This critical biography chronicles both the actual travels and the philosophical meanderings of Talbot Mundy, one of the pioneers of the fantasy and adventure genre. Less celebrated than his contemporaries Rudyard Kipling and Joseph Conrad, Mundy was no less gifted when it came to the literary portrayal of faraway lands. He was one of the first Western writers to show an appreciation of Eastern culture, and his writing became an outlet for his radical ideas on religion and philosophy. At the age of sixteen, Mundy left his native England to begin his life of adventure--a journey that took him from India to the Middle East to Tibet and finally to America, which became his adopted home. The American spirit of adventure matched Mundy's own, and it was here that he found a true audience for his work. This book explores Mundy's oeuvre--much of it set in exotic locales through which he himself had traveled--and considers both his novels and his lesser known writing, as well as his film and radio work. Books such as Rung Ho!, King-of the Khyber Rifles, Caves of Terror, Purple Pirate and Tros of Samothrace are discussed and placed within the framework of Mundy's life and philosophy. The final chapter evaluates the enduring value of his writings. Appendices include a comprehensive list of Mundy's works and a chronological listing by their original publication dates.

Talbot Mundy, Philosopher of Adventure: A Critical Biography

Taves, Brian

Reference

McFarland Company

Beloved British humorist P.G. Wodehouse produced a wealth of literature in his lengthy career, contributing novels, short stories, plays, lyrics and essays to the canon of comic writing. His work in film and television included two stints as a screenwriter in Hollywood in the 1930s, and his stories have been the basis for more than 150 film and television productions. He also wrote 20 stories and essays about Hollywood, satirizing the city and its entertainment magnates. This book studies P.G. Wodehouse's extensive, but often overlooked relationship with Tinsel Town. The book is arranged chronologically, covering Wodehouse's Hollywood career from his early efforts in silent film, to his later contributions in television, to his work adapted posthumously for the screen. Radio is covered as well, including a discussion of his internment in occupied France and his brief appearances on German radio. Reflecting Wodehouse's international appeal, the book covers Wodehouse films and television in England, Germany, Sweden, and India. Also included are a comprehensive, detailed list of Wodehouse's stories and articles about Hollywood, and a complete filmography of motion picture and television works to which he contributed or which were based on his stories.

P. G. Wodehouse and Hollywood: Screenwriting, Satires and Adaptations

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

McFarland

Discover the remarkable film career of Robert Florey, in Robert Florey: The French Expressionist by Brian Taves. During almost a half-century in the movies, from 1916 to 1963, Robert Florey directed sixty five features and 220 television films at most of the major studios. His greatest success came in thrillers, scripting the original Frankenstein and directing such horror classics as Murders in the Rue Morgue with Bela Lugosi and The Beast with Five Fingers with Peter Lorre. Displaying skill in many genres, Florey also co-directed two renowned comedies, The Cocoanuts with The Marx Brothers and Monsieur Verdoux with Charlie Chaplin. Florey was always known as an artist, gaining fame first through his experimental Avant-garde shorts, such as The Life and Death of 9413 - a Hollywood Extra, and he is renowned for directing episodes of The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents television series. His features remained distinctive for integrating European filmmaking styles into the Hollywood studio system. Author Brian Taves takes advantage of numerous primary sources, including studio archives, interviews with associates, and access to all of Florey's papers. Taves thoroughly analyzes and locates Florey's films within the context of the times, relating them to such topics as the influence of expressionism and other techniques, the realm of the "B" film, the position of the contract director in the studio system, and the transition of movie talent to television.       This new edition of a book out of print since 1995 delves more deeply into Florey's remarkable career. In addition to a Bibliography, the book contains several appendixes, including a Filmography, a Television Filmography, and "Charles Chaplin's Tirade Between Takes of Monsieur Verdoux" (transcribed by Robert Florey), as well as an Index. “A book on Florey is long overdue… Now the job has been done, and done magnificently…. I’ve already used the book in one of my film history courses, and I hope it’ll find is way on to a lot of university shelves.  And for the film history enthusiast, it’s a must…. Worth every penny…” William K. Everson, Films in Review "A crucial biography in the study of film history.  ROBERT FLOREY:  THE FRENCH EXPRESSIONIST reveals deep insight about the important director thanks to skilled writing and access to rare archival materials." Gary Rhodes, Film historian and Bela Lugosi biographer    “One of the most ambitious studies of a director who worked largely in B filmmaking…” Kristin Thompson, University of Wisconsin-Madison  “Essential…. An epic work that every horror fan should own…. The depth of interpretation of Florey’s style, his background, his detailed film career as recreated by Taves is simply gripping in its detail.” Gary J. Svehla, Midnight Marquee

Robert Florey the French Expressionist (Filmmakers Series)

Humor & Entertainment

Scarecrow Pr

From "Around the World in 80 Days" to "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", millions of readers around the world have enjoyed the works of Jules Verne, the father of science fiction and one of the most important literary figures of all time. Particularly enjoyable is the autobiographical section that meticulously compiles all references Verne made in his sole autobiographical piece, "Memories of Childhood and Youth," with those made to a variety of journalists. There is also an in-depth, annotated listing of all English language versions of Verne's novels, an analysis of recurring themes in his work, and a detailed discussion of the filmed versions of his books. The authors trace each variation in Verne's published work, including "Paris in the Twentieth Century".

