Brian McFarlane

In this book, the first in a series on the Original Six teams, celebrated author Brian McFarlane has mined the rich past of one of the NHL's most interesting and colourful clubs. The result is a glorious tribute to Maple Leaf history.

The Leafs

It has been the hottest summer on record. For brothers Max and Marty Mitchell there isn't a lot to do but sit in the shade and wait for hockey season. Until the boys are nearly run down by a mysterious stranger, then they stumble upon the hideout of two dangerous bank robbers. All that is forgotten when a fire breaks out and rages through their town. Hundreds of families are left homeless. Businesses are ruined. It's the worst fire disaster in the area's history. Folks are hopping mad and demand answers. But the sparks fly when Max is accused of starting the fire! No way! Marty has to help his brother by finding out who really started that fire. Marty knows his older brother Max is innocent. Too bad Max isn't as sure. Don't miss Max and Marty in other exciting Mitchell Brother adventures!

Fire in the North

Geoff Mayer

The institutions and products of the Australian film industry have been extensively surveyed, yet few analyses consider the sources of the film revival that took place in the 1970s and 1980s. This book represents a body of thinking about Australian cinema that asks where the origins of films lie. The book begins by tracing the indebtedness of Australian cinema to the classical narrative style of Hollywood film-making, with its firm grasp of melodrama. It continues by comparing the problems faced by the 'high' British cinema of the 1940s and 1950s with those faced by Australia in the 1970s and 1980s in the attempts by both countries to establish national film industries. New Australian Cinema will increase the scope of the discussion about the revival of Australian cinema and help us to make cultural sense of the films themselves.

Sources and Parallels in American and British Film

New Australian Cinema

Details the life of the youngest goalie to ever play in the Stanley Cup Finals and the journey the Dawson City Nuggets took to play the Ottawa Silver Seven in the finals.

The Adventures of a Hockey Legend

The Youngest Goalie

Peter Puck needs to find the thief of the Stanley Cup and get the Cup back in time for the big game.

Peter Puck and the Stolen Stanley Cup

Anthony Slide

Produced with assistance from the British Film Institute, this is a comprehensive history of the British film industry from its inception to the present day, with minute listings of the producers, directors, actors and studios behind a century of great British cinema.

The Encyclopedia of British Film

Peter Puck

Peter Puck, hockey's most lovable expert, has returned to the ice, to living rooms across Canada every Saturday night — and now to the pages of his highly anticipated book, Peter Puck's Big Book of Hockey. With fast-paced humor, fascinating facts, and entertaining tales from deep within the vaults of hockey's past and present, Peter Puck's Big Book of Hockey introduces fans to the game all over again. From career-ending hits, lopsided score cards, stolen trophies, assaulted referees, and sabotaged ice surfaces, Peter Puck's Big Book of Hockey will leave fans in disbelief and wondering if the stories could possibly be true.

Fascinating Facts for Hockey Fans of All Ages

Peter Puck's Big Book of Hockey

Australian Cinema 1970-1985

One Hundred Years of Hockey

A captivating memoir from Canada’s foremost hockey historian and a beloved NHL commentator It’s been 85 years since Brian McFarlane first laced a pair of skates and tested the black ice on a tiny pond. And then he discovered the joy of hockey. Ultimately, there would be grade school hockey, high school hockey, junior hockey, college hockey, and, miraculously, two decades with the NHL Oldtimers anchoring his life. He was the rank amateur playing on a line with the Big M and Norm Ullman, facing off against icons like Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay at Maple Leaf Gardens — even scoring a goal. He suited up at the Montreal Forum, elbow-to-elbow against John Ferguson, before thousands of fans. (There was even a stint with the Flying Fathers who ordained him a “Bishop” after a hat trick.) Off the ice, in 1960, McFarlane was the first Canadian to be a commentator on CBS’s coverage of the NHL. He also survived 25 years of Hockey Night in Canada — despite confrontations with Punch Imlach, Harold Ballard, Bobby Hull, and Eddie Shack. Now, in this revealing autobiography, he remembers it all. For Brian McFarlane, it has been a helluva life in hockey.

