A Special Relationship: Britain Comes to Hollywood and Hollywood Comes to Britain

by Anthony Slide

Overview

A Special Relationship provides not only a historical overview of the British in Hollywood, but also a detailed study of the contributions made by American individuals and companies to British cinema from the beginning of the twentieth century onwards. The story begins with Ohio-born Charles Urban who came to London in 1898 and deserves credit for major involvement in the creation of a British film industry. While Ireland was still a part of Britain, the New York-based Kalem Company made films there from 1910 to 1913. British producers realized the importance of American stars, and many actors, beginning with Florence Turner (who was arguably also the first American star), made numerous British films. In the 1920s, such Hollywood stars as Mae Marsh, Betty Blythe, and Dorothy Gish remained active in Britain. In the 1930s, as their careers came to a halt, more than one hundred former American stars made the trip to England, partly as a vacation and partly in the hope of reenergizing their careers.

Chapters discuss American cinematographers at work in Britain in the 1920s and 1930s and the introduction of Technicolor to British films. Diversity is represented by African American performers (most notably Paul Robeson), the Chinese American star Anna May Wong, along with female filmmakers from Hollywood. With Britain's declaration of war on Germany, there were Americans who stayed, such as Bebe Daniels and Ben Lyon, contributing to the war effort. America became actively involved in British cinema after World War II, with many Hollywood studios producing films there. As the years progressed, the British film industry became an international film industry. The book concludes with the Harry Potter and James Bond series, indicative of a new international cinema, with financing and behind-the-camera talent coming from the United States, but with British locales and British stars.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781628460889
Publisher:	University Press of Mississippi
Publication date:	06/15/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	322
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Anthony Slide, Studio City, California, is the author of some seventy-five books, including Hollywood Unknowns: A History of Extras, Bit Players, and Stand-Ins and Inside the Hollywood Fan Magazine: A History of Star Makers, Fabricators, and Gossip Mongers, both published by University Press of Mississippi. He is a renowned film scholar, who in 1990 was awarded an honorary doctorate of letters for his contributions to the history of popular culture. At that time, he was hailed by Lillian Gish as "our pre-eminent silent film historian."

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

A Note on Style ix

Introduction 3

Chapter 1 British Pioneers in America and an American Pioneer in Britain 23

Chapter 2 The O'Kalems 34

Chapter 3 The American-Anglo-Irish 50

Chapter 4 American Silent Stars to the Rescue of British Cinema in the 1910s and 1920s 69

Chapter 5 American Cinematographers of the 1920s and 1930s in Britain 91

Chapter 6 The 1930s and the Golden Age of the Hollywood Has-beens 105

Chapter 7 Hollywood Producers and British Film Production in the 1930s 134

Chapter 8 Diversity-Female Filmmakers, African American Performers, and Others 164

Chapter 9 Technicolor Comes to Britain 183

Chapter 10 A Golden Age for the British in Hollywood 197

Chapter 11 British Cinema at War 219

Chapter 12 The Postwar Renaissance 246

Chapter 13 The New International Cinema 263

Notes 271

Bibliography 285

Index 292