The Careers Of Burt Lancaster And Kirk Douglas As Referenced In Literature

"The Careers of Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas as Referenced in Literature" is a study of the perception of these two Hollywood megastars and their work, as presented in the text and context of references and allusions found in world literature. This book also aims to establish the impact factor of the two actors and their major films, as well as to provide extensive data for further studies of the complex and bilateral relationships between film and literature. The pertinent quotations have been extracted from over 150 works—novels, short stories, plays, poems and some nonfiction biographies and memoirs (excluding those focused on film celebrities)—by more than 120 authors. The main body of the book consists of two parts, each devoted to one actor and each having five identical sections. In the first section, references to the actor’s films are discussed while the second section presents references to the actor himself. The third section shows the complete list of references found to the actor and his films, including references not mentioned in the first two sections—either because of their relative insignificance, the lack of an English translation in case of foreign-language works or repetitiveness and/or abundance in a given work. The fourth section offers the credits of the films referenced, and the fifth section presents the actor’s complete monographic bibliography. The third part of the book, ‘Epilogue: Final Remarks and Conclusions,’ provides an analysis and classification of all the references and allusions presented in the main body, and it elaborates on the friendship of the two actors. College professors and students interested in film studies, particularly film analysis and criticism, film perception and film genres, will find this book of great interest. It will also appeal to people interested in biographical books on movie personalities and movie fans, especially those interested in westerns, film noir and the careers of Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas.

The Careers of Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas as Referenced in Literature is a study of the perception of these two Hollywood megastars and their work, as presented in the text and context of references and allusions found in world literature. This book also aims to establish the impact factor of the two actors and their major films, as well as to provide extensive data for further studies of the complex and bilateral relationships between film and literature. The pertinent quotations have been extracted from over 150 works--novels, short stories, plays, poems and some nonfiction biographies and memoirs (excluding those focused on film celebrities)--by more than 120 authors. The main body of the book consists of two parts, each devoted to one actor and each having five identical sections. In the first section, references to the actor's films are discussed while the second section presents references to the actor himself. The third section shows the complete list of references found to the actor and his films, including references not mentioned in the first two sections--either because of their relative insignificance, the lack of an English translation in case of foreign-language works or repetitiveness and/or abundance in a given work. The fourth section offers the credits of the films referenced, and the fifth section presents the actor's complete monographic bibliography. The third part of the book, 'Epilogue: Final Remarks and Conclusions, ' provides an analysis and classification of all the references and allusions presented in the main body, and it elaborates on the friendship of the two actors. College professors and students interested in film studies, particularly film analysis and criticism, film perception and film genres, will find this book of great interest. It will also appeal to people interested in biographical books on movie personalities and movie fans, especially those interested in westerns, film noir and the careers of Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas.

The Careers of Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas as Referenced in Literature is a study of the perception of these two Hollywood megastars and their work, as presented in the text and context of references and allusions found in world literature. This book also aims to establish the impact factor of the two actors and their major films, as well as to provide extensive data for further studies of the complex and bilateral relationships between film and literature. The pertinent quotations have been extracted from over 150 works--novels, short stories, plays, poems and some nonfiction biographies and memoirs (excluding those focused on film celebrities)--by more than 120 authors. The main body of the book consists of two parts, each devoted to one actor and each having five identical sections. In the first section, references to the actor's films are discussed while the second section presents references to the actor himself. The third section shows the complete list of references found to the actor and his films, including references not mentioned in the first two sections--either because of their relative insignificance, the lack of an English translation in case of foreign-language works or repetitiveness and/or abundance in a given work. The fourth section offers the credits of the films referenced, and the fifth section presents the actor's complete monographic bibliography. The third part of the book, 'Epilogue: Final Remarks and Conclusions, ' provides an analysis and classification of all the references and allusions presented in the main body, and it elaborates on the friendship of the two actors. College professors and students interested in film studies, particularly film analysis and criticism, film perception and film genres, will find this book of great interest. It will also appeal to people interested in biographical books on movie personalities and movie fans, especially those interested in westerns, film noir and the careers of Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas.

