The popular screen and stage star Laurence Harvey (1928-1973) is best remembered for his stellar performance in the film The Manchurian Candidate-a 20th century classic. Of his 50 films, Room At the Top not only brought sexual permissiveness to American and British screens and an Oscar nomination, but it also branded him a heartthrob sensation.For all his fame and fortune, Harvey's short life was riddled with controversy, demonized by critics, and fraught with tragedy. In this revealing biography by Harvey's sister-in-law, readers are provided a close-up view of his career, his three marriages and his longtime sexual affair with one of his male producers. It also details his battle with cancer and his failure to acknowledge its seriousness.Packed with personal anecdotes, more than twenty black and white photographs, and a filmography, Reach for the Top: The Turbulent Life of Laurence Harvey will fascinate film students, scholars, and fans of the actor.
This text follows the career of Peter Cushing, one of England's finest actors, from regional theatre to the role of the world's most famous detective. It details his career as Holmes through anecdotes and reminiscences from colleagues and Cushing himself.
From the silent era into the early days of television, hundreds of small production companies turned out low-budget films that were played as second features in this country and abroad. As might be expected, a high percentage of these films were Westerns. The people who made these films-producers, directors, writers, actors, and technicians-inhabited what came to be known as Poverty Row, eking out a living doing a job they loved.Author C. Jack Lewis spent 25 years in this world of low-budget Westerns, and here he portrays the human side of the industry through the many people with whom he came into contact as he worked his way from film to film. Highly personal, filled with rare glimpses of a life that lives only in the memory of a few, this narrative is a nostalgic memoir of a bygone time, of those who shared life on Poverty Row-and of the hard work, failures, successes, and dreams made or broken.Liberal use of photos helps readers identify the faces they have seen on their television screens in the reruns of these pictures still making the rounds. A must-read for students of film and popular culture-great for fans of Westerns as well.
Rungs on a Ladder looks at part of the movie industry from a unique perspective. Christopher Neame, son of director Ronald, started his career (in the early 1960s) at the very bottom, but determinedly made his way to the top. Neame fondly recalls his learning years at Bray Studios and beyond. Simply and often amusingly, he recounts his days with Hammer Films and observes many of the characters both in front of and behind the camera-names synonymous with those classic tales of Gothic horror: director Terrence Fisher, producers Anthony Hinds, Michael Carreras and Anthony Nelson Keys, screenwriter/producer Jimmy Sangster, and of course, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Along the way, he encounters those less obviously connected to Hammer like Joan Fontaine, Joseph Cotten, Norman Lloyd, and Bette Davis. Never the one to reserve his critical eye for others alone, Neame willingly says mea culpa when deserved. The book begins with his rude awakening to the "e;string and sealing wax"e; world of Dracula Prince of Darkness and follows his journey through sixteen subsequent productions including three Frankensteins, The Devil Rides Out (which American distributors thought was going to be a Western!), and a couple of Mummy films. Neame also shares stories of his participation in non-genre ventures like Quatermass and the Pit, The Anniversary, Demons of the Mind and Fear in the Night.Includes 16 pages of photos.
An essential text on filmmaking. In this book, some of the motion picture industry's most important directors including Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Howard Hawks, Louis Malle, Federico Fellini, Blake Edwards, Francois Truffaut, and René Clair answer questions on the decisions that all directors must make before filming a movie, the directors' sources of inspiration, and their philosophy of filmmaking.
Herbert Strock, head of his own production company, provides an in-depth guide for film makers. The book covers many topics including pre-planning, producing, screenplay writing, directing, acting, camera, insurance, publicity, budget and union relations.
This study of Martin Sorsese's films is intended as a close look at the cinematic text of the films themselves.
In the 1950s, Hammer Film Productions, a small British filmmaking company, introduced the world to a new genre of motion picture. Referred to by some as "e;horror,"e; by others as "e;fantasy,"e; Hammer films had a unique look and feel that many other studios would later attempt-and fail-to capture. Hammer films also had a unique sound. For although the studio was small and the budgets limited, those involved in making the Hammer films recognized that the musical score was just as important as the set, the actors, and the script in telling the story. Consequently, Hammer Films Productions recruited the best musical talent to make its films come alive. Those artists and the work they did are chronicled here in careful detail by Randall D. Larson. From the studio's fledging days, through its great successes of the 60s and early 70s, Music from the House of Hammer offers an inside look at how the "e;Hammer sound"e; was developed and nurtured.
This volume provides a collection of critical writings by professional film critics about Steven Spielberg and his films, bringing together many articles and reviews. The entries are both complimentary and critical and provide a comprehensive overview of the films and the director.
