Hollywood and the Invention of England : Projecting the English Past in American Cinema, 1930–2017

"Drawing on new archival research into Hollywood production history and detailed analysis of individual films, Hollywood and the Invention of England examines the surprising affinity for the English past in Hollywood cinema. Stubbs asks why Hollywood filmmakers have so frequently drawn on images and narratives depicting English history, and why films of this type have resonated with audiences in America. Beginning with an overview of the cultural interaction between American film and English historical culture, the book proceeds to chart the major filmmaking cycles which characterise Hollywood's engagement with the English past from the 1930s to the present, assessing the value of English-themed films in the American film industry while also placing them in a broader historical context"--Bloomsbury Publishing. Cover Half Title Title Copyright Contents Acknowledgements Introduction: England, Their England 1 The Uses of Literature: Adaptation and Englishness in the 1930s Sound, censorship and ‘better pictures’ ‘Properly English and properly Dickensian’: David Copperfield (1935) ‘The best possible literature’: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1935) Literature at war: Wuthering Heights (1939) and Pride and Prejudice (1940) 2 Abstractions of Empire: Filming British Imperialism in the 1930s and 1940s ‘Ruling and protecting these countless millions’: The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935) ‘One of the most distinguished events in history’: The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936) ‘Delightfully evil in the Fascist sense’: Gunga Din (1939) Empire films and the Second World War 3 Ideology and Adventure: The Post-War Swashbuckler Film ‘A nation divided’: Ivanhoe (1952) ‘Under banners unknown’: Knights of the Round Table (1953) 4 Cosmopolitanism and the Cold War: Historical Epics in the 1950s and 1960s ‘A show on film’: Around the World in 80 Days (1956) ‘The magic of distant places’: Lawrence of Arabia (1962) 5 Boom and Bust: The English Past in the Swinging Sixties ‘A living past’: Tom Jones (1963) and The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) ‘Intimate spectacle’: Becket (1964) and Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) Manhattan transfer: My Fair Lady (1964) and Camelot (1967) 6 Intimations of Quality: English Heritage and the ‘Specialty’ Film in the 1980s and 1990s ‘A holiday out of time’: Heritage film and American indies ‘Films of consequence’: Heritage goes to Hollywood ‘An emotional event’: The rise of Miramax 7 Pirates, Wizards and Wardrobes: The English Past in the Contemporary Family Film Licensing the past: Intellectual property, conglomeration and the franchise boom Fantastic rebates and where to find them: Global production and incentive schemes Conclusion: An Available Past Bibliography Index "Drawing on new archival research into Hollywood production history and detailed textual analysis of individual films, this book assesses the value of British-themed films for the American film industry while placing them in a broader historical context"-- Provided by publisher