Alain Silver

K. Hepburn

James Wong Howe

Based on 15 hours of interviews conducted by film scholar Alain Silver, this new book on legendary director of photography James Wong Howe (1899-1976) is a must-read for anyone interested in what happens behind the scenes on a Hollywood set from film aficionados to industry professionals. A two-time Academy-Award(r) winner and still considered one of the greatest cinematographers in the history of American motion pictures, James Wong Howe began his career in 1917 at Famous Players-Lasky as a camera assistant working on silent features directed by such pioneers of narrative cinema as Cecil B. DeMille. Promoted to Director of Photography in 1922, Howe spent almost three decades shooting A-projects while under contract at Paramount, MGM, 20th Century-Fox, Selznick International, and Warner Bros. then another twenty-plus years as a freelance cameraman. At those studios, he shot projects as diverse as the silent Peter Pan, Viva Villa!, The Prisoner of Zenda, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, King's Row, Body and Soul, The Rose Tattoo, Picnic, Hud, Seconds, and almost 60 sixty years after his first job Funny Lady in 1975. "It was the people who were interested in movies as a living art form, people that loved to experiment and found the results gratifying, who made the technical progress in motion pictures." Such comments by Howe about his career, his style, actors, producers, and directors with whom he worked, and his beliefs about what constitutes good camerawork are extensively annotated and profusely illustrated with over 500 images, many of which are keyed to Howe's remarks about specific scenes and shots reflect his direct, professional approach: "There must be a reason for all lighting: what it's for and where it's coming from." Howe provides considerable detail about his work with such producers and directors as DeMille, David O. Selznick, Hall Wallis, William Cameron Menzies, Victor Fleming, John Cromwell, Martin Ritt, Herbert Brenon, John Frankenheimer, and Sidney Lumet. Among the star performers discussed are Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Sean Connery, Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich, Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Greta Garbo, John Garfield, Cary Grant, Rita Hayworth, William Holden, Hedy Lamarr, Burt Lancaster, Vivien Leigh, Myrna Loy, Robert Mitchum, Paul Newman, Kim Novak, Laurence Olivier, Robert Redford, Edward G. Robinson, Ann Sheridan, Barbara Stanwyck, Barbra Streisand, Spencer Tracy, and Natalie Wood. Also included are the most complete filmography ever compiled of all of Howe's work (with some newly discovered credits), two essays about lighting and preparation written by Howe himself, a biographical summary, select bibliography, and a complete inde

A Career Interview

James Wong Howe the Camera Eye

Paul Duncan

Kobal Collection

James Ursini

(Applause Books). Film noir is one of the most enduring and popular genres in cinema. But it did not spring up spontaneously, fully formed. Rather, its origins can be traced to sources as varied as Victorian literature, German Expressionism, and American art and photography. In this comprehensive collection of essays that's packed with illustrations and artwork, a team of eminent scholars and film writers present thorough analyses of the influence of prototypes on the classic period of film noir. Some essays focus on particularly influential genres, such as the rogue cop film and "gothic" thrillers; while others discuss the choices of individual filmmakers, including John Ford and Alfred Hitchcock, in their most well-loved films. The editors and all of the featured contributors Sheri Chinen Biesen, Todd Erickson, Richard Edwards, Julie Grossman, Robert Miklitsch, Homer Pettey, Robert Porfirio, Tom Ryall, Marlisa Santos, Jesse Schlotterbeck, and Tony Williams are noted scholars in the field of film noir, most of whom have written book-length studies of their own. From the gangster and horror genres to social realism and Hitchcock's spy films of the 1930s, Film Noir Prototypes offers compelling accounts of the genre's influences. As befits the topic, over 300 illustrations keyed to the text capture the richness and breadth of the classic period's imagery.

Film Noir Prototypes

From Nosferatu to Interview with the Vampire

The Vampire Film

(Limelight). This bountiful anthology combines all the key early writings on film noir with many newer essays, including some published here for the first time. The collection is assembled by the editors of the Third Edition of Film Noir: An Enclyclopedic Reference to the American Style , now regarded as the standard work on the subject.

Film Noir Reader

Jürgen Müller

"Whether it's Double Indemnity, Kiss Me Deadly, or The Big Sleep, roam a screen world of dark and brooding elegance with this essential handbook to Film Noir. From private eyes and perfect crimes to corrupt cops and doomed affairs, editors Paul Duncan and Jürgen Müller examine noir's key themes and their most representative movies from 1940 to 1960."--Jacket flap.

Film noir

The photos in this book include production stills from many noir gems which illustrate the style and capture the impact of this atmospheric cinematic genre. The accompanying text explores the origins of noir and its history from the early 1940s to the present day.

