eBook

Hollywood's detectives : crime series in the 1930s and 1940s from the whodunnit to hard-boiled noir

Mason, Fran

2012,2011

Overview

01 02 The study of detectives in classical Hollywood has often overlooked the B-Movie mystery series in favour of hard-boiled film, despite the fact that many of these crime series have a cult status among film fans. Hollywood's Detectives redresses the balance by examining key detective series of the 1930s and 1940s (including Sherlock Holmes, Charlie Chan, The Falcon and The Thin Man), as well as some that are less well-known (Michael Shayne and Torchy Blane) to explore the particular concerns and modes of representation within the detective film before the rise of hard-boiled and noir cinema. The book considers a range of concerns within the detective crime series, including the cinematic vaudeville of the B-Movie, the specific features of the detective film, the detective as an outsider and as a sign of disorder, ethnicity, national identity and class, while also examining the emergence and significance of hard-boiled and noir styles. 13 02 FRAN MASON Lecturer in Film and American Studies at the University of Winchester, UK,where he teaches in Film Studies and American Studies. He teaches and researches in film and culture with particular interests in Classical Hollywood Cinema, Crime Films and Postmodernism, andis currently researching Assassin Films and representations of the city on film. 19 02 Demonstrates a transition in Hollywood detective films during this period, from a focus on the 'whodunnit' style and the master-detective figure in the 1930s through to the development of the hard-boiled style and noir tendencies of the 1940s A new area of study - detective series have received very little critical attention up until now Fills a gap in the history of the development of film noir, which is a popular and widely-studied genre Taps into current scholarly interest in adaptation as most of these films were derived from literary detective fiction   16 02 Very little has been written on Hollywood mystery series of the 1930s and 1940s   Gates: DETECTING MEN: MASCULINITY AND THE HOLLYWOOD DETECTIVE FILM; SUNY Press 2006 (primary focus is on contemporary film, but offers some consideration of detectives in this period and genre as well) 04 02 Preface Exploring Detective Films in the 1930s and 1940s: Genre, Society and Hollywood 'Such Lovely Friends': Class and Crime in 'The Thin Man' Series Between Law and Crime: The Chivalric 'Criminal' Detective Englishness and America: Basil Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes Ordering the World: The Uncompromising Logic of Charlie Chan and Mr Moto The Rise of the Hard-boiled Detective Conclusion: Noir Detectives, Rogue Cops, Undercover Men and Police Procedurals Notes Bibliography Index 31 02 A study of Hollywood detective films from the crime series of the 1930s to the rise of the hard-boiled detective film in the 1940s 02 02 The study of Hollywood detectives has often overlooked the B-Movie mystery series in favour of hard-boiled film. Hollywood's Detectives redresses this oversight by examining key detective series of the 1930s and 1940s to explore their contributions to the detective genre.

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan,Palgrave Macmillan UK
• Subject: 20th Century and Contemporary Literature / American Cinema and TV / B films / Crime films / Cultural and Media Studies / Detective and mystery films -- United States -- History and criticism / Fiction / Film History / Film noir -- United States -- History and criticism / Film Theory and Criticism / Genre / Hollywood Cinema / LITERARY CRITICISM / General. bisacsh / LITERARY CRITICISM / Mystery & Detective. bisacsh / Literary Criticism and Theory / Literature, general / Palgrave Literature Collection / PERFORMING ARTS / PERFORMING ARTS / Film & Video / General. bisacsh / PERFORMING ARTS / Film & Video / History & Criticism. bisacsh / Screen Studies
• ISBN: 9780230578357, 0230578357, 9780230358676, 0230358675, 9781349367672, 1349367672