Horror Film Stars, 3d Ed.

by Michael R. Pitts

Author	: Michael R. Pitts
Publisher	: McFarland
Total Pages	: 580
Release	: 2002-01-23
Genre	: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN	:

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John Carradine, Jamie Lee Curtis, Yvonne De Carlo, Faith Domergue, Boris Karloff, Otto Kruger, Bela Lugosi, Jack Palance, Vincent Price, Santo, and George Zucco are just a few of the 80 horror film stars that are covered in this major standard reference work, now in its third edition. The author has revised much of the information from the two previous editions and has added several more performers to the lineup of horror film stars. The performers are given well rounded career bios and detailed horror film write-ups, with complete filmographies provided for those most associated with horror, science fiction, and fantasy movies, and genre-oriented filmographies for the lesser stars.

RKO Radio Pictures Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films, 1929-1956

by Michael R. Pitts

Author	: Michael R. Pitts
Publisher	: McFarland
Total Pages	: 406
Release	: 2015-04-17
Genre	: Performing Arts
ISBN	: 0786460474

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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.

Nick Lucas

by Michael R. Pitts

Author	: Michael R. Pitts
Publisher	: McFarland
Total Pages	: 257
Release	: 2023-03-28
Genre	: Music
ISBN	: 1476648514

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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.

Columbia Pictures Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films, 1928-1982

by Michael R. Pitts

Author	: Michael R. Pitts
Publisher	: McFarland
Total Pages	: 389
Release	: 2014-01-10
Genre	: Performing Arts
ISBN	: 078645766X

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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.

Thrills Untapped

by Michael R. Pitts

Author	: Michael R. Pitts
Publisher	: McFarland
Total Pages	: 349
Release	: 2019-01-10
Genre	: Performing Arts
ISBN	: 1476673519

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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.

Astor Pictures

by Michael R. Pitts

Author	: Michael R. Pitts
Publisher	: McFarland
Total Pages	: 305
Release	: 2019-04-19
Genre	: Performing Arts
ISBN	: 1476636281

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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.

Western Movies

by Michael R. Pitts

Author	: Michael R. Pitts
Publisher	: McFarland
Total Pages	: 485
Release	: 2013-01-04
Genre	: Performing Arts
ISBN	: 0786463724

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This revised and greatly expanded edition of a well-established reference book presents 5105 feature length (four reels or more) Western films, from the early silent era to the present. More than 900 new entries are in this edition. Each entry has film title, release company and year, running time, color indication, cast listing, plot synopsis, and a brief critical review and other details. Not only are Hollywood productions included, but the volume also looks at Westerns made abroad as well as frontier epics, north woods adventures and nature related productions. Many of the films combine genres, such as horror and science fiction Westerns. The volume includes a list of cowboys and their horses and a screen names cross reference. There are more than 100 photographs.

Broadway Actors in Films, 1894-2015

by Roy Liebman

Author	: Roy Liebman
Publisher	: McFarland
Total Pages	: 317
Release	: 2017-02-07
Genre	: Performing Arts
ISBN	: 1476626154

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Many Broadway stars appeared in Hollywood cinema from its earliest days. Some were 19th century stage idols who reprised famous roles on film as early as 1894. One was born as early as 1829. Another was cast in the performance during which Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. One took her stage name from her native state. Some modern-day stars also began their careers on Broadway before appearing in films. This book details the careers of 300 performers who went from stage to screen in all genres of film. A few made only a single movie, others hundreds. Each entry includes highlights of the performer's career, a list of stage appearances and a filmography.

The Movies in the Age of Innocence, 3d ed.

by Edward Wagenknecht

Author	: Edward Wagenknecht
Publisher	: McFarland
Total Pages	: 225
Release	: 2014-10-01
Genre	: Performing Arts
ISBN	: 1476617643

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Upon its original publication in 1962, Edward Wagenknecht's The Movies in the Age of Innocence immediately earned recognition as a classic in the history of early cinema. A tribute to American silent film from the first-person perspective of one who grew up with the medium, the volume surveys the pre-feature and feature era of silent films from a distinctly literary standpoint and considers the careers of directors like D. W. Griffith and Erich von Stroheim, and actors such as Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Lillian Gish. With nearly 90 illustrations from early films, fan magazines and brochures, indices of film titles and names, and an appendix containing Wagenknecht's otherwise unavailable 1927 pamphlet Lillian Gish: An Interpretation, this third edition retains its significance today.