Sabu / Michael Lawrence.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lawrence, Michael, 1973-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sabu, 1924-1963--Criticism and interpretation.

Sabu.

Sabu, 1924-1963.

Motion picture actors and actresses--India.

Motion picture actors and actresses.

Criticism and interpretation.

India.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

147 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 19 cm

Place of Publication:

London : BFI (British Film Institute) ; Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.

Summary:

The first Indian to become an international film star, Sabu rose to fame as a child actor in Elephant Boy (1937), and subsequently appeared in a succession of British pictures before relocating to Hollywood, where he died in 1963. Repeatedly cast in orientalist extravaganzas and jungle thrillers, he was associated with the 'exotic' and the 'primitive' in ways that reflected contemporary attitudes towards India and 'the East' more generally. In this captivating study, Michael Lawrence explores the historical, political, cultural contexts of Sabu's popularity as a star, and considers the technological and industrial shifts that shaped his career - from the emergence of Technicolor in the late 1930s to the breakdown of the studio system in the 1950s. Attending to the detail of Sabu's distinctively physical performances, Lawrence shows how his agency as an actor enabled him to endure, exceed and exploit his unique star image. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 'Starring' Sabu 7

2 Technicolor 45

3 Camp 71

4 Wash 91.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references, filmography, and index.

ISBN:

9781844575190

1844575195

9781844574551

1844574555

OCLC:

881659739