George Sidney: A Bio-Bibliography

by Eric Monder

Overview

George Sidney directed a number of popular Hollywood films, such as Anchors Aweigh, Show Boat, Kiss Me Kate, and Bye Bye Birdie. His revisions of traditional Hollywood product resulted in films that remain surprisingly modern, and his work continues to influence popular culture. But despite the popularity of his films, Sidney has been a largely unheralded figure in film history. This book is the first serious, full-length study of Sidney's life and work.

A critical introduction to the volume explains how Sidney was given a minor place in film history, despite his many significant achievements. The book examines Sidney's canon in relation to the work of his contemporaries and reveals how he was both a Hollywood insider and an iconoclast who created mainstream films with strikingly modern sensibility. The detailed filmography provides thorough documentation for Sidney's many features, short subjects, screen tests, documentaries, and uncredited sequences in other directors' films. By drawing upon interviews with former coworkers, archival material, and rare stills and photographs, Monder reassesses Sidney's career.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313284571
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	08/23/1994
Series:	Bio-Bibliographies in the Performing Arts , #56
Pages:	360
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.94(d)

About the Author

ERIC MONDER is an author and film critic. He has written for The New York Times, Film Comment, Motion Picture Guide, Cover Magazine, Classic Images Magazine, The Village Voice, Video Digest, and other publications.

Table of Contents

Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: George Sidney's High-Tech Vaudeville Show
Biography
The George Sidney Story
A Sidney Chronology
Awards and Positions
Filmography
Production Assistance
Short Subjects
Screen Tests
Features
Documentaries and Miscellany
Unrealized Projects
Bibliography
Works by George Sidney
Works about George Sidney
Author Index
General Index

Editorial Reviews

A study of the life and work of George Sidney (b.1916), who directed many popular Hollywood films, including Anchors Aweigh, Show Boat, Kiss Me Kate, and Viva Las Vegas. Monder reassesses Sidney's critical reputation, arguing that he was a cinematic iconoclast who created mainstream films with a strikingly modern sensibility. The bulk of the volume is a detailed filmography. Includes b&w photos. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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