Song Without Sermon a Modern Rake's Progress

Woolf, James

Published by Creative Age Press, New York, 1950

313 Clean Pages. Dj Not Price Clipped. 1/2" Closed Tear Front, Just Above The Letter "S". Slightly Chipped Top Of Spine. Dj Yellowed Along Folds And Top Edges. Per Wikipedia, Sir John Woolf (1913 ? 1999, London) And His Brother James Woolf (1920-1966, Beverly Hills, California)[1] Were British Film Producers. John And James Founded The Production Companies Romulus Films And Remus Films, Which Were Active During The 1950S And 1960S, And The Distribution Company Independent Film Distributors (Known As Ifd), Which Was Active 1950?59 And Handled The Uk Distribution Of Films Such As The African Queen And Gift Horse, As Well As Several Films Made By Their Two Production Companies (Such As Room At The Top). The First Romulus Release Was Pandora And The Flying Dutchman (1951) With James Mason And Ava Gardner. The American Director-Producer Albert Lewin Had Begun To Prepare The Film For Mgm, But James Woolf Discovered On A Hollywood Visit That The Studio Had Cancelled The Project Because Of Lewin's Problems With The House Un-American Activities Committee. According To John, This Resulted In The Woolf's Concentration On Developing Transatlantic Projects.[2] Their Mentor, Alexander Korda, Advised Against Half-Financing The African Queen (1951): "Two Old People Going Up And Down An African River . . . Who's Going To Be Interested In That? You'll Be Bankrupt!". Korda Was Proved Wrong. From This John Huston Film They Gained International Critical And Financial Success. Two Further Films Directed By Huston Followed, Moulin Rouge (1952) And Beat The Devil (1953), But Were Less Successful. Romulus Became One Of The Most Significant English Production Companies Of The Time. They Made Several Films With Producer Daniel Angel And Helped Turn Laurence Harvey, Whom They Had Under Contract, Into A Star. In The Mid '50S They Formed A Partnership With Korda, Helping Him To Finance His Films, Including Richard Iii (1955). By 1959, They Estimated Their Movies Had Earned More Than £3Million Overseas.[8] John Woolf Became Interested In Room At The Top After Seeing An Interview Conducted By Woodrow Wyatt With The Novel's Author John Braine On Panorama On 8 April 1957.[9] He Bought A Copy Of The Book The Next Day, And Quickly Purchased The Film Rights. In 1971, Film Critic Alexander Walker Wrote About James Woolf: [He] Was A Rarity In British Films At The Time, And Would Still Be So If He Was Alive Today: A Man Of Taste And Judgment Who Loved Craftsmanship And Supported A Director Instead Of Suffocating Him Or Using Him As A Surrogate Talent For The Film He Himself Would Have Liked To Direct Had He Dared. He Was An Obsessional Filmmaker, Loving The Wheeling And Dealing, Relishing The Juggling With Human Talents That It Involved, And Taking Pleasure In Spotting Youthful Proteges And Promoting Their Careers, Thereby Gaining A Vicarious Satisfaction From Their Success That Was Lacking In His Own Basically Lonely Nature. Filmmaker Bryan Forbes Concurred: He Was A Midwife For Talent And Smacked Many Of Us Into Life. He Had A Quick Mind That Panned And Found The Nuggets Before Other Prospectors On The Trail Had Even Arrived At The Mine. Jimmy Was A Shield, Quite Fearless When Tackling The Front Offices. He Knew Everybody And He Was Rich Enough In His Own Right Not To Have To Depend On The Largesse Of Others When It Came To Getting A Project Off The Ground. He Had Taste: Taste In Actors, Taste In Subject Matter. There Was A Sadness About Him At Times Because He Had Demons To Fight, And In The End He Died Alone. Seller Inventory # 003150

Bibliographic Details

Title: Song Without Sermon a Modern Rake's Progress
Publisher: Creative Age Press, New York
Publication Date: 1950
Binding: Blue Cloth
Illustrator: Jacket By Peter Burchard
Condition: Very Good +
Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
Edition: First American Edition