge ''The Stooge'' is a 1952 American comedy film directed by Norman Taurog and starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. The film was released nationally in the United States in February 1953 by Paramount Pictures. Plot In 1930, entertainer Bil ...

'' (1953) * ''

Shane Shane may refer to: People * Shane (actress) (born 1969), American pornographic actress * Shane (New Zealand singer) (born 1946) * iamnotshane (born 1995), formerly known as Shane, American singer * Shane (name) Shane is mainly a masculine g ...

'' (1953) * ''

Stalag 17 ''Stalag 17'' is a 1953 American war film which tells the story of a group of American airmen confined with 40,000 prisoners in a World War II German prisoner of war camp "somewhere on the Danube". Their compound holds 630 Sergeants representi ...

'' (1953) * ''The Eternal Woman'' (1954)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Gordon 1896 births 1953 deaths Special effects people Best Visual Effects Academy Award winners Artists from Salt Lake City Academy Honorary Award recipients Academy Award for Technical Achievement winners