Noir Style

The Film Noir Encyclopedia

"In this sumptuously illustrated volume, Alain Silver and James Ursini trace and discuss the appearance of the Vampire as a key figure in the folklore and literature (even comics) of many countries, including Central Europe, England, and the United States." -- Dust jacket.

In the 1930s the gangster film in the United States coincided with a very real and very sensational gangsterism at large in American society. Little Caesar (1931), The Public Enemy (1931), and Scarface (1932) borrowed liberally from the newspapers and books of the era. With the release of just these three motion pictures in barely more than a year's time, Hollywood quintessentially defined the genre. The characters, the situations, and the icons-from fast cars and tommy-guns to fancy fedoras and fancier molls-established the audience expectations associated with the gangster film that remain in force to this day. As with their Film Noir Reader series, using both reprints of seminal articles and new pieces, editors Silver and Ursini have assembled a group of essays that presents an exhaustive overview of this still vital genre. Reprints of work by such well-known film historians as Robin Wood, Andrew Sarris, Carlos Clarens, Paul Schrader, and Stuart Kaminsky explore the evolution of the gangster film through the 1970s and The Godfather. Parts 2 and 3 comprise two dozen newer articles, most of them written expressly for this volume by Ursini and Silver. These case studies and thematic analyses, from White Heat to the remake of Scarface to "The Sopranos," complete the anthology.

The Gangster Film Reader

(Limelight). Departing from the approach of its Film Noir Reader predecessors, this third volume in the series assembles a collection of interviews with film noir directors and a cinematographer, few of whom are alive today. Interviewees include Billy Wilder ( Double Indemnity and Sunset Boulevard ), Otto Preminger ( Laura ), Joseph Lewis ( Gun Crazy and The Big Combo ), Curtis Bernhardt ( Possessed and A Stolen Life ), Edward Dmytryk ( Murder, My Sweet and Crossfire ), and Fritz Lang ( Scarlet Street and The Woman in the Window ).

Interviews with Filmmakers of the Classic Noir Period

Film Noir Reader 3

Beginning with a general overview of film noir and covering its most important themes, this illustrated handbook provides instant and in-depth access to the film noir genre. Films covered include 'Double Indemnity', 'Kiss Me Deadly', 'Gun Crazy', 'Criss Cross' and 'Detour'.

Film Noir

This anthology of 20 essays features a mix of overview pieces, studies of individual films or series, genre perspectives, and auteurist analyses. The first nine essays are reprints from 1952-1975. There are numerous black and white movie stills. No index is provided. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR

The Horror Film Reader

"There was something about Robert Aldrich's artistic temperament that enabled him to transcend the apparent vulgarity of so many of his motion picutres. Besides the great films, such as Kiss Me Deadly which is certainly one of the finest examples of film noir, are several little-seen or underrated later works such as the revisionist Western, Ulzana's Raid, the gangster love story, The Grissom Gang, or the grim cop picture, Hustle. Aldrich's career has long deserved the detailed evaluation which this book provides." - Andrew Sarris

His Life and His Films

What Ever Happened to Robert Aldrich?

Robert Porfirio

Alain Silver deconstructs the key aspects of the Samurai film, from its focus on violence and death as a means of understanding life and the significance of swords and weaponry, to key elements and motifs such as hara-kiri, rebellion and nostalgia for Japan's feudal past.

The Samurai Film

Carl Macek

Presents an overview of the characters, themes, and motifs featured in film noir, including contemporary contributions to the genre.

The Encyclopedia

Los Angeles has always been as much a star in film noir as any actor, be it Humphrey Bogart, Barbara Stanwyck, Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner or Jack Nicholson. In L.A. Noir: The City as Character renowned film historians Alain Silver and James Ursini explore the world of noir cinema in the context of Los Angeles. The book features dozens of noir and neo-noir landmark films from Double Indemnity, Criss Cross, Sunset Boulevard, Gun Crazy, The Big Heat, Kiss Me Deadly, and Touch of Evil in the classic period (1940-1960) to such neo-noir notables as Chinatown, L.A. Confidential, Mulholland Drive, and Pulp Fiction. L.A. Noir illustrates how these noir films use L.A.'s diverse cityscape and architecture to convey a unique vision of urban corruption and existential fatalism, not only in the ever-changing, chaotic downtown of Bunker Hill, Main Street, and Chinatown, but in its affluent coastal communities (Santa Monica, Malibu) as well as its deceptively sunny suburbs (South Bay, San Fernando Valley). The authors deftly analyze the key films of noir while integrating them into the geography and history of this "dark city" which became such an important icon of noir literature and film. L.A. Noir is profusely illustrated with approximately 150 photographs-many of them appearing in print for the very first time-including production stills from the movies discussed, archival photos of the locations from the films and new photographs of the locations today, chronicling the ever-changing cityscape of this noir character-Los Angeles.

Alain Silver

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