Driven to darkness [electronic resource] : Jewish émigré directors and the rise of film noir / Vincent Brook.

ISBN:

9780813548333

Title:

Author:

Brook, Vincent, 1946-

Personal Author:

Brook, Vincent, 1946-

Publication Information:

Physical Description:

1 online resource (1 online resource (ix, 285 pages)) : illustrations

Contents:

Introduction -- Jews in Germany : torn between two worlds -- Jews and expressionism : "performing high and low" -- The father of film noir : Fritz Lang -- Fritz Lang in Hollywood -- The French connection : Robert Siodmak -- Viennese twins : Billy and Willy Wilder -- The ABZs of film noir : Otto Preminger and Edgar G. Ulmer -- Woman's directors : Curtis Bernhardt and Max Ophuls -- Pathological noir, populist noir, and an act of violence : John Brahm, Anatole Litvak, Fred Zinnemann.

Local Note:

eBooks on EBSCOhost

Subject Term:

Film noir -- United States -- History and criticism.

Jewish motion picture producers and directors -- United States.

Format:

Electronic Resources

Electronic Access:

Click here to view

Publication Date:

2009

Publication Information:

Available:*

Shelf Number	Material Type	Copy	Shelf Location	Status
791.436556 22	1:E-BOOK	1	1:ONLINE	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

From its earliest days, the American film industry has attracted European artists. With the rise of Hitler, filmmakers of conscience in Germany and other countries, particularly those of Jewish origin, found it difficult to survive and fledùfor their work and their livesùto the United States. Some had trouble adapting to Hollywood, but many were celebrated for their cinematic contributions, especially to the dark shadows of film noir.

Driven to Darkness explores the influence of Jewish TmigrT directors and the development of this genre. While filmmakers such as Fritz Lang, Billy Wilder, Otto Preminger, and Edward G. Ulmer have been acknowledged as crucial to the noir canon, the impact of their Jewishness on their work has remained largely unexamined until now. Through lively and original analyses of key films, Vincent Brook penetrates the darkness, shedding new light on this popular film form and the artists who helped create it.

Author Notes

Vincent Brook teaches media studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, and theUniversity of Southern California. He is the author of Something Ain't Kosher Here: The Rise of the "Jewish" Sitcom and the editor of "You Should See Yourself ": Jewish Identity in Postmodern American Culture (both Rutgers University Press).