Overview

Often described as 'the Master of Gimmicks', William Castle is best known for the outrageous publicity stunts that characterised his genre films in the 1950s and '60s, including offers for an insurance policy against death by fright, vibrating seats, a skeleton that flew over the audience, and a 'punishment poll' to determine a film's conclusion. But far from being 'the world's craziest filmmaker', Castle was also a dependable studio director who made more than 50 films between 1944 and 1974, and who produced films for Orson Welles and Roman Polanski. ReFocus: The Films of William Castle assembles fourteen essays on the full sweep of Castle's career, including his horror films, westerns, film noirs and more. With an influence felt on directors like Joe Dante, Robert Zemeckis and John Waters, this volume reappraises Castle's legacy as an innovator as much as a showman.

Full Product Details

Author:   Murray Leeder (Instructor in Film Studies, University of Calgary)
Publisher:   Edinburgh University Press
Imprint:   Edinburgh University Press
Weight:   0.420kg
ISBN:  

9781474455107

ISBN 10:   1474455107
Pages:   280
Publication Date:   10 December 2019
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Many Castles Section 1: The Early Castle Hugh S. Manon, ""When Strangers Marry: Film Noir as Mediated Gothic"" Zachary Rearick, ""Gender in William Castle’s Westerns"" Section 2: The Gimmick Cycle Anthony Thomas McKenna, ""He Earned Our Forgiveness: William Castle and American Movie Showmanship"" Murray Leeder, ""Collective Screams: William Castle and the Gimmick Film"" Beth Kattelman, ""Dying to See It: Death by Fright and William Castle’s Macabre"" Eliot Bessette, ""How to View 13 Ghosts"" Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, ""The Face of Horror: Mr. Sardonicus and the Mask as Technological Interface"" Section 3: Castle, Authorship and Genre Steffen Hantke, ""A Sick Mind in Search of a Monstrous Body: William Castle and the Emergence of Psychological Horror in the 1960s"" Michael Brodski and Caroline Langhorst, ""‘What a Wicked Game to Play?’: Playfulness, Generic Hybridity, and Cult Appeal in Castle’s 1960s Films"" Michael Petitti, “Where Did Our Love Go?” The Case of William Castle’s The Night Walker Section 4: Castle’s Legacy Peter Marra, ""Homo/cidal: William Castle’s 1960s Killer Queers"" Kate J. Russell, ""The Cinematic Pandemonium of William Castle and John Waters""

Reviews

Murray Leeder's collection is a truly perceptive study that examines the films from a variety of angles as well as including a commentary on the aspects of popular entertainment and audience appeal they represented. Unsurprisingly, given the provenance of the book -Edinburgh University Press - there is writing here of perception and ambition. Some will argue that Castle's films do not merit such attention, but those of us who fell under the late director's spell will find much to entertain and stimulate. -- Barry Forshaw, Crime Time Texts on Castle are far from dime-a-dozen, so fans who take the filmmaker seriously owe it to themselves to get this. -- Rod Lott, flickattack.com

"""Murray Leeder's collection is a truly perceptive study that examines the films from a variety of angles as well as including a commentary on the aspects of popular entertainment and audience appeal they represented. Unsurprisingly, given the provenance of the book -Edinburgh University Press - there is writing here of perception and ambition. Some will argue that Castle's films do not merit such attention, but those of us who fell under the late director's spell will find much to entertain and stimulate."" -- Barry Forshaw, Crime Time ""Texts on Castle are far from dime-a-dozen, so fans who take the filmmaker seriously owe it to themselves to get this."" -- Rod Lott, flickattack.com"

Author Information

Murray Leeder is Instructor in Film Studies at the University of Calgary.

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