19th century american fiction on screen

R. Barton Palmer0521842212, 9780521842211, 9780511275135

The process of translating works of literature to the silver screen is a rich field of study for both students and scholars of literature and cinema. The fourteen essays collected here provide an up-to-date survey of the important films based on, or inspired by, nineteenth-century American fiction, from James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans to Owen Wister’s The Virginian. Many of the major works of the American canon are included, including The Scarlet Letter, Moby Dick and Sister Carrie. The starting point of each essay is the literary text itself, moving on to describe specific aspects of the adaptation process, including details of production and reception. Written in a lively and accessible style, the book includes production stills and full filmographies. Together with its companion volume on twentieth-century fiction, the volume offers a comprehensive account of the rich tradition of American literature on screen.

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Table of contents :
Cover……Page 1
Half-title……Page 3
Title……Page 5
Copyright……Page 6
Contents……Page 7
Illustrations……Page 9
Notes on contributors……Page 11
Acknowledgments……Page 15
Introduction……Page 17
NOTES……Page 24
1 A very American fable: the making of a Mohicans adaptation……Page 25
Phase One – John Balderston’s “epic” proposal……Page 29
Phase Two – Philip Dunne’s heroic individuals……Page 32
Phase Three – Ralph Block’s dreadful “western”……Page 34
Phase Four – emergency action……Page 36
NOTES……Page 42
2 Romancing the letter: screening a Hawthorne classic……Page 45
NOTES……Page 57
Poe’s paradoxical popularity……Page 59
The Universal Poe……Page 61
Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932)……Page 63
Poe’s “Murders” and Universal’s Murders……Page 65
Later adaptations of “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”……Page 71
Conclusion……Page 73
NOTES……Page 74
4 Readapting Uncle Tom’s Cabin……Page 78
NOTES……Page 91
5 Screening authorship: Little Women on screen 1933–1994……Page 93
NOTES……Page 108
Adapting Moby-Dick……Page 110
Moby Dick (1956)……Page 111
Moby Dick (1998)……Page 114
The unmade Moby Dick……Page 117
NOTES……Page 120
7 Screening male sentimental power in Ben-Hur……Page 122
A tale of two main characters……Page 126
A muscular and sentimental hero……Page 128
Making Christ manly……Page 130
Manly sentimental power……Page 131
A religious epic becomes secular melodrama……Page 134
Treading the boards with horses and Jesus……Page 135
