Screen Classics

Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Series Editor: Patrick McGilliganSeries Editor: Patrick McGilligan

Screen Classics is a series of critical biographies, film histories, and analytical studies focusing on neglected filmmakers and important screen artists and subjects, from the era of silent cinema to the golden age of Hollywood to the international generation of today. Books in the Screen Classics series are intended for scholars and general readers alike. The contributing authors are established figures in their respective fields. This series also serves the purpose of advancing scholarship on film personalities and themes with ties to Kentucky.Screen Classics is a series of critical biographies, film histories, and analytical studies focusing on neglected filmmakers and important screen artists and subjects, from the era of silent cinema to the golden age of Hollywood to the international generation of today. Books in the Screen Classics series are intended for scholars and general readers alike. The contributing authors are established figures in their respective fields. This series also serves the purpose of advancing scholarship on film personalities and themes with ties to Kentucky.

Format:

Hardback Paperback

Pages: 378

ISBN: 9780813141626

Pub Date: 12 Apr 2013

Imprint: University Press of Kentucky

Series: Screen Classics

Illustrations: 62 b&w photos

Pages: 378

ISBN: 9780813196497

Pub Date: 22 Feb 2022

Imprint: University Press of Kentucky

Series: Screen Classics

Illustrations: 62 b&w halftones

Description:

Charming and classically handsome, John Gilbert (1897--1936) was among the world's most recognizable actors during the silent era. He was a wild, swashbuckling figure on screen and off, and accounts of his life have focused on his high-profile romances with Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich, his legendary conflicts with Louis B. Mayer, his four tumultuous marriages, and his swift decline after the introduction of talkies.

Format: Paperback

Pages: 192

ISBN: 9780813141947

Pub Date: 01 Apr 2013

Imprint: University Press of Kentucky

Series: Screen Classics

Illustrations: 31 b&w photos

Description:

Throughout his career, Preston Sturges (1898--1959) was known for bringing sophistication and wit to the genre of comedy, establishing himself as one of the most valuable writer-directors in 1940s Hollywood. Today, more than fifty years after they were originally produced, his films have lost little of their edge and remain extremely popular. Intrepid Laughter is an essential guide to the life and work of this luminary of the stage and screen, following Sturges from his unusual childhood, to his early success as a Broadway playwright, to his whirlwind career in Hollywood.

Format: Hardback

Pages: 208

ISBN: 9780813136769

Pub Date: 25 Jan 2013

Imprint: University Press of Kentucky

Series: Screen Classics

Illustrations: 5 b&w photos

Description:

An Armenian national raised in Russia, Rouben Mamoulian (1897--1987) studied in the influential Stanislavski studio, renowned as the source of the "method" acting technique. Shortly after immigrating to New York in 1926, he created a sensation with an all-black production of Porgy (1927). He then went on to direct the debut Broadway productions of three of the most popular shows in the history of American musical theater: Porgy and Bess (1935), Oklahoma!

Format: Hardback

Pages: 392

ISBN: 9780813136905

Pub Date: 04 Jan 2013

Imprint: University Press of Kentucky

Series: Screen Classics

Illustrations: 98 b&w photos

Description:

Mae Murray (1885--1965), popularly known as "the girl with the bee-stung lips," was a fiery presence in silent-era Hollywood. Renowned for her classic beauty and charismatic presence, she rocketed to stardom as a dancer in the Ziegfeld Follies, moving across the country to star in her first film, To Have and to Hold, in 1916. An instant hit with audiences, Murray soon became one of the most famous names in Tinseltown.

Format: Paperback

Pages: 248

ISBN: 9780813136158

Pub Date: 22 Jun 2012

Imprint: University Press of Kentucky

Series: Screen Classics

Illustrations: 37 b&w photos

Description:

Originally published as Jack Nicholson: Face to Face in 1975, Jack Nicholson: The Early Years is the first book written about the enigmatic star and the only one to have Nicholson's participation. In 1975 Nicholson was just becoming a household name in spite of having already starred in, written or produced 25 films including classics such as Easy Rider (1969), Five Easy Pieces (1970), The Last Detail (1973) and Chinatown (1974). To date, Nicholson has been nominated for twelve Academy Awards and won three, has garnered seven Golden Globe awards, and took home the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award at the age of 57.

