Golden Horrors: An Illustrated Critical Filmography of Terror Cinema, 1931-1939 - Hardcover

Senn, Bryan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786401753 ISBN 13: 9780786401758

Publisher: McFarland Publishing, 1996

Synopsis

From the grindhouse oddities to major studio releases, this work details 46 horror films released during the genre’s golden era. Each entry includes cast and credits, a plot synopsis, in-depth critical analysis, contemporary reviews, time of release, brief biographies of the principal cast and crew, and a production history. Apart from the 46 main entries, 71 additional “borderline horrors” are examined and critiqued in an appendix.

About this title

About the Author:

Psychometrist Bryan Senn's work has appeared in Filmfax, Cult Movies, Shivers, Midnight Marquee Press and Monsters from the Vault. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.

From Library Journal:

Horror film is an increasingly visible topic of research, as demonstrated by these two books, which attempt to balance textual analysis and historical inquiry with different degrees of success. Jancovich (Horror, Trafalgar Square, 1994) targets the 1950s in his scholarly treatment of titles like The Thing from Another World, The Day the Earth Stood Still, It Came from Outer Space, and Creature from the Black Lagoon. Refuting the usual interpretation that such films display Cold War paranoia, he shows how American 1950s horror cinema offered a critique of consumer culture, masculinity, and scientific rationality. His insightful reassessment links 1950s horror cinema to novels and comics and concludes with a section on how films of the period established conventions and themes that would be revisited by Hollywood during the Reagan years. A good addition for most film collections. Senn's filmography of 1930s horror cinema is simultaneously less scholarly than Jancovich and more dubious in its final effect. Golden Horrors contains entries for 46 films, with each entry divided into sections on memorable moments, assets, liabilities, reviews, and production notes. Synopses occupy too much space, and Senn's evaluations comprise a bland mix of fannish enthusiasm and low-level film analysis. His samples from contemporary reviews are illuminating but too often limited to Variety and the New York Times. His production notes are always informative, however. Additional depth would be welcome, especially in one of the appendixes, which supplies more than 50 pages in minuscule type of borderline horrors, rare films, and foreign titles. While Senn (Fantastic Cinema, McFarland, 1992) undoubtedly knows his topic, it is doubtful that the publisher packaged his knowledge in a manner that will benefit any library.?Neal Baker, Dickinson Coll. Lib., Carlisle, Pa.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: McFarland Publishing
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0786401753
• ISBN 13: 9780786401758
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 518