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This book offers a different take on the early history of Warner
Bros., the studio renowned for introducing talking pictures and
developing the gangster film and backstage musical comedy. The
focus here is on the studio's sustained commitment to produce films
based on stage plays. This led to the creation of a stock company
of talented actors, to the introduction of sound cinema, to the
recruitment of leading Broadway stars such as John Barrymore and
George Arliss and to films as diverse as The Gold Diggers (1923),
The Marriage Circle (1924), Beau Brummel (1924), Disraeli (1929),
Lilly Turner (1933), The Petrified Forest (1936) and The Private
Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939). Even the most crippling
effects of the Depression in 1933 did not prevent Warners'
production of films based on stage plays, many being transformed
into star vehicles for the likes of Ruth Chatterton, Leslie Howard
and Bette Davis.
Star Studies: A Critical Guide provides a lively introduction to
the major approaches and key developments within this key area of
film studies. It identifies a number of dominant themes, explains
major theories, concepts and methodologies, and explores the
diversity of approaches that have helped shape the international
study of stars and stardom. Comparing the stars and star systems of
Hollywood, Bollywood, China and many European countries, from the
early-twentieth to the first decade of the twenty-first century,
Martin Shingler considers the multiple functions of stars: as an
elite workforce within the film industry, as actors and performers,
as role models and cultural representatives, as icons and images,
as transnational and national symbols, and as commodities. The
scope of star studies is wide, historically and geographically, but
this book helpfully focuses on salient features of the discipline,
providing a cogent overview of star studies, while suggesting some
useful avenues for further research. Published in the BFI Film
Stars series, Star Studies provides an essential theoretical and
historical companion to the individual star volumes in the series.
Diana Dors was not only Britain's most successful sex symbol of the
1950s but also a popular entertainer who remained a major celebrity
until her death in 1984. Diana Dors: Film Star and Actor is
primarily a celebration of her film acting skills, providing
detailed analysis of her performances in a selection of films from
across the star's five-decade career, including The Unholy Wife,
Berserk!, and The Pied Piper. In addition to investigating Dors'
versatility as an actress by paying close attention to the
different ways in which she uses her voice and body, poses and
gestures, facial expressions and looks in specific moments from her
movies, Shingler also discusses the performance of sexuality,
gender and age, while considering her appeal for male and female,
gay and straight audiences.
Examines Diana Dors' film career, acting method, star image and
enduring celebrity Traces the development of Dors' film acting
across five decades and a range of genres Emphasises the
international nature of Dors' stardom and film work Celebrates
Dors' achievements as a film actor with close textual analysis of
her performances rather than dwelling on her personal life,
publicity stunts and tabloid news coverage Diana Dors became one of
Britain's most successful sex symbols in the 1950s and remained a
major celebrity until her death in 1984. This book examines both
her acting method and her celebrity. It provides a detailed
analysis of Dors' performance in a number of her films from across
different periods of her career, investigating her versatility by
paying close attention to her voice, facial expressions and looks,
body poses and gestures in specific moments from her movies. It
also discusses the performance of gender and age, as well as
considering her later role as a gay icon.
It reaches millions of people every minute of the day, it costs us
virtually nothing and yet we take it entirely for granted.
Superseded by television as the primary source of entertainment and
information, radio still has a unique place in the mass media
spectrum. While the textual properties and reception of film and
television have received considerable critical attention, until now
radio has only really been considered in terms of its history and
its modes of production. 'On Air' adopts a wide-ranging theoretical
and critical approach. It provides an in-depth examination of
radio's codes (speech, music, noise and silence),and the
conventions of using these codes and the dominant modes of
reception. The text offers a vocabulary and methodology for
analysing radio programmes, drawing on work by both media theorists
and professional broadcasters in Britain, Australia, and North
America. Written by an academic and a practitioner, 'On Air'
provides a critical overview of radio for media students, as well
as suggestions for practical activities, a time-line of major
events in the history of radio, and a glossary of key terms.
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