Now in paperback. William Desmond Taylor (1872-1922) was a leading silent film director remembered as the victim of Hollywood's most sensational unsolved murder, which shook the nation and shattered the reputations of several top Hollywood stars. Until now, Taylor's film career and leadership role in the Hollywood film industry have been completely overshadowed by the scandal of his death. By reprinting over 400 items from contemporary newspapers, magazines, and trade journals, the book reveals Taylor's life in Hollywood_from his arrival as a minor actor in 1912 until his death in 1922 as one of Hollywood's top directors. These annotated clippings and articles, many containing Taylor's own words, provide substantial insight into Hollywood life and film production during the decade that transformed Hollywood into the movie capital of the world. Included in the book is the most extensive filmography of Taylor's work ever published. Taylor's murder is also examined, including a critical analysis of two published 'solutions' to the crime.
Now in Paperback! Ronald Neame's autobiography takes its title from one of his best-loved films, The Horse's Mouth (1958), starring Alec Guinness. In an informative and entertaining style, Neame discusses the making of that film, along with several others, including In Which We Serve, Blithe Spirit, Brief Encounter, Great Expectations, Tunes of Glory, I Could Go on Singing, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Scrooge, The Poseidon Adventure, and Hopscotch. Straight from the Horse's Mouth provides a fascinating, first-hand account of a unique filmmaker, who began his career as assistant cameraman on Hitchcock's first talkie, Blackmail, and went on to direct Maggie Smith, Judy Garland, Walter Matthau, and many other prominent performers. The book includes tales of the on-and-off-the-set antics of comedian George Formby, and original accounts of his experiences working with Noel Coward and David Lean. This is not simply an autobiography, but rather a history of British cinema from the 1920s through the 1960s, and Hollywood cinema from the 1960s through the present. Aside from Neame's own writing, the book contains original commentary by many of his contemporaries and associates including Alec Guinness, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Shirley MacLaine, Walter Matthau, John Mills and Shelley Winters. Includes more than 40 photos!
William Beaudine began his tenure in film as an assistant to the legendary D. W. Griffith. At the height of his career, Beaudine worked for every major studio and directed many greats of the silent era including Mabel Normand, George Sidney, Laura LaPlante, and Tom Mix. When Mary Pickford returned to the screen after a year-long hiatus, she chose Beaudine to direct her comeback film, Little Annie Rooney. Beaudine's career continued through the sound era and well into golden age of television and beyond, where he worked on such programs as The Green Hornet and Lassie. In his unsurpassed employment of 60 years in the business, Beaudine racked up more than 500 films and in excess of 350 television programs. Until his death at age 78, he was the oldest active director in the business. Just before he died, The Canadian, his 1926 film starring Thomas Meighan, was acknowledged as one of the best films of the pre-sound era and received the Film Critics Award of the New York Arts Institute. In this detailed biography, author Wendy Marshall chronicles Beaudine's swift rise through the ranks, his triumph as one of the most successful directors of British comedies, his accumulation and loss of personal fortunes, his fall from fame, and his prolific work in television. Marshall corrects much misinformation that has been written about the director and has compiled the most complete list of his directorial credits to date. This volume will serve as the ultimate authority on William Beaudine's life and career.
To find more information about Rowman and Littlefield titles, please visit www.rowmanlittlefield.com.
An expanded and updated study of the thematic concerns and the underlying humanism and morality in Scorsese's films. Contains individual chapters on fifteen Scorsese films, the most complete Scorsese filmography available, and a host of illustrations.
The first full-length account of the life and work of Joseph H. Lewis, the noted director of films such as My Name is Julia Ross (1945) and The Halliday Brand (1957).
A survey of the impressive career of Hugo Friedhofer, composer for Hollywood movies. His life is examined through essays, personal letters, and interviews with film historians and friends of the composer, but the largest contribution is by Friedhofer himself in the form of an oral history.
Roberto Benigni's romantic comedy Life is Beautiful enjoyed tremendous success everywhere it was shown. In addition to winning almost every possible film award, including three Oscars, lavish praise and film reviews, it grossed over a quarter of a billion dollars-the most profitable Italian movie ever. Very few have questioned the movie-until now. With sharp, uncompromising logic and eye-opening insight, Niv analyzes the film and its script scene-by-scene to show why Life is Beautiful is very far from being the innocent, charming, and heartwarming film it appears to be. The author argues that the film not only lends support to the central arguments of Holocaust deniers, but is actually a quasi-theological, Christian parable which seeks to justify the extermination of Jews in the 20th century as divine punishment for the sin of the crucifixion of Jesus two thousand years ago. Life is Beautiful, But Not for Jews is a riveting book that simply and concisely raises some important and complex ideas about film and psychology in post-Holocaust civilization. It also serves as an elementary course in the appreciation of films and artistic texts in general and in deciphering their deeper meanings, teaching the reader to more clearly grasp the hidden significance of cultural processes. This is the first English translation of the Hebrew text.
Stereographer and film historian, Ray Zone, presents the insights of twenty-one professionals who have worked in the stereoscopic motion pictures field.
