Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
1 Horror in Three Dimensions: House of Wax and Creature from
the Black Lagoon 16
2 The Color of Blood: Hammer Films and Curse of Frankenstein
43
3 “Look into the Hypnotic Eye!”: Exhibitor Financing and
Distributor Hype in Fifties Horror Cinema 63
4 “A Sissified Bela Lugosi”: Vincent Price, William Castle,
and AIP’s Poe Adaptations 90
5 Grind House or Art House?: Astor Pictures and Peeping Tom
113
6 American International Goes International: New Markets,
Runaway Productions, and Black Sabbath 134
7 Television Syndication and the Birth of the “Orphans”:
Horror Films in the Local TV Market 154
8 Demon Children and the Birth of Adult Horror: William
Castle, Roman Polanski, and Rosemary’s Baby 180
9 Family Monsters and Urban Matinees: Continental
Distributing and Night of the Living Dead 202
Conclusion: The Horror Film in the New Hollywood 221
Appendix: Feature Film Packages in Television Syndication,
1955-1968 229
Notes 263
Bibliography 295
Index 305
The history of horror films and the horror film industry in the 1950s and 1960s
Horror in three dimensions: House of Wax and Creature from the Black Lagoon; The color of blood: Hammer Films and The Curse of Frankenstein; "Look into the hypnotic eye!": Exhibitor financing and distributor hype in Fifties horror cinema; "A sissified Bela Lugosi": Vincent Price, William Castle and AIP's Poe adaptations; Grind house or art house?: Astor Pictures and Peeping Tom; American International goes international: New markets, Runaway Productions and Black Sabbath; Television syndication and the birth of the "orphans": Horror films in the local TV market; Demon children and the birth of adult horror: William Castle, Roman Polanski and Rosemary's Baby; Family monsters and urban matinees: Continental distribution and Night of the living Dead; The horror film in the new Hollywood
The history of horror films and the horror film industry in the 1950s and 1960s
Kevin Heffernan is Assistant Professor in the Division of Cinema-Television at Southern Methodist University. He is the coauthor of My Son Divine and co-screenwriter and associate producer of the documentary Divine Trash, winner of the Filmmakers Trophy at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival.
"As someone who grew up watching late night chiller feature series on television, reading Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, listening to haunted house sound effects records, and making my own super-8 monster movies, I read Kevin Heffernan's book with nostalgia and delight. He provides the historical, cultural, and economic context for many of the texts and artifacts of my own misbegotten youth." Henry Jenkins, coeditor of Hop on Pop: The Politics and Pleasures of Popular Culture "This is the kind of book on horror film that I've been waiting years to read. Combining a historian's rigor and a fan's enthusiasm, Kevin Heffernan shows us how industrial considerations shaped the genre and how the marginalized horror film has in fact been at the center of changes in the American movie business for the past fifty years." Eric Schaefer, author of "Bold! Daring! Shocking! True!": A History of Exploitation Films, 1919-1959
"As someone who grew up watching late night chiller feature series on television, reading Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, listening to haunted house sound effects records, and making my own super-8 monster movies, I read Kevin Heffernan's book with nostalgia and delight. He provides the historical, cultural, and economic context for many of the texts and artifacts of my own misbegotten youth." Henry Jenkins, coeditor of Hop on Pop: The Politics and Pleasures of Popular Culture "This is the kind of book on horror film that I've been waiting years to read. Combining a historian's rigor and a fan's enthusiasm, Kevin Heffernan shows us how industrial considerations shaped the genre and how the marginalized horror film has in fact been at the center of changes in the American movie business for the past fifty years." Eric Schaefer, author of "Bold! Daring! Shocking! True!": A History of Exploitation Films, 1919-1959
 |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
