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

special effect Special effects (often abbreviated as 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 fictional events in a story or virtual world. ...

s artist. He received seven

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

(mainly for Best Special Effects) and was nominated for eight more in the same category. After starting 1919 in Hollywood as camera assistant 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 films during the 1920s, in which he performed physical comedy and inventive stunts. He frequently ...

'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 (American actor), Wayne Morris, ...

'' with Farciot Edouart against his second nomination for '' Aloma of the South Seas'' with

Louis Mesenkop Louis Mesenkop (February 6, 1903 – February 19, 1974) was an American sound engineer. He won two Academy Awards for Best Special Effects and was nominated for another in the same category. Mesenkop was part of the production team who received ...

. In 1952, he was decorated twice for '' When Worlds Collide'' 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. It was written between 1895 and 1897, and serialised in '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US in 1897. The full novel was ...

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

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

'',

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 Mot ...

"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 (actor), Robert Pres ...

'' * 1944: Scientific or Technical Award (Class III) "for the design and construction of the Paramount nodal point tripod" * 1951: '' When Worlds Collide'', Category "Special Effects", not competitively but as

Special Achievement Academy Award The Special Achievement Award is an Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPA ...

* 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

(posthumous) Nominated * 1939: ''

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...

'' * 1940: ''

Typhoon A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...

'' * 1940: '' Dr. Cyclops'' * 1941: '' Aloma of the South Seas'' * 1943: '' So Proudly We Hail!'' * 1944: ''

The Story of Dr. Wassell ''The Story of Dr. Wassell'' is a 1944 American World War II film set in the Dutch East Indies, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, and starring Gary Cooper, Laraine Day, Signe Hasso and Dennis O'Keefe. The film was based on a book of the same name by ...

'' * 1947: '' Unconquered'' * 1950: '' Samson and Delilah''

Filmography

* ''

The Island of Doctor Moreau ''The Island of Doctor Moreau'' is an 1896 science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells. It was published on 1 January 1896. The novel is set between 1 February 1887 and 5 January 1888. The text of the novel is the narration of Edward Pr ...

'' (1933) * '' Peter Ibbetson'' (1935) * '' The Plainsman'' (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 ...

'' (1938) * ''

I Married a Witch ''I Married A Witch'' is a 1942 American romantic screwball comedy fantasy film directed by René Clair and written by Robert Pirosh and Marc Connelly. Starred by Veronica Lake as the title character witch whose plan for revenge goes comically ...

'' (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'' (1944) * '' Rainbow Island'' (1944) * '' Here Come the Waves'' (1944) * '' Love Letters'' (1945) * '' Kitty'' (1945) * ''

The Lost Weekend ''The Lost Weekend'' is a 1945 American drama film noir directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Ray Milland and Jane Wyman. It was based on Charles R. Jackson's 1944 novel about an alcoholic writer. The film was nominated for seven Academy Aw ...

'' (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 Two Years Before the Mast ...

'' (1946) * '' Golden Earrings'' (1947) * '' Wild Harvest'' (1947) * '' Sorry, Wrong Number'' (1948) * '' The Big Clock'' (1948) * '' Miss Tatlock's Millions'' (1948) * '' Bride of Vengeance'' (1949) * '' Song of Surrender'' (1949) * '' Rope of Sand'' (1949) * '' The Furies'' (1950) * '' When Worlds Collide'' (1951) * '' The Turning Point'' (1952) * '' Thunder in the East'' (1952) * '' Anything Can Happen'' (1952) * '' Son of Paleface'' (1952) * '' The Greatest Show on Earth'' (1952) * ''

'' (1953) * ''

Botany Bay Botany Bay (Dharawal language, Dharawal: ''Kamay'') is an open oceanic embayment, 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 a ...

'' (1953) * '' The Stooge'' (1953) * '' Shane'' (1953) * ''

Stalag 17 ''Stalag 17'' is a 1953 American war film directed by Billy Wilder. It 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 ...

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

References

External links

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