This illustrated overview presents a comprehensive comparative analysis of Screwball Comedy and Film Noir, two popular Hollywood genres that emerged at nearly the same time. Despite their contrast in tone and theme, ""Screwball"" and ""Noir"" have many narrative elements in common. The author defines the two, discussing their historical development and related conventions and offering detailed analyses of a number of films, among them The Lady Eve and His Girl Friday on the ""Screwball"" side, and Gilda and Sunset Blvd. on the ""Noir"" side. Two appendices offer a comprehensive filmography of Screwball comedies from 1934 through 1954 and a selected filmography of Film Noir titles, covering 1941 through 1958.

Extremely popular and prolific in the 1930s and 1940s, Cornell Woolrich still has diehard fans who thrive on his densely packed descriptions and his spellbinding premises. A contemporary of Hammett and Chandler, he competed with them for notoriety in the pulps and became the single most adapted writer for films of the noir period. Perhaps the most famous film adaptation of a Woolrich story is Alfred Hitchcock's ""Rear Window"" (1954). Even today, his work is still onscreen; Michael Cristofer's ""Original Sin"" (2001) is based on one of his tales. This book offers a detailed analysis of many of Woolrich's novels and short stories; examines films adapted from these works; and shows how Woolrich's techniques and themes influenced the noir genre. Twenty-two stories and 29 films compose the bulk of the study, though other films noirs are also considered because of their relevance to Woolrich's plots, themes, and characters. The introduction includes a biographical sketch of Woolrich and his relationship to the noir era, and the book is illustrated with stills from Woolrich's noir classics.

Jules Verne - Voila! - is a name that resonates with visions of fantastic adventures and images of exotic exploits. In his voyages extraordinaires, the noted French author integrates his encyclopedic knowledge of science and geography with his ability to tell fascinating and entertaining tales, taking his readers on unprecedented journeys across the globe, into the earth, and out into space. This revered writer, who with his boundless imagination had hoped to contribute substantially to the world of letters, has surpassed that expectation to become coincidentally a significant influence on film. This comprehensive filmography not only offers an incisive analysis of Verne's epic creations, but also presents an examination of the films inspired by his stories and characters. If one tries to think of all the films adapted from the works of Jules Verne, a fair sampling might be easy to come up with. If one looks more closely at the plots and motifs of many other films, science fiction and otherwise, their origins are revealed to have been derived from Verne. For example, most film enthusiasts are familiar with Disney's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and a few may even be aware of the 1916 silent version. But Verne's classic undersea novel also provided the underpinnings for such other movies as Fantastic Voyage (1966) and Innerspace (1987). The central arrangement is by Verne's title with a brief thematic analysis of the novel. The entry then presents in chronological order all cinematic adaptations of that work, allowing the user to make comparative analyses of not only the movies but also their relationships to Verne's original story. Filmographic data are provided for each adaptation, along with a plot synopsis that blends critical commentary with an examination of the connection between the movie and Verne's work.