Hitchcock's British films / Maurice Yacowar ; with a foreword by Barry Keith Grant.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Yacowar, Maurice.

Contributor:

Grant, Barry Keith, 1947-

Series:

Contemporary approaches to film and television series.

Contemporary approaches to film and television series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Motion pictures.

Hitchcock, Alfred, 1899-1980.

Hitchcock, Alfred.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (282 p.)

Edition:

2nd ed.

Place of Publication:

Detroit : Wayne State University Press, c2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

A reissued classic that examines the structure and themes of each of Hitchcock's British feature films. Originally published in 1977 and long out of print, Maurice Yacowar's Hitchcock's British Films was the first volume devoted solely to the twenty-three films directed by Alfred Hitchcock in his native England before he came to the United States. As such, it was the first book to challenge the assumption that Hitchcock's "mature" period in Hollywood, from the late 1940s to the early 1960s, represented the director's best work. In this traditional auteurist examination of Hitchcock's early work, author Maurice Yacowar considers Hitchcock's British films in chronological order, reads the composition of individual shots and scenes in each, and pays special attention to the films' verbal effects. Yacowar's readings remain compelling more than thirty years after they were written, and some-on Downhill, Champagne, and Waltzes from Vienna-are among the few extended interpretations of these films that exist. Alongside important works such as Murder!, the first The Man Who Knew Too Much, Secret Agent, The Lady Vanishes, and Blackmail, readers will appreciate Yacowar's equal attention to lesser-known films like The Pleasure Garden, The Ring, and The Manxman. Yacowar dissects Hitchcock's precise staging and technical production to draw out ethical themes and metaphysical meanings of each film, while keeping a close eye on the source material, such as novels and plays, that Hitchcock used as the inspiration for many of his screenplays. Yacowar concludes with an overview of Hitchcock as auteur and an appendix identifying the director's appearances in these films. A foreword by Barry Keith Grant and a preface to the second edition from Yacowar complete this comprehensive volume. Anyone interested in Hitchcock, classic British cinema, or the history of film will appreciate Yacowar's accessible and often witty exploration of the director's early work.

Contents:

Cover

Half-title

Title

Copyright

Dedication

Contents

Foreword by Barry Keith Grant

Preface to the Second Edition

Acknowledgments to the First Edition

Introduction

The Plea sure Garden (1925)

The Mountain Ea gle (1926)

The Lodger (1926)

Downhill (1927)

Easy Virtue (1927)

The Ring (1927)

The Farmer's Wife (1928)

Champagne (1928)

The Manxman (1929)

Blackmail (1929)

Elstree Calling (1930)

Juno and the Paycock (1930)

Murder! (1930)

The Skin Game (1931)

Rich and Strange (1932)

Number Seventeen (1932)

Waltzes from Vienna (1933)

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

The 39 Steps (1935)

Secret Agent (1936)

Sabotage (1936)

Young and Innocent (1937)

The Lady Vanishes (1938)

Jamaica Inn (1939)

Conclusion: Hitchcock's Imagery and Art

Appendix: Hitchcock's Appearances

Notes

Index

BackCover.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780814337035

0814337031

OCLC:

821725674