1st Edition

Classical Hollywood Film Cycles

By Zoe Wallin Copyright 2019
    298 Pages
    by Routledge

    298 Pages
    by Routledge

    This book explores the ways in which Hollywood film cycles from the 1930s to the 1960s were shaped by their surrounding industrial contexts and market environments, to build an inclusive conception of the form, operation, and function of film cycles.



    By foregrounding patterns of distribution, spaces of exhibition, and modes of consumption as key components of the form and mechanics of cycles, this book develops a methodology for defining cycles based on an analysis of the industry and trade discourse. Applying her unique framework to six case studies of different cycles, Zoe Wallin blends a wide range of historical sources to analyze the many cultural, social, political, aesthetic, and industrial contexts relevant to these films.



    This book makes an important contribution to the literature in the area of film historiography, and will be of interest to any scholars of film studies, history and media studies.

    Introduction Chapter One: ‘Pictures Seem to Run in Cycles’: Industry Discourse and the Economics of Cycles Chapter Two: The Girl Reporter Pictures: Programmer Cycles and Modes of SerialityChapter Three: The Prestige Cycle of Historical Biopics: Measuring the DelugeChapter Four: The Wartime Musical Revues: Cycles, Topicality and Industrial Flux Chapter Five: The Anti-Prejudice Pictures and the Process of Cycles Chapter Six: The Biblical Epics: Blockbuster Cycles and Market Control in the ‘New Era’ Chapter Seven: Beach Party Pictures: Independent Production, Circulation and Market Exploitation Chapter Eight: Conclusion: Cycles in Post-Classical Hollywood

    Biography

    Zoe Wallin is a Research Associate in the Department of Screen and Media at Flinders University, South Australia.