Ghouls, Gimmicks, And Gold: Horror Films And The American Movie Business, 1953–1968
by Kevin Heffernan /
2004 / English / PDF
29.1 MB Download
The Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Tingler, the Mole
People—they stalked and oozed into audiences’ minds during the
era that followed Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein and preceded
terrors like Freddy Krueger
The Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Tingler, the Mole
People—they stalked and oozed into audiences’ minds during the
era that followed Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein and preceded
terrors like Freddy Krueger(A Nightmare on Elm Street)
(A Nightmare on Elm Street)
and Chucky
and Chucky(Child’s Play).
(Child’s Play).Ghouls, Gimmicks, and
Gold
Ghouls, Gimmicks, and
Gold pulls off the masks and wipes away the slime to reveal
how the monsters that frightened audiences in the 1950s and
1960s—and the movies they crawled and staggered through—reflected
fundamental changes in the film industry. Providing the first
economic history of the horror film, Kevin Heffernan shows how
the production, distribution, and exhibition of horror movies
changed as the studio era gave way to the conglomeration of New
Hollywood.
pulls off the masks and wipes away the slime to reveal
how the monsters that frightened audiences in the 1950s and
1960s—and the movies they crawled and staggered through—reflected
fundamental changes in the film industry. Providing the first
economic history of the horror film, Kevin Heffernan shows how
the production, distribution, and exhibition of horror movies
changed as the studio era gave way to the conglomeration of New
Hollywood.
Heffernan argues that major cultural and economic shifts in the
production and reception of horror films began at the time of
the 3-d film cycle of 1953–54 and ended with the 1968 adoption
of the Motion Picture Association of America’s ratings system
and the subsequent development of the adult horror
movie—epitomized by
Heffernan argues that major cultural and economic shifts in the
production and reception of horror films began at the time of
the 3-d film cycle of 1953–54 and ended with the 1968 adoption
of the Motion Picture Association of America’s ratings system
and the subsequent development of the adult horror
movie—epitomized byRosemary’s Baby
Rosemary’s Baby. He describes how
this period presented a number of daunting challenges for movie
exhibitors: the high costs of technological upgrade,
competition with television, declining movie attendance, and a
diminishing number of annual releases from the major movie
studios. He explains that the production and distribution
branches of the movie industry responded to these trends by
cultivating a youth audience, co-producing features with the
film industries of Europe and Asia, selling films to
television, and intensifying representations of sex and
violence. Shining through
. He describes how
this period presented a number of daunting challenges for movie
exhibitors: the high costs of technological upgrade,
competition with television, declining movie attendance, and a
diminishing number of annual releases from the major movie
studios. He explains that the production and distribution
branches of the movie industry responded to these trends by
cultivating a youth audience, co-producing features with the
film industries of Europe and Asia, selling films to
television, and intensifying representations of sex and
violence. Shining throughGhouls, Gimmicks, and Gold
Ghouls, Gimmicks, and Gold is
the delight of the true horror movie buff, the fan thrilled to
find
is
the delight of the true horror movie buff, the fan thrilled to
findThe Brain that Wouldn’t Die
The Brain that Wouldn’t Die on television at 3 am.
on television at 3 am.