Format:

Hardback Paperback

Pages: 400

ISBN: 9780813136059

Pub Date: 01 Jun 2012

Imprint: University Press of Kentucky

Series: Screen Classics

Illustrations: 28 b&w photos

Pages: 400

ISBN: 9780813161235

Pub Date: 17 Feb 2015

Imprint: University Press of Kentucky

Series: Screen Classics

Illustrations: 28 b&w photos

Description:

The son of famed director and screenwriter Joseph L. Mankiewicz ( All About Eve [1950], Guys and Dolls [1955], Cleopatra [1963]) and the nephew of Citizen Kane screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz, Tom Mankiewicz was genuine Hollywood royalty. He grew up in Beverly Hills and New York, spent summers on his dad's film sets, had his first drink with Humphrey Bogart, dined with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, went to the theater with Ava Gardner, and traveled the world writing for Brando, Sinatra, and Connery.

Format: Hardback

Pages: 192

ISBN: 9780813136189

Pub Date: 20 Apr 2012

Imprint: University Press of Kentucky

Series: Screen Classics

Illustrations: 28 black and white photos

Description:

Regarded by many filmmakers and critics as one of the greatest directors in cinema history, Carl Theodor Dreyer (1889--1968) achieved worldwide acclaim after the debut of his masterpiece, The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), which was named the most influential film of all time at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. In 1955 Dreyer granted twenty-three-year-old American student Jan Wahl the extraordinary opportunity to spend a unique and unforgettable summer with him during the filming of Ordet ( The Word [1955]).Carl Theodor Dreyer and Ordet: My Summer with the Danish Filmmaker is a captivating account of Wahl's time with the director, based on Wahl's daily journal accounts and transcriptions of his conversations with Dreyer.

Format: Hardback

Pages: 384

ISBN: 9780813134222

Pub Date: 06 Jan 2012

Imprint: University Press of Kentucky

Series: Screen Classics

Illustrations: 53 b&w photos

Description:

Thomas H. Ince (1880--1924) turned movie-making into a business enterprise. Progressing from actor to director and screenwriter, he revolutionized the motion picture industry through developing the role of the producer.

Raoul Walsh

The True Adventures of Hollywood's Legendary Director

Format:

Hardback Paperback

Pages: 528

ISBN: 9780813133935

Pub Date: 17 Jun 2011

Imprint: University Press of Kentucky

Series: Screen Classics

Illustrations: 51 b&w photos

Pages: 528

ISBN: 9780813144443

Pub Date: 24 Sep 2013

Imprint: University Press of Kentucky

Series: Screen Classics

Illustrations: 51 b&w photos

Description:

Raoul Walsh (1887--1980) was known as one of Hollywood's most adventurous, iconoclastic, and creative directors. He carved out an illustrious career and made films that transformed the Hollywood studio yarn into a thrilling art form. Walsh belonged to that early generation of directors -- along with John Ford and Howard Hawks -- who worked in the fledgling film industry of the early twentieth century, learning to make movies with shoestring budgets.

Format: Hardback

Pages: 344

ISBN: 9780813129761

Pub Date: 01 Apr 2011

Imprint: University Press of Kentucky

Series: Screen Classics

Illustrations: 29 b&w photos

Description:

Arthur Penn: American Director is the comprehensive biography of one of the twentieth century's most influential filmmakers. Thematic chapters lucidly convey the story of Penn's life and career, as well as pertinent events in the history of American film, theater, and television. In the process of tracing the full spectrum of his career, Arthur Penn reveals the enormous scope of Penn's talent and his profound impact on the entertainment industry in an accessible, engaging account of the well-known director's life.

Format:

Hardback Paperback

Pages: 410

ISBN: 9780813126432

Pub Date: 29 Nov 2010

Imprint: University Press of Kentucky

Series: Screen Classics

Illustrations: 62 b&w photos

Pages: 410

ISBN: 9780813154084

Pub Date: 30 Nov 2021

Imprint: University Press of Kentucky

Series: Screen Classics

Illustrations: 62 b&w photos

Description:

Characterized by grandiose song-and-dance numbers featuring ornate geometric patterns and mimicked in many modern films, Busby Berkeley's unique artistry is as recognizable and striking as ever. From his years on Broadway to the director's chair, Berkeley is notorious for his inventiveness and signature style. Through sensational films like 42nd Street (1933), Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933), Footlight Parade (1933), and Dames (1934), Berkeley sought to distract audiences from the troubles of the Great Depression.