A Memoir

A Helluva Life in Hockey

Fred Schepisi is one of the crucial names associated with the revival of the Australian film industry in the 1970s. The Films of Fred Schepisi traces the lead-up to his critical successes in feature filmmaking, via his earlier award-winning success as a producer in advertising commercials in the 1960s and the setting up of his own company. Unlike some directors, he derived from this experience a sure sense of the commercial aspects of filmmaking, as well as its aesthetic considerations. The volume also considers stories of his early education in a Catholic seminary, which he drew on in his semiautobiographical film, The Devil’s Playground, the success of which launched him as an exciting new feature director. The volume expands on Schepisi’s success story to chart his development as a director in demand in other countries, notably in the US and the UK, as well as continuing to make major films in Australia. Brian McFarlane argues that Schepisi’s career is symptomatic of Australian directors who have made their presences felt on the international stage. Whereas other key directors of the Australian film revival, such as Peter Weir and Bruce Beresford, have been the subject of book-length critical studies, Schepisi’s career has not to-date been so explored. McFarlane takes a critical account of Schepisi’s film output—including such standouts as The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Plenty, Roxanne, Six Degrees of Separation, Mr. Baseball, and Last Orders—and he augments analysis with interviews with the director. By discussing the production histories and both critical and popular receptions, McFarlane’s study shines a new light on Schepisi’s work and his rise to prominence in the global film industry.

The Films of Fred Schepisi

This is a book for all those who have been absorbed and moved by Brief Encounter in the seventy or so years since its first appearance. It explores the central relationship of the film, where two people who fall unexpectedly in love come to realise that there is more to life than self-gratification. Mores have undoubtedly changed, for better or worse, but that essential moral choice has never lost its power. While acknowledging this, the book goes further in an effort to account for the way the film has passed into the wider culture. People born decades after its first appearance are now adept at picking up references to it, whether a black-and-white scene in a much later film or a passing joke about a bald man in a barber’s shop.

The never-ending Brief Encounter

Not many can boast of careers that lasted successfully for nearly seventy years, but that is what both Googie Withers and John McCallum achieved. Googie portrayed everything from brazen murderesses to Lady Bracknell, taking in blonde nitwits, wartime Resistance workers, lady farmers and Shakespeare along the way. John not only performed memorably in all the acting media but also was a pioneer producer in Australian television – sending Skippy into the far corners of the earth – the managing director of a huge theatrical firm, and a film director, playwright and author. Just as remarkable was their 62-year marriage, not all that common in the entertainment world, and the way this worked is as fascinating as their varied and prolific careers. There were plenty of disagreements along the way but underlying all was their profound respect for each other’s work and a kind of love that was essentially complementary. Together, in professional and personal matters alike, an unbeatable combination. Brian McFarlane’s biography does justice to this remarkable pair – and reads as an absorbing story. ‘Brian’s book brings back wonderfully vivid memories of an important Australian past. Once I had met and worked with Googie and John I knew they were true royalty. Together, they made my life richer and gave my profession a finer meaning. This book brings them vividly to life. It is a great read.’ – George Ogilvie, theatre director and drama teacher

The Remarkable Lives and Careers of Googie Withers and John McCallum

Double-Act

Brian McFarlane's Original Six

The Blackhawks

This Infocus article discusses the film adaptation of Raimond Gaita's memoir "Romulus my father". Themes of belonging and becoming, and sense of place are explored and the way in which these themes shape the drama of the young Raimond's relationships, in particular with his father, is examined. The portrayal of the intense emotion in the film is also discussed.

Scenes from a Childhood

Romulus My Father

Steve Chibnall

This is the first book to provide a thorough examination of the British 'B' movie, from the war years to the 1960s. The authors draw on archival research, contemporary trade papers and interviews with key 'B' filmmakers to map the 'B' movie phenomenon both as artefact and as industry product, and as a reflection on their times.

The British 'B' Film

Hockey Hall of Famer and bestselling author Brian McFarlane sums up his passion for the game in a book every hockey fan should read. This is the true story of hockey as it has been played and reported for the last 40 years. For the first time, McFarlane shares his own story as a hockey insider. He goes behind the scenes of Hockey Night in Canada, telling us what it was like to work with Dave Hodge, Don Cherry, Dick Irvin, Danny Gallivan, and others. He reveals his many run-ins with the notorious Harold Ballard and recounts interviews with Gordie Howe, Wayne Gretzky, and dozens of other hockey greats (and not so greats). And, for the first time, McFarlane shares his childhood memories, including how his dad wrote the Hardy Boys books just to pay the bills, and how meeting legendary Leaf Syl Apps was the beginning of his own life in hockey.

Brian McFarlane's World of Hockey

First systematic theoretical study of the process in which works of literature are transformed into the medium of cinema. Draws on recent literary and cinema theory.

An Introduction to the Theory of Adaptation

Novel to Film

With well over 6,300 articles, including over 500 new entries, this fourth edition of The Encyclopedia of British Film is a fully updated invaluable reference guide to the British film industry. It is the most authoritative volume yet, stretching from the inception of the industry to the present day, with detailed listings of the producers, directors, actors and studios behind a century or so of great British cinema. Brian McFarlane's meticulously researched guide is the definitive companion for anyone interested in the world of film. Previous editions have sold many thousands of copies and this fourth edition will be an essential work of reference for enthusiasts interested in the history of British cinema, and for universities and libraries.

Brian McFarlane

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