Description
Book SynopsisBecoming Carole Lombard: Stardom, Comedy and Legacy is a historical critique of the development and reception of Carole Lombard's stardom from the classical Hollywood period to present day. Based on original archival research, Olympia Kiriakou combines theoretically informed textual analyses of Lombard's performances and star image across different media (biographies, publicity materials, photography and film) with a critical engagement of the cultural, economic, social and industrial conditions that shaped her stardom. Sitting at the intersection of feminist film theory, star studies and comedy theory, this work presents Lombard as a case study to challenge the screwball canon and existent academic discourse about female physical comedy and the alleged delicate female body. In doing so, it formulates a new historical approach to understanding gender, femininity, and identity in Hollywood comedies of the 1930s. Moreover, this is the first research of its kind to offer a comprehe
Trade ReviewBecoming Carole Lombard is long overdue - through detailed archival research and thoughtful textual analysis of Lombard's films, Olympia Kiriakou provides the first academic study dedicated solely to Lombard, and illuminates the actress's versatile acting range, twentieth century proto-feminism, and Hollywood legacy. * Emily Carman, Associate Professor of Film Studies, Chapman University, USA *
A riveting, insightful, meticulously researched, and highly enjoyable book about an essential Hollywood film star,
Becoming Carole Lombard proves that Lombard was much more than just 'the Screwball Girl.' Olympia Kiriakou traces Lombard's shape-shifting star persona across diverse screen genres, revealing the profound historiographic value of her tragically curtailed career for feminist film theory, comedy and performance studies, and the history of American film culture. * Maggie Hennefeld, Assistant Professor of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, USA *
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Carole Lombard, The Screwball Girl? 1. "Carole of the Curves" gets Svelt: Carole Lombard Before Screwball Comedy 2. The Queen of Screwball Comedy 3. "Goodbye Carole 'Screwball' Lombard; Hello Mrs. 'Ma' Gable": Gender, Identity and the Classical Hollywood Star Couple 4. Lombard Gets Dramatic: Melodrama, Domesticity and Gendered Performance 5. "If Women Ruled the World": Lombard as Proto-Feminist Conclusion: Lombard's Legacy (1942-present) Bibliography Index