Format: Hardback

Pages: 304

ISBN: 9780813126012

Pub Date: 29 Oct 2010

Imprint: University Press of Kentucky

Series: Screen Classics

Illustrations: 42 b&w photos

Description:

Belligerent and evasive, Josef von Sternberg chose to ignore his illegitimate birth in Austria, deprived New York childhood, abusive father, and lack of education. The director who strutted onto the set in a turban, riding breeches, or a silk robe embraced his new persona as a world traveller, collected modern art, drove a Rolls Royce, and earned three times as much as the president. Von Sternberg traces the choices that carried the unique director from poverty in Vienna to power in Hollywood, including his eventual ostracism in Japan.

Format:

Hardback Paperback

Pages: 312

ISBN: 9780813126043

Pub Date: 13 Aug 2010

Imprint: University Press of Kentucky

Series: Screen Classics

Illustrations: 30 b&w photos, 1 chart

Pages: 312

ISBN: 9780813136547

Pub Date: 01 Feb 2012

Imprint: University Press of Kentucky

Series: Screen Classics

Illustrations: 30 b&w photos, 1 chart

Description:

Hedy Lamarr's life was punctuated by salacious rumors and public scandal, but it was her stunning looks and classic Hollywood glamour that continuously captivated audiences. Born Hedwig Kiesler, she escaped an unhappy marriage with arms dealer Fritz Mandl in Austria to try her luck in Hollywood, where her striking appearance made her a screen legend. Her notorious nude role in the erotic Czech film Ecstasy (1933), as well as her work with Cecil B.

Format: Paperback

Pages: 304

ISBN: 9780813192611

Pub Date: 05 Feb 2010

Imprint: University Press of Kentucky

Series: Screen Classics

Illustrations: 63 photographs

Description:

Late in Claude Rains's distinguished career, a reverent film journalist wrote that Rains "was as much a cinematic institution as the medium itself." In Claude Rains: An Actor's Voice, noted Hollywood historian David J. Skal draws on more than thirty hours of newly-released Rains interviews to create the first full-length biography of the actor nominated multiple times for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Format: Hardback

Pages: 464

ISBN: 9780813125701

Pub Date: 05 Feb 2010

Imprint: University Press of Kentucky

Series: Screen Classics

Illustrations: 47 b&w photos

Description:

One of the most accomplished writers and directors of classic Hollywood, Billy Wilder (1906--2002) directed numerous acclaimed films, including Sunset Boulevard (1950), Sabrina (1954), The Seven Year Itch (1955), Witness for the Prosecution (1957), and Some Like It Hot (1959). Featuring Gene D. Phillips's unique, in-depth critical approach, Some Like It Wilder: The Life and Controversial Films of Billy Wilder provides a groundbreaking overview of a filmmaking icon.

Format:

Hardback Paperback

Pages: 440

ISBN: 9780813125381

Pub Date: 17 Apr 2009

Imprint: University Press of Kentucky

Series: Screen Classics

Illustrations: 47

Pages: 440

ISBN: 9780813134635

Pub Date: 01 Dec 2011

Imprint: University Press of Kentucky

Series: Screen Classics

Illustrations: 47

Description:

Hal Ashby set the standard for subsequent independent filmmakers by crafting unique, thoughtful, and challenging films that continue to influence new generations of directors. Initially finding success as an editor, Ashby won an Academy Award for editing In the Heat of the Night (1967), and he translated his skills as an editor into a career as one of the quintessential directors of 1970s. Perhaps best remembered for the enduring cult classic Harold and Maude (1971), Ashby quickly became known for melding quirky comedy and intense drama with performances from A-list actors such as Jack Nicholson in The Last Detail (1973), Warren Beatty and Goldie Hawn in Shampoo (1975), Jon Voight and Jane Fonda in Coming Home (1978), and Peter Sellers and Shirley MacLaine in Being There (1979).