The Jules Verne Encyclopedia

Copeland, Evelyn

Michaluk, Stephen, Jr.

Baxter, Edward

Cartier, Ray

Dumas, Olivier

Iraldi, James

Encyclopedias & Subject Guides

Thomas H. Ince (1880–1924) turned movie-making into a business enterprise. Progressing from actor to director and screenwriter, he revolutionized the motion picture industry through developing the role of the producer. In addition to building the first major Hollywood studio facility, dubbed "Inceville," he was responsible for more than 800 films. Thomas Ince: Hollywood's Independent Pioneer chronicles Ince's life from the stage to his sudden death as he was about to join forces with media tycoon William Randolph Hearst. Author Brian Taves explores Ince's impact on Hollywood's production system, the Western, his creation of the first American movies starring Asian performers, and his cinematic exploration of the status of women in society. Until now, Thomas Ince has not been the subject of a biography. This book offers insight into the world of silent cinema through the story of one of its earliest and most influential moguls.

Thomas Ince: Hollywood's Independent Pioneer (Screen Classics)

University Press of Kentucky

Even for those who have never read Jules Verne (1828–1905), the author's very name conjures visions of the submarine in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, the epic race in Around the World in Eighty Days, the spacecraft in From the Earth to the Moon, and the daring descent in Journey to the Center of the Earth. One of the most widely translated authors of all time, Verne has inspired filmmakers since the early silent period and continues to fascinate audiences more than one hundred years after his works were first published. His riveting plots and vivid descriptions easily transform into compelling scripts and dramatic visual compositions. In Hollywood Presents Jules Verne, Brian Taves investigates the indelible mark that the author has left on English-language cinema. Adaptations of Verne's tales have taken many forms―early movie shorts, serials, feature films, miniseries, and television shows―and have been produced as both animated and live-action films. Taves illuminates how, as these stories have been made and remade over the years, each new adaptation looks back not only to Verne's words but also to previous screen incarnations. He also examines how generations of actors have portrayed iconic characters such as Phileas Fogg and Captain Nemo, and how these figures are treated in pastiches such as Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012). Investigating the biggest box-office hits as well as lower-budget productions, this comprehensive study will appeal not only to fans of the writer's work but also to readers interested in the ever-changing relationship between literature, theater, and film.

Hollywood Presents Jules Verne: The Father of Science Fiction on Screen (Screen Classics)

Arts & Photography

Photography & Video

The Romance of Adventure: The Genre of Historical Adventure Movies (Studies in Popular Culture)

Here for the first time is a book that defines the historical adventure movie, one of the most enduring, ever-popular, and mythically significant American film genres.Despite the popularity of historical adventure from the early days of filmmaking, never before has this Hollywood genre been analyzed in a comprehensive manner.Brian Taves's The Romance of Adventure includes an array of subgenres - swashbucklers, tales of pirates, the sea, exploration, and the building of empires - in films as diverse as The Mark of Zorro, The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Buccaneer, Mutiny on the Bounty, Moby Dick, Captain Horatio Hornblower, The Charge of the Light Brigade, Gunga Din, and The Man Who Would Be King.The author's definition of the historical adventure film emphasizes setting, consistent characterizations, and precise codes of behavior. He illuminates its many branches and shows how such activities as exploration of the world's remote regions and individualistic, armed rebellions for freedom are impelled by the adventurer's values - patriotism, chivalry, and honor.Taves finds that such movies reflect an idealistic world view and present history more as myth than as factual re-creation, with adventure belonging to an era long past, when morality was drawn in sharp relief.In romance adventure films the fight for liberty may occur in the castles of Europe, on board a ship on the high seas, or in colonies extending from the Spanish Main to India and Africa. In this way Taves believes that these films metaphorically depict the American Revolution, even though the conflict's essential issues are set in various times and places and indicate the timeless, universal need for liberty and freedom.

Movies

Univ Pr of Mississippi

Here for the first time is a book that defines the historical adventure movie, one of the most enduring, ever-popular, and mythically significant American film genres. Despite the popularity of historical adventure from the early days of filmmaking, never before has this Hollywood genre been analyzed in a comprehensive manner. Brian Taves's The Romance of Adventure includes an array of subgenres - swashbucklers, tales of pirates, the sea, exploration, and the building of empires - in films as diverse as The Mark of Zorro, The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Buccaneer, Mutiny on the Bounty, Moby Dick, Captain Horatio Hornblower, The Charge of the Light Brigade, Gunga Din, and The Man Who Would Be King. The author's definition of the historical adventure film emphasizes setting, consistent characterizations, and precise codes of behavior. He illuminates its many branches and shows how such activities as exploration of the world's remote regions and individualistic, armed rebellions for freedom are impelled by the adventurer's values - patriotism, chivalry, and honor. Taves finds that such movies reflect an idealistic world view and present history more as myth than as factual re-creation, with adventure belonging to an era long past, when morality was drawn in sharp relief. In romance adventure films the fight for liberty may occur in the castles of Europe, on board a ship on the high seas, or in colonies extending from the Spanish Main to India and Africa. In this way Taves believes that these films metaphorically depict the American Revolution, even though the conflict's essential issues are set in various times and places and indicate the timeless, universal need forliberty and freedom.

