Focusing on the rise of the Shubert brothers, the narrative chronicles their transformation from humble beginnings to the masterminds behind a theater monopoly from 1905 to 1929. Their aggressive business strategies and flair for showmanship established 42nd Street as a vibrant hub of American theater, attracting legendary stars like Al Jolson, Carmen Miranda, and Mae West. The book highlights their impact on the entertainment industry and the cultural landscape of the time.
"The words are by Bertolt Brecht. The music is by Kurt Weill. The song is "Mack the Knife," the number-one song of Weill's internationally famous Threepenny Opera, originally performed on a stage in the Weimar Berlin of 1928. Its tough, sexy sound became, a quarter-century later, a signature song of America's greatest recording stars, among them Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra."
A revised and updated edition of the definitive study of film noir--the most original genre of American cinema--with a new epilogue by the author.
"A comprehensive study of the changing attitudes of America in the 1950s as reflected by the films of that decade"-- Provided by publisher
The story of the lives of performers associated with the Cotton Blossom, a steamboat plying the Mississippi River in the latter half of the 19th century
"Detours and Lost Highways begins with the Orson Welles film, Touch of Evil (1958), which featured Welles both behind and in front of the camera. That movie is often cited as the end of the line, noir's rococo tombstone... the film after which noir could no longer be made, or at least could no longer be made in the same way... It is my belief, Hirsch writes, that neo-noir does exist and that noir is entitled to full generic status. Over the past forty years, since noir's often-claimed expiration, it has flourished under various labels. Among the movies he discusses as evidence: Chinatown (1974), Body Heat (1981), John Woo's Hong Kong blood-ballets (e.g., The Killer, 1989) and the pulpy oeuvre of Quentin Tarantino." —Washington Post Book World
Looks at various film actors and actresses and discusses the importance of voice, body language, and physical looks in successful motion picture acting.
