Hollywood's American Tragedies: Dreiser, Eisenstein, Sternberg, StevensTheodore Dreiser's dissection of the American dream, An American Tragedy, was hailed as the greatest novel of its generation. Now a classic of American literature, the story is one to which Hollywood has repeatedly returned.Hollywood's obsession with this tale of American greed, justice, religion and sexual hypocrisy stretches across the history of cinema. Some of cinema's greatest directors - Sergei Eisenstein, Josef von Sternberg and George Stevens - have attempted to bring this classic story to the screen. Subsequently, both Jean-Luc Godard and Woody Allen have returned to the story and to these earlier adaptations.Hollywood's American Tragedies is the first detailed study of this extraordinary sequence of adaptations. What it reveals is a history of Hollywood - from its politics to its cinematography - and, much deeper, of American culture and the difficulty of telling an American tragedy in the land of the American dream. |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 9 | |
CHAPTER 2 A Monstrous Challenge to American Society | 33 |
CHAPTER 3 A Courtroom Drama | 75 |
CHAPTER 4 A Place on the Screen | 105 |
Epilogue | 153 |
| 155 | |
| 163 | |
Other editions - View all
Hollywood's American Tragedies: Dreiser, Eisenstein, Sternberg, Stevens Mandy Merck No preview available - 2007 |
Common terms and phrases
1951 Kobal Collection adaptation Alice Alice’s American Tragedy Angela argued Arthur Garfield Hays asks attorney’s B. P. Schulberg bellboy boat Brown’s camera Chester Gillette cinema close-up Clyde Clyde Griffiths court dance dark declares described dialogue director dissolve District Attorney dramatic dreams Dreiser Papers Dreiser’s novel drowning Eastman Eisenstein Elizabeth Taylor factory family’s fantasies film film’s final George Montgomery George Stevens George’s Gillette girl Griffiths Hollywood invitation Ivan Moffat jury kiss lake Lasky later letter Liveright looks Lycurgus marry memo Moffat Montagu Montgomery Clift Motion Picture MPPDA murder narrative offered opening Paramount 1951 Kobal PCA Archive Place production protagonist reel replies reveals Riggio Roberta Samuel Griffiths scenario scene Schulberg screen screenplay script Selznick sexual shot social Sondra sound Sternberg story studio suggests Sutter’s Sylvia Sidney Theodore Dreiser tion trial uncle uncle’s Vickers Wilson woman women writing York young youth