Driven to Darkness : : Jewish Emigre Directors and the Rise of Film Noir / / Vincent Brook.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Rutgers University Press Backlist eBook-Package 2000-2013
• VerfasserIn: Brook, Vincent,
• Place / Publishing House: New Brunswick, NJ : : Rutgers University Press, , [2009]; ©2009
• Year of Publication: 2009
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (285 p.) :; 42

From its earliest days, the American film industry has attracted European artists. With the rise of Hitler, filmmakers of conscience in Germany and other countries, particularly those of Jewish origin, found it difficult to survive and fledùfor their work and their livesùto the United States. Some had trouble adapting to Hollywood, but many were celebrated for their cinematic contributions, especially to the dark shadows of film noir. Driven to Darkness explores the influence of Jewish TmigrT directors and the development of this genre. While filmmakers such as Fritz Lang, Billy Wilder, Otto Preminger, and Edward G. Ulmer have been acknowledged as crucial to the noir canon, the impact of their Jewishness on their work has remained largely unexamined until now. Through lively and original analyses of key films, Vincent Brook penetrates the darkness, shedding new light on this popular film form and the artists who helped create it.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Jews in Germany: Torn Between Two Worlds -- 3. Jews and Expressionism: "Performing High and Low" -- 4. The Father of Film Noir: Fritz Lang -- 5. Fritz Lang in Hollywood -- 6. The French Connection: Robert Siodmak -- 7. Viennese Twins: Billy and Willy Wilder -- 8. The ABZs of Film Noir: Otto Preminger and Edgar G. Ulmer -- 9. Woman's Directors: Curtis Bernhardt and Max Ophuls -- 10. Pathological Noir, Populist Noir, and an Act of Violence: John Brahm, Anatole Litvak, Fred Zinnemann -- Appendix: American Film Noirs by Jewish Émigré Directors -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index