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The Cool and The Crazy : Pop Fifties Cinema

Stanfield, Peter (2015) The Cool and The Crazy : Pop Fifties Cinema. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, 236 pp. ISBN 978-0-8135-7298-7. E-ISBN 978-0-8135-7300-7. (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:50494)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.

Abstract

Explosive! Amazing! Terrifying! You won’t believe your eyes!

Such movie taglines were common in the 1950s, as Hollywood churned out a variety of low-budget pictures that were sold on the basis of their sensational content and topicality. While a few of these movies have since become canonized by film fans and critics, a number of the era’s biggest fads have now faded into obscurity. The Cool and the Crazy examines seven of these film cycles, including short-lived trends like boxing movies, war pictures, and social problem films detailing the sordid and violent life of teenagers, as well as uniquely 1950s takes on established genres like the gangster picture.

Peter Stanfield reveals how Hollywood sought to capitalize upon current events, moral panics, and popular fads, making movies that were “ripped from the headlines” on everything from the Korean War to rock and roll. As he offers careful readings of several key films, he also considers the broader historical and commercial contexts in which these films were produced, marketed, and exhibited. In the process, Stanfield uncovers surprising synergies between Hollywood and other arenas of popular culture, like the ways that the fashion trend for blue jeans influenced the 1950s Western.

Item Type: Book
Uncontrolled keywords: film history, genre, cycles, hollywood, culture, pop art, industry, formul, boxing, hot-rods, cowboy, costume, korea war, rock and roll
Subjects: A General Works
F History United States, Canada, Latin America
M Music and Books on Music > ML Literature on music
P Language and Literature
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Arts and Humanities > School of Arts
Depositing User: Peter Stanfield
Date Deposited: 15 Sep 2015 08:25 UTC
Last Modified: 17 Aug 2022 10:59 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/50494 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Stanfield, Peter.

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