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Overview

The constellation of Hollywood stars burned brightly in the 1950s, even as the industry fell on hard economic times. Major artists of the 1940s—James Stewart, Jerry Lewis, and Gregory Peck—continued to exert a magical appeal but the younger generation of moviegoers was soon enthralled by an emerging cast, led by James Dean and Marlon Brando. They, among others, ushered in a provocative acting style, "the Method," bringing hard-edged, realistic performances to the screen. Adult-oriented small-budget dramas were ideal showcases for Method actors, startlingly realized when Brando seized the screen in On the Waterfront. But, with competition from television looming, Hollywood also featured film-making of epic proportion—Ben-Hur and other cinema wonders rode onto the screen with amazing spectacle, making stars of physically impressive performers such as Charlton Heston.

Larger Than Life offers a comprehensive view of the star system in 1950s Hollywood and also in-depth discussions of the decade's major stars, including Montgomery Clift, Judy Holliday, Jerry Lewis, James Mason, Marilyn Monroe, Kim Novak, Bing Crosby, Gene Kelly, Jayne Mansfield, and Audrey Hepburn.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780813549941
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Publication date: 06/30/2010
Series: Star Decades: American Culture/American Cinema Series
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 272
File size: 5 MB

About the Author

R. BARTON PALMER is the Calhoun Lemon Professor of Literature at Clemson University, where he also directs the film studies program. He is the author, editor, or general editor of numerous books on various literary and cinematic subjects, including Traditions in World Cinema (Rutgers University Press).

Table of Contents

Introduction / R. Barton Palmer
Montgomery Clift : Hollywood pseudohomosexual / Tison Pugh, Barry Sandler
Charlton Heston and Gregory Peck : organization men / R. Barton Palmer
James Stewart and James Dean : the darkness within / Murray Pomerance
James Mason : a star is born bigger than life / Amy Lawrence
Reflexivity and metaperformance : Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, and Kim Novak / Matthew Solomon
Audrey Hepburn : the film star as event / William Brown
Doris Day and Rock Hudson : the girl next door and the brawny he-man / Foster Hirsch
Marlon Brando : actor, star, liar / Susan White
Jerry Lewis : from Hamlet to clown / Frank Krutnik
Judy Holliday : the hungry star / Pamela Robertson Wojcik
What a swell party this was : Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra / Adrienne L. McLean
In the wings / R. Barton Palmer
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