1st Edition

British Popular Films 1929-1939 The Cinema of Reassurance

By Stephen Shafer Copyright 1997
    291 Pages
    by Routledge

    288 Pages
    by Routledge

    Shafer's study challenges the conventional historical assumption that British feature films during the Thirties were mostly oriented to the middle-class. Instead, he makes the critical distinction between films intended for West End and international circulation and those intended primarily for domestic, working-class audiences. Far from being alientated by a 'middle-class institution', working men and women flocked to see pictures featuring such music-hall luminaries as Gracie Fields and George Formby.

    Acknowledgments, 1 INTRODUCTION, 2 MYTHS AND UNSUPPORTED ASSUMPTIONS, 3 DEPICTING THE WORKING CLASSES IN BRITISH FILM IN THE THIRTIES, 4 MISTAKEN IDENTITIES, 5 MISTAKEN IDENTITIES, 6 INTER-CLASS ROMANCE, 7 THEMES IN BRITISH FILMS, 8 THE EMPHASIS ON COOPERATION AND SELF-SACRIFICE, 9 PATRIOTISM AND CENSORSHIP, 10 CONCLUSIONS, Notes, References, Index

    Biography

    Stephen Shafer