The great movie serials of yesteryear are covered in 20 informative essays culled from the pages of BLOOD 'N' THUNDER, the premier journal of adventure, mystery and melodrama in American popular culture of the early 20th century. There are no gushy fanboy puff-pieces in this book; each essay is undergirded with solid research and, in many cases, interviews with the actors, writers and directors involved. Titles covered at length include THE IRON CLAW (1916), PATRIA (1917), THE GREEN ARCHER (1925), THE HOUSE WITHOUT A KEY (1926), JUNGLE MYSTERY (1932), THE RED RIDER (1934), NEW ADVENTURES OF TARZAN (1935), TIM TYLER'S LUCK (1937), SECRET OF TREASURE ISLAND (1938), THE LONE RANGER (1938), THE SHADOW (1940), DRUMS OF FU MANCHU (1940), and DAREDEVILS OF THE WEST (1943). Serial performers and technicians interviewed specifically for these articles (over a period of several decades) include Kay Aldridge, Henry Brandon, Herman Brix, Yakima Canutt, George DeNormand, Rose Hobart, Iris Meredith, Cecilia Parker, Barry Shipman, Frank Leon Smith, Frankie Thomas, and William Witney. Nearly 100,000 words long and over 300 pages, the book is illustrated with two lengthy galleries including dozens of rare stills, posters and lobby cards from the serials under discussion. This is a must-have volume for anyone who is seriously interested in the history of motion-picture chapter plays.

Blood 'n' Thunder's Cliffhanger Classics

Hulse, Ed

Layton, Rex W.

Neyer, Daniel J.

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Discover the remarkable film career of Robert Florey, in Robert Florey: The French Expressionist by Brian Taves. During almost a half-century in the movies, from 1916 to 1963, Robert Florey directed sixty five features and 220 television films at most of the major studios. His greatest success came in thrillers, scripting the original Frankenstein and directing such horror classics as Murders in the Rue Morgue with Bela Lugosi and The Beast with Five Fingers with Peter Lorre. Displaying skill in many genres, Florey also co-directed two renowned comedies, The Cocoanuts with The Marx Brothers and Monsieur Verdoux with Charlie Chaplin. Florey was always known as an artist, gaining fame first through his experimental Avant-garde shorts, such as The Life and Death of 9413 - a Hollywood Extra, and he is renowned for directing episodes of The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents television series. His features remained distinctive for integrating European filmmaking styles into the Hollywood studio system. Author Brian Taves takes advantage of numerous primary sources, including studio archives, interviews with associates, and access to all of Florey's papers. Taves thoroughly analyzes and locates Florey's films within the context of the times, relating them to such topics as the influence of expressionism and other techniques, the realm of the "B" film, the position of the contract director in the studio system, and the transition of movie talent to television. This new edition of a book out of print since 1995 delves more deeply into Florey's remarkable career. In addition to a Bibliography, the book contains several appendixes, including a Filmography, a Television Filmography, and "Charles Chaplin's Tirade Between Takes of Monsieur Verdoux" (transcribed by Robert Florey), as well as an Index. “A book on Florey is long overdue… Now the job has been done, and done magnificently…. I’ve already used the book in one of my film history courses, and I hope it’ll find is way on to a lot of university shelves. And for the film history enthusiast, it’s a must…. Worth every penny…” William K. Everson, Films in Review "A crucial biography in the study of film history. ROBERT FLOREY: THE FRENCH EXPRESSIONIST reveals deep insight about the important director thanks to skilled writing and access to rare archival materials." Gary Rhodes, Film historian and Bela Lugosi biographer “One of the most ambitious studies of a director who worked largely in B filmmaking…” Kristin Thompson, University of Wisconsin-Madison “Essential…. An epic work that every horror fan should own…. The depth of interpretation of Florey’s style, his background, his detailed film career as recreated by Taves is simply gripping in its detail.” Gary J. Svehla, Midnight Marquee

Robert Florey, the French Expressionist

BearManor Media

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Taves, Brian. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Taves, Brian

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Taves, Brian. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Talbot Mundy, Philosopher of Adventure: A Critical Biography

P. G. Wodehouse and Hollywood: Screenwriting, Satires and Adaptations

Robert Florey the French Expressionist (Filmmakers Series)

The Jules Verne Encyclopedia

Thomas Ince: Hollywood's Independent Pioneer (Screen Classics)

Hollywood Presents Jules Verne: The Father of Science Fiction on Screen (Screen Classics)

The Romance of Adventure: The Genre of Historical Adventure Movies (Studies in Popular Culture)

The Romance of Adventure: The Genre of Historical Adventure Movies (Studies in Popular Culture)

Blood 'n' Thunder's Cliffhanger Classics

Robert Florey, the French Expressionist