Larger Than Life : : Movie Stars of the 1950s / / ed. by R. Barton Palmer.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Rutgers University Press Backlist eBook-Package 2000-2013
• MitwirkendeR: Brown, William A.,; Hirsch, Foster,; Krutnik, Frank,; Lawrence, Amy,; McLean, Adrienne L.,; Palmer, R. Barton,; Pomerance, Murray,; Pugh, Tison,; Sandler, Barry,; Solomon, Matthew,; White, Susan,; Wojcik, Pamela Robertson,
• TeilnehmendeR: Brown, William.; Hirsch, Foster.; Krutnik, Frank.; Lawrence, Amy.; McLean, Adrienne L.; Palmer, R. Barton.; Pomerance, Murray.; Pugh, Tison.; Sandler, Barry.; Solomon, Matthew.; White, Susan.; Wojcik, Pamela Robertson.
• HerausgeberIn: Palmer, R. Barton,
• Place / Publishing House: New Brunswick, NJ : : Rutgers University Press, , [2010]; ©2010
• Year of Publication: 2010
• Language: English
• Series: Star Decades: American Culture/American
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (272 p.) :; 55

The constellation of Hollywood stars burned brightly in the 1950s, even as the industry fell on hard economic times. Major artists of the 1940s--James Stewart, Jerry Lewis, and Gregory Peck--continued to exert a magical appeal but the younger generation of moviegoers was soon enthralled by an emerging cast, led by James Dean and Marlon Brando. They, among others, ushered in a provocative acting style, "the Method," bringing hard-edged, realistic performances to the screen. Adult-oriented small-budget dramas were ideal showcases for Method actors, startlingly realized when Brando seized the screen in On the Waterfront. But, with competition from television looming, Hollywood also featured film-making of epic proportion--Ben-Hur and other cinema wonders rode onto the screen with amazing spectacle, making stars of physically impressive performers such as Charlton Heston. Larger Than Life offers a comprehensive view of the star system in 1950s Hollywood and also in-depth discussions of the decade's major stars, including Montgomery Clift, Judy Holliday, Jerry Lewis, James Mason, Marilyn Monroe, Kim Novak, Bing Crosby, Gene Kelly, Jayne Mansfield, and Audrey Hepburn.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: Stardom in the 1950s -- 1. Montgomery Clift: Hollywood Pseudohomosexual -- 2. Charlton Heston and Gregory Peck: Organization Men -- 3. James Stewart and James Dean:The Darkness Within -- 4. James Mason: A Star Is Born Bigger Than Life -- 5. Reflexivity and Metaperformance: Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, and Kim Novak -- 6. Audrey Hepburn:The Film Star as Event -- 7. Doris Day and Rock Hudson:The Girl Next Door and the Brawny He-Man -- 8. Marlon Brando: Actor, Star, Liar -- 9. Jerry Lewis: From Hamlet to Clown -- 10. Judy Holliday:The Hungry Star -- 11. What a Swell Party This Was: Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra -- In the Wings -- Works Cited -- Contributors -- Index