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Author Mann, Dave, 1951-

Title Britain's first TV/film crime series and the industrialisation of its film industry, 1946-1964 / Dave Mann ; with a foreword by Andrew Spicer
Published Lewiston, N.Y. : Edwin Mellen Press, 2009

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Description 1 online resource (iii, 308 pages)
Contents Overview -- The transition from crime films to television series: a brief history -- From Tempean and Kenilworth to new world: Robert S. Baker and Monty Berman -- Murder ballads from Merton Park: dual purpose films -- American arrivistes -- Hannah Weinstein, HUAC and Colonel March of Scotland Yard -- In whispers: the Danziger brothers and the industrialization of the crime narrative -- Cultural accommodations: domestic and foreign -- The partisans of Park Lane: Ghost squad -- Sign no more: the resurrection, reformation and rehabilitation of The third man's Harry Lime -- Conclusion
Summary Despite the resurgence of interest in British cinema and, more recently, British television, there have been no studies to date devoted to the genesis of domestic TV/Film production. This project presents for the first time an industrial and cultural history of the transformation of the lower reaches of Britain's film industry during the period 1946-1964. At this time the production of second (or "B") features and programme fillers aimed primarily at the domestic market was progressively phased out as the sector moved towards the wholesale production of TV/Film series intended for exhibition on the newly-franchised commercial television channel as well as the burgeoning international market. With extensive recourse to contemporary trade journals, the biographies of key personnel and, of course the early series themselves, the project charts and comments upon the growth of the new form whilst focussing upon its largest generic component, the crime narrative. As an industrial history, the project concentrates on case studies in order to demonstrate similar and diverse responses to extremely fluid market conditions. The study argues for the reconsideration of these films in the context of the positive response of particular companies and studios in the supporting feature sector to fundamental issues that had long plagued the industry. Boosted by technological investment and domestic and American distribution deals, these companies were able both take advantage of support from the National Film Finance Corporation and survive when that aid was no longer available. Some studios even achieved continuous production by making a combination of supporting features and studio-bound TV/Film series. The inception of ITV and the exponential growth of the American and world markets in TV/Film had a catalytic effect on the burgeoning sector further promoting tendencies that were already in development - talent before and behind the camera now found regular employment, though their roles and status altered dramatically. In tandem to this industrial history, the study analyses the ways in which these series selectively rework and transform a rich and diverse heritage of domestic crime fiction in order to provide the basis for product differentiation in the international market. Moreover, in addition to such borrowings, it examines many emergent, unresolved elements that would be retained when the form became a more stabilized - and predictable - entity. In a word, this is the story of how domestic producers and American arrivistes alike negotiated the virgin terrain of TV/Film. As such, it often proffers a view of the period that runs counter to the prevailing current and offers a perspective on the fledging form and, indeed, the cultural preoccupations of the period, that is undoubtedly illuminating, often surprising and, mercifully, amusing
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 277-294) and index
Includes filmography: pages 267-272
Notes Print version record
Subject Detective and mystery television programs -- Great Britain -- History and criticism
Television crime shows -- Great Britain -- History and criticism
Motion picture industry -- Great Britain -- History -- 20th century
Crime on television.
PERFORMING ARTS -- Television -- Reference.
Crime on television
Detective and mystery television programs
Motion picture industry
Television crime shows
Filmwirtschaft
Fernsehserie
Kriminalserie
Great Britain
Großbritannien
Genre/Form Criticism, interpretation, etc.
History
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9780773420809
0773420800
Other Titles Britain's first TV/film crime series and the industrialization of its film industry, 1946-1964