Allied Artists Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films PDF Download

Author: Michael R. Pitts
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 9780786460465
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Between 1952 and 1977, Allied Artists Pictures Corporation released over 80 feature films with horror, science fiction and fantasy themes, several of them featuring such genre stars as Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, John Carradine and Lon Chaney, Jr. Among Allied Artists' contributions are the classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers and the William Castle productions House on Haunted Hill and Macabre. Allied also released the camp favorites Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster, From Hell It Came and Queen of Outer Space, and imported European efforts such as Blood and Black Lace and Caltiki the Immortal Monster. Included here are detailed plot synopses and critical analyses of all of the films. Also covered are 22 features, including Little Shop of Horrors, made by other companies and released to television by Allied, and the studio's theatrical double-feature reissue of Paramount's The Blob and Universal's Dinosaurus!

Author: Rob Craig
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476612439
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
America in the 1950s was a cauldron of contradictions. Advances in technology chafed against a grimly conservative political landscape; the military-industrial complex ceaselessly promoted the “Communist menace”; young marrieds fled crumbling cities for artificial communities known as suburbs; and the corporate cipher known as “The Organization Man” was created, along with stifling images of women. The decade, huddled under the fear of nuclear holocaust, was also dedicated to all things futuristic. Science fiction was in its salad days, in magazines and novels and in motion pictures, trying every trick in the book to lure customers back from television, including reliance on monster movies. All of these forces collided in 1957, when an astounding 57 movies of the science fiction, horror and fantasy variety were shown in the United States—a record unmatched to this day. Reflecting some of the socio-political topics of the day, several are exceptional examples of their genres. This book critically discusses each of the films.

Author: Michael R. Pitts
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786460474
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 406

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Book Description
King Kong and The Thing from Another World are among the most popular horror and science fiction films of all time and both were made by RKO Radio Pictures. Between 1929 and 1956, RKO released more than 140 genre features, including The Most Dangerous Game, The Phantom of Crestwood, Before Dawn, The Monkey's Paw, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, You'll Find Out, The Spiral Staircase, The Enchanted Cottage, It's a Wonderful Life, Captive Women and Killers from Space. RKO is remembered for its series of psychological horror movies produced by Val Lewton, including Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie, The Seventh Victim and The Body Snatcher. The studio also produced films in the adventure, comedy, fantasy, mystery and western genres. They released many Walt Disney classics--Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia, Pinocchio, Cinderella, Peter Pan--as well as several "Tarzan" features. This volume covers these movies in detail with critical and historical analysis, in-depth plot synopsis and numerous contemporary reviews.

Author: Barry Keith Grant
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1838714073
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 694

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Book Description
A comprehensive guide to science fiction films, which analyzes and contextualizes the most important examples of the genre, from Un voyage dans la lune (1902), to The Road (2009).

Author: Michael R. Pitts
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 078645766X
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 388

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Book Description
From 1928 through 1982, when Columbia Pictures Corporation was a traded stock company, the studio released some of the most famous and popular films dealing with horror, science fiction and fantasy. This volume covers more than 200 Columbia feature films within these genres, among them Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers and The Revenge of Frankenstein. Also discussed in depth are the vehicles of such horror icons as Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and John Carradine. Additionally highlighted are several of Columbia’s lesser known genre efforts, including the Boston Blackie and Crime Doctor series, such individual features as By Whose Hand?, Cry of the Werewolf, Devil Goddess, Terror of the Tongs and The Creeping Flesh, and dozens of the studio’s short subjects, serials and made-for-television movies.

Author: Barry Keith Grant
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 0292745745
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 785

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Book Description
From reviews of the third edition: “Film Genre Reader III lives up to the high expectations set by its predecessors, providing an accessible and relatively comprehensive look at genre studies. The anthology’s consideration of the advantages and challenges of genre studies, as well as its inclusion of various film genres and methodological approaches, presents a pedagogically useful overview.” —Scope Since 1986, Film Genre Reader has been the standard reference and classroom text for the study of genre in film, with more than 25,000 copies sold. Barry Keith Grant has again revised and updated the book to reflect the most recent developments in genre study. This fourth edition adds new essays on genre definition and cycles, action movies, science fiction, and heritage films, along with a comprehensive and updated bibliography. The volume includes more than thirty essays by some of film’s most distinguished critics and scholars of popular cinema, including Charles Ramírez Berg, John G. Cawelti, Celestino Deleyto, David Desser, Thomas Elsaesser, Steve Neale, Thomas Schatz, Paul Schrader, Vivian Sobchack, Janet Staiger, Linda Williams, and Robin Wood.

Author: Michael R. Pitts
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476673519
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 349

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Book Description
Giving deserved attention to nearly 150 neglected films, this book covers early sound era features, serials and documentaries with genre elements of horror, science fiction and fantasy, from major and minor studios and independents. Full credits, synopses, critical analyses and contemporary reviews are provided for The Blue Light, The Cat Creeps, College Scandal, Cosmic Voyage, The Dragon Murder Case, The Haunted Barn, Lost Gods, Murder in the Red Barn, The New Gulliver, Return of the Terror, Seven Footprints to Satan, S.O.S. Iceberg, While the Patient Slept, The White Hell of Pitz Palu and many others.

Author: Gail Orwig
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476627975
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 380

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Book Description
This richly illustrated guide to dozens of California filming locations covers five decades of science fiction, fantasy and horror movies, documenting such familiar places as the house used in Psycho and the Bronson Caves of Robot Monster, along with less well known sites from films like Lost Horizon and Them! Arranged alphabetically by movie title--from Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves to Zotz!--the entries provide many "then" and "now" photos, with directions to the locations.

Author: Michael R. Pitts
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476690677
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
For more than seven decades Nick Lucas was an entertainer, beginning as a child street musician and becoming one of the most popular singer-guitarists of all time. He was a popular sideman in bands, and his solo career conquered radio, recordings, vaudeville, Broadway, films, night clubs and television. He is credited with being the first musician to replace the banjo with the guitar in big bands and on records, and with initiating the "intimate style" of singing, making him the first crooner.Nick Lucas' guitar playing contributed significantly to the instrument's popularity, and he influenced generations of players with his instruction books and by having a line of popular guitar picks bearing his name. He was the first guitarist to have a custom-made model, "The Nick Lucas Special." This biography comprehensively covers Nick Lucas' career as he entertained audiences in the United States, England and Australia, becoming a beloved star and influencing popular music to the present day.

Author: Michael R. Pitts
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476676496
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
Founded by Robert M. Savini in 1933, Astor Pictures Corporation distributed hundreds of films in its 32 years of operation. The company distributed over 150 first run features in addition to the numerous re-releases for which it became famous. Astor had great success in the fields of horror and western movies and was a pioneer in African-American film productions. While under Savini's management, Astor and its subsidiaries were highly successful, but after his death in 1956 the company was sold, leading to eventual bankruptcy and closure. This volume provides the first in-depth look at Astor Pictures Corporation with thorough coverage of its releases, including diverse titles like La Dolce Vita and Frankenstein's Daughter.