Best Cinematography, 1934

Awards presented February 27, 1935

The nominees were ... 

• George Folsey, Operator 13 
• Victor Milner, Cleopatra 
• Charles Rosher, The Affairs of Cellini 

... when they should have been ... 

• Bert Glennon, The Scarlet Empress 
• James Wong Howe, The Thin Man 
• John J. Mescall, The Black Cat 

And the Oscar went to ... 

Victor Milner, Cleopatra.

Milner's win came on his second nomination, and he would be nominated again seven times. He had been a pioneering cameraman, first shooting newsreel footage, including the occupation of the Mexican seaport of Veracruz during the Tampico Affair in 1914. He moved to California in 1916, where he worked on the Westerns of William S. Hart and went to work for Paramount in 1925. He often shot the films of Cecil B. DeMille, including Cleopatra, which was a silly mess of DeMille's usual sin, sex, and sadism. But if the 1963 version with Elizabeth Taylor had been half as campy as the 1934 version, it might have made money. 

... when it should have gone to ... 

James Wong Howe, The Thin Man.

One of the most popular films of the year, The Thin Man was directed by W.S. Van Dyke, who was known as "One-Take Woody" for his no-nonsense get-it-done filmmaking. In fact, he was so speedy that he made four films that were eligible for the 1934 Oscar -- the others were Laughing Boy, Manhattan Melodrama, and Hide-Out. While working on Manhattan Melodrama, he had noticed the rapport between Myrna Loy and William Powell, and suggested them for the parts of Nora and Nick in The Thin Man. Howe had also been the director of photography on Manhattan Melodrama, so he was well aware of how the director worked. That they never worked together again could be only accidental, but Howe is universally recognized for his artistry and Van Dyke, well ... isn't, so there may have been an intentional parting of the ways. 

Howe, left, waits as director W.S. Van Dyke gives instructions to Myrna Loy and William Powell for a scene in The Thin Man

The Thin Man is so often thought of as a light-hearted comedy-mystery, with engaging banter between Nick and Nora Charles, and setups like the one in which Nick shoots the ornaments off of the Christmas tree with his new gun, as a mink-clad Nora watches, that it's worth remembering that it has moments of menace.

Howe brilliantly manages to give the film's serious moments a film noir look -- a decade before film noir became popular:

And at times he creates a fusion between the two, as in this shot of Myrna Loy:

Though not nominated for The Thin Man, Howe would eventually win for The Rose Tattoo (1956) and Hud (1964), and be nominated for eight more films, both black-and-white and color.