This first full-length biography of a legendary and award-winning Hollywood writer, producer, and director (Duck Soup, My Favorite Wife, An Affair to Remember, Going My Way, andThe Bells of St. Marys) explores the directors life as filtered through his art.
Provocatively capturing the controversy and sentiments surrounding this period of political imbalance, Actors on Red Alert explores the repercussions of the 1940s blacklist through career interviews with five prominent actors and actresses.
Providing more than just another musical profile, James details everything from his first encounter with Chaplin to his frequent visits to Switzerland when he lived at Chaplin's Manoir de Ban in Vevey.
A biographical account of the insights, memories and professional knowledge of Paul Landres. Director of many 1950s television series, Paul Landres reminiscences are mixed with the authors own narration.
This volume provides a collection of critical writings by professional film critics about Steven Spielberg and his films, bringing together many articles and reviews. The entries are both complimentary and critical and provide a comprehensive overview of the films and the director.
This is a study of one of the most enduring Westerns, High Noon, a film whose political, cultural, and thematic implications have had a profound influence on not only the genre but on filmmaking itself. Author Jeremy Byman examines the film's origin, its production, and the continuing debate over its significance in American cinema.
Many remember Charlie Chaplin's comic masterpiece, The Gold Rush, as the finest blend of comedy and farce ever brought to the screen. Far fewer remember its heroine, Georgia Hale (1900-1985).Seventy years after the film's appearance, Heather Kiernan brings Georgia Hale back to life in this edition of her hitherto unpublished memoirs. Research work embodied in her perceptive introduction clears up many uncertainties about Hale's life and provides an outline of her most significant years.Hale's own chief purpose was to describe her long and close relationship with Chaplin and his dual personality, which made the relationship at times a love-hate one. As Chaplin's constant companion during the years 1928-1931, she became a part of his social circle, meeting people as diverse as Marion Davies, Sergei Eisenstein, Ralph Barton, and Albert Einstein. The memoir effectively ends with Chaplin's marriage in June 1943 to Oona O'Neill.This unique book contains illustrations from the Chaplin archive, most of which are published here for the first time.
Discovered by Charlie Chaplin in 1919, four-year-old Jackie Coogan soared to overnight stardom for his title role in the silent masterpiece, The Kid. A string of successes followed, including Peck's Bad Boy, Oliver Twist, and A Boy of Flanders, earning Coogan a fortune of four million dollars. Dubbed 'The Millionaire Kid' by the press, he later had to sue his parents in a futile attempt to recover his squandered fortune. His later years were marked with penury and the cruel diminishment of his childhood fame. As an adult, he found work in character roles and gained unexpected but fleeting fame as 'Uncle Fester' in the series The Addams Family. He continued to make guest appearances on television until his death in 1984. In Jackie Coogan: The World's Boy King, Diana Serra Cary reveals the little-known and even less understood private life of this famous child star and his dysfunctional family. She looks at the highs and lows of an actor who reached the height of fame before ten and whose subsequent career took an inevitable fall. Cary also examines the conduct of Coogan's parents, whose behavior served as an unfortunate model for countless others who sought fame and fortune through their children's success. The author, a major child star (the former Baby Peggy), employs her own hard-won insight to explore the career and family woes of another in this fascinating account about one of the greatest child stars of all time. Includes more than 30 photos.
The author relates the film's subsequent history against the background of the worsening political situation in Europe. The events leading up to World War II were to have a profound effect on the future of the film. Aside from the political issues, the book describes the fascinating story of the making of an epic film.
For nearly 40 years, David Lynchs works have enthralled, mystified, and provoked viewers. Lynchs films delve into the subjective consciousness of his characters to reveal both the depraved darkness and luminous spirituality of human nature. From his experimental shorts of the 1960s to feature films like Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, and INLAND EMPIRE, Lynch has pushed the boundaries of cinematic storytelling. In David Lynch: Beautiful Dark, author Greg Olson explores the surreal intricacies of the directors unique visual and visceral style not only in his full-length films but also his early forays into painting and short films, as well as his television landmark, Twin Peaks. This in-depth exploration is the first full-length work to analyze the intimate symbiosis between Lynchs life experience and artistic expressions: from the small-town child to the teenage painter to the 60-year-old Internet and digital media experimenter.To fully delineate the directors life and art, Olson received unprecedented participation from Lynch, his parents, siblings, old school friends, romantic partners, children, and decades of professional colleagues, as well as on-set access to the director during the production of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. Throughout this study, Olson provides thorough analyses of the filmmakers works as Lynch conceived, crafted, and completed them. Consequently, David Lynch: Beautiful Dark is the definitive study of one of the most influential and idiosyncratic directors of the last four decades.
Young Man in Movieland is the autobiography of Jan Read, a young man from a quiet Scottish town, who seemed destined to follow in his father's footsteps. Instead of pursuing a career in chemistry, however, Read's passion for the cinema and a bit of luck led him in a completely different direction.
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