Description
Book SynopsisBody and Soul explores the work of Robert Aldrich, a producer and director responsible for several notable films, including The Flight of the Phoenix, The Dirty Dozen, Too Late the Hero, The Longest Yard and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Author Tony Williams examines the relationship of Aldrich''s films to the Cultural Front movement of the 1930s as well as to the blacklist of the 1950s. He also delineates Aldrich''s attempts to follow the progressive ideals of such mentors as Jean Renoir, Lewis Milestone, and Charlie Chaplin. From the noir classic Kiss Me Deadly to the controversial thriller Twilight''s Last Gleaming, Body and Soul focuses on the dilemmasboth personal and politicalthat affect individuals in all of Aldrich''s films.
Trade ReviewRecommended. All collections; all levels. * CHOICE *
In this critical study of the director and producer of such films as The Dirty Dozen, Kiss Me Deadly, and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, Williams...places Aldrich in his cultural and social context. Williams explores Aldrich's relationship to the cultural front of the 1930s, the blacklist of the 1950s and to his mentors and contemporaries. In addition to his study of Aldrich's personal and political dilemmas, Williams provides careful and insightful readings of his films. * Reference and Research Book News *
...an admirable and rigorous addition to film studies in general and to an understanding of the films of Aldrich in particular. In the space of 350 densely argued and superbly documented pages the author makes out a persuasive case for seeing the director as an auteur... -- Reynold Humphries, Professor of Film Studies, University of Lille III
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Acknowledgments Chapter 2 Introduction Chapter 3 Chapter One: Odets and Aldrich Chapter 4 Chapter Two: Enterprise and After Chapter 5 Chapter Three: Television Work Chapter 6 Chapter Four: Apocalyptic Noir Chapter 7 Chapter Five: The Western Odyssey Chapter 8 Chapter Six: Melodrama, Authoritarianism, and Hysteria Chapter 9 Chapter Seven: The Private War of Robert Aldrich Chapter 10 Chapter Eight: The Game of Self-Respect Chapter 11 Chapter Nine: Twilight's Last Gleaming Chapter 12 Chapter Ten: Conclusion Chapter 13 Appendix: The Last Days of Sodom and Gomorrah Chapter 14 Filmography Chapter 15 Bibliography Chapter 16 Index Chapter 17 About the Author
