Description
Book SynopsisPresents a social and cultural history of exploitation films. Analysing many films, such as "The Road to Ruin", "Modern Motherhood", and more, this book demonstrates that these films were more than simply 'bad' movies. It shows how they evolved during a period of forty years and how, during that time, they shaped public policies and attitudes.
Trade Review“An astonishing scholarly achievement, one of the most impressive books I’ve read in a decade. Schaefer’s research is broad and profound. This is not only
the reference work on the subject; it is a model of elegant argument.”—Matthew Bernstein, author of
Walter Wanger, Hollywood Independent“The exploitation film has enjoyed a cult following as ‘turkey cinema,’ ‘trash,’ midnight movie camp, psychotronic cinema, and the object of ridicule on
Mystery Science Theater 3000. Yet Schaefer’s book shows us that it must be central to any understanding of the way Hollywood cinema operates. This groundbreaking work will open up an entirely new field of film history.”—Henry Jenkins, author of
Science Fiction Audiences: Watching Doctor Who
and Star Trek
“When I was in the business I billed myself as ‘The Expert Exponent of Exploitation.’ I hereby bestow that shibboleth to the genuine, absolute, factual Expert Exponent, Eric Schaefer. Nothing more need ever be told about this subject.”—David F. Friedman, who was there when a lot of it happened, producer of
Daughter of the Sun,
Blood Feast, and other exploitation classics
Table of ContentsAcknowledments
Introduction:
“As Long as It Was in Bad Taste!” “An Attempt to ‘Commercialize Vice’”
: Origins of the Exploitation Film “A Hodge-Podge of Cuttings and Splicings”
: The Mode of Production and the Style of Classical Exploitation Films “You Gotta Tell ’Em to Sell ’Em”:
Distribution, Advertising, and Exhibition of Exploitation Films “Thoroughly Vile and Disgusting”:
The Exploitation Film and Censorship “No False Modesty, No Old-Fashioned Taboos”:
The Sex Hygiene Film “The Monster That Caters to Thrill-Hungry Youth”:
The Drug Film "Timely as Today’s Front Page”:
Vice, Exotic, and Atrocity Films “They Wear No Clothes!”:
Nudist and Burlesque Films Conclusion:
The End of Classical Exploitation Appendix 1 - Major Exploitation Producers/Distributors and Their Company Names
Appendix 2 - Filmography
Appendix 3 - Video Sources Notes
Bibliography
Index