This book focuses on the perception of the names, personae, performances and films of three Hollywood megastars, Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum and William Holden, as presented in the references and allusions encountered in American and foreign literature. Its secondary aim is to establish the ‘impact factor’ of the three actors and their major films and provide extensive data for further studies on the complex and bilateral relationships between film and literature. The pertinent quotations in ‘Three Hollywood Stalwarts in Literature: A Study in Film Perception Through References to Peck, Mitchum and Holden’ have been extracted from nearly 220 works by about 140 authors. The majority of the works were written by acclaimed authors; amongst them are some well-known American mainstream writers such as John Updike, John Irving, Fannie Flagg and Anne Tyler; some leaders of the mystery genre include Martha Grimes, Stuart Kaminsky, Elmore Leonard, Sara Paretsky; and a few masters of other popular genres, such as Stephen King and Dean Koontz. The global flavor of the citations is provided by international authors (e.g., Julio Cortázar, Elizabeth Hay, Henri Charrière, Sebastien Japrisot) and authors born to first-generation U.S. immigrants (e.g., Oscar Hijuelos). Almost seventy films referenced in world literature are discussed in the book, and those mentioned in the biggest number of works include ‘Sunset Boulevard’, ‘The Wild Bunch’, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, ‘Roman Holiday’, ‘Spellbound’, ‘The Guns of Navarone’, and ‘Duel in the Sun’, among others. This book will appeal to college professors and students interested in film studies, specifically film analysis and criticism, film perception, and film genres. It will also hold interest for the general reader interested in biographies of movie personalities and the careers of the three actors, movie and stage actors, and fans of the western, film noir, and war genres.

Startlingly handsome, witty, fanatically loyal, charming, scary, and intensely sexual, Burt Lancaster was the quintessential bête du cinéma, one of Hollywood's great stars. He was, as well, an intensely private man, and he authorized no biographies in his lifetime. Kate Buford is the first writer to win the cooperation of Lancaster's widow, close friends, and colleagues, and her book is a revelation. Here is Lancaster the man, from his teenage years, bolting the Depression-era immigrant neighborhood of East Harlem where he grew up for the life of a circus acrobat -- then the electric New York theater of the 1930s, then the dying days of vaudeville. We see his production company -- Hecht-Hill-Lancaster -- become the biggest independent of the 1950s, a bridge between the studio era and modern filmmaking. With the power he derived from it we see him gain a remarkable degree of control, which he used to become the auteur of his own career. His navigation through the anti-Communist witch-hunts made him an example of a star who tweaked the noses of HUAC and survived. His greatest roles -- in Sweet Smell of Success, Elmer Gantry, Birdman of Alcatraz, The Swimmer, Atlantic City -- kept to the progressive edge that had originated in the tolerant, diverse, reforming principles of his childhood. And in the extraordinary complete roster of his films -- From Here to Eternity, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Judgment at Nuremberg, The Leopard, 1900, and Field of Dreams, among many others -- he proved to be both a master of commercial movies that pleased a worldwide audience and an actor who pushed himself beyond stardom into cinematic art. Kate Buford has written a dynamic biography of a passionate and committed star, the first full-scale study of one of the last great unexamined Hollywood lives.

With a career in films spanning nearly fifty years, Burt Lancaster brought his unique charisma and energy to roles in films ranging from the adventurous to the bittersweet. This comprehensive filmography of Lancaster’s career is accompanied by a biography that provides the background for his immense range of work on the screen. Production information, a synopsis, and commentary is provided for each of Lancaster’s 85 films, from the first—The Killers—to the last—Separate But Equal. Photographs from nearly all of Lancaster's films accompany the text, and an index and bibliography are also included.

Startlingly handsome, witty, fanatically loyal, charming, scary, and intensely sexual, Burt Lancaster was the quintessential bête du cinéma, one of Hollywood's great stars. He was, as well, an intensely private man, and he authorized no biographies in his lifetime. Kate Buford is the first writer to win the cooperation of Lancaster's widow, close friends, and colleagues, and her book is a revelation. Here is Lancaster the man, from his teenage years, bolting the Depression-era immigrant neighborhood of East Harlem where he grew up for the life of a circus acrobat -- then the electric New York theater of the 1930s, then the dying days of vaudeville. We see his production company -- Hecht-Hill-Lancaster -- become the biggest independent of the 1950s, a bridge between the studio era and modern filmmaking. With the power he derived from it we see him gain a remarkable degree of control, which he used to become the auteur of his own career. His navigation through the anti-Communist witch-hunts made him an example of a star who tweaked the noses of HUAC and survived. His greatest roles -- in Sweet Smell of Success, Elmer Gantry, Birdman of Alcatraz, The Swimmer, Atlantic City -- kept to the progressive edge that had originated in the tolerant, diverse, reforming principles of his childhood. And in the extraordinary complete roster of his films -- From Here to Eternity, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Judgment at Nuremberg, The Leopard, 1900, and Field of Dreams, among many others -- he proved to be both a master of commercial movies that pleased a worldwide audience and an actor who pushed himself beyond stardom into cinematic art. Kate Buford has written a dynamic biography of a passionate and committed star, the first full-scale study of one of the last great unexamined Hollywood lives.

The first major biography of one of Hollywood's most enduring and innovative stars. In a glorious career that spanned the final days of Hollywood's Golden Age to the advent of the miniseries, Burt Lancaster chalked up more than 80 films. From his poverty-stricken childhood in East Harlem to his delibilitating stroke in 1990, this book tells the complete story of this true screen legend. 16 pages of photos.