The era from the early 1950s to the mid-1960s probably was the busiest period of the British film industry. Many thrillers were shot in those years, including a great number of movies (and B movies) that often featured American actors; this arrangement would draw audiences to cinemas in England and simultaneously ensure interest for moviegoers […]
Psychobilly: Subcultural Survival by Kimberly Kattari (2020)
A 1980s blend of several earlier subcultures and youth movements such as punk, new wave, skinhead, rockabilly and even in part Goth, by the name of “psychobilly” is under the microscope here, mostly in an American context. The most important modern subcultures originated in England, so did psychobilly, with all the lore, idols, hangouts such […]
Law Enforcement in American Cinema, 1894-1952 by George Beck (2020)
In this short title, author George Beck takes a close look at some movies of the first half of the twentieth century that employed representations of American law enforcement, starting with silent era productions and chronologically end with films noir. Five sections altogether and a final coda chapter on roughly 130 pages consider stereotypes, good […]
Hillbilly Maidens, Okies, and Cowgirls: Women’s Country Music, 1930-1960 by Stephanie Vander Wel (20
Going back to the early days of medicine shows, vaudeville and traveling entertainment troupes, female performers they already had their regular part in the entertainment industry; and country music, or hillbilly music as it was first named, played a role in building up that reputation. For example, what in the 1940s was transported as “parodic […]
Vigilantes: Private Justice in Popular Cinema by Kevin Grant (2020)
When in movies a crime is committed against a citizen and neither the police force nor judges seem able or willing to catch and punish the assailant, mostly two options are presented to the victim/protagonist: to accept that the law and its divisions can fail sometimes, or to start a crusade against the aggressor all […]
Ready Steady Go!: The Weekend Starts Here … by Andy Neill (2020)
What was set up as a somewhat risky experiment featuring unusual approaches towards audiences, concepts and TV viewing habits, the live broadcast of the London based production Ready, Steady, Go! became probably the best pop TV show ever. As it united a fresh concept of live music (although until 1965, bands were only miming their […]
The Western Films of Robert Mitchum. Hollywood’s Cowboy Rebel by Gene Freese (2020)
Maybe one of the reasons why actor Robert Mitchum looked so comfortable and at home in western movies, was the fact that he bred horses, preferred the casual cowboy outfit off the film set, and seemingly simply played himself, whenever he took the part of the cowboy, the Sheriff, the outlaw or the weather-beaten stranger […]
Representations of Working-Class Masculinities in Post-War British Culture: The Left Behind by Matth...
When considering his main subjects, author Matthew Crowley emphasizes that there are many different ways to live a certain working-class masculinity, as there never was just one single “traditional” experience or one simple, unified path that would lead to such an experience for every English male working-class person in the mid-20th century. In his study […]
London Life. The Magazine of the Swinging Sixties by Simon Wells (ed.) (2020)
A so far unparalleled team of talented artists, publishing pros and design specialists in their respective fields, like Peter Akhurst, Jean Shrimpton, David Hockney, and regular contributors such as Joe Meek, Eric Burdon, and Marc Bolan for a short while were all connected to England’s probably most advanced magazine of the 1960s, London Life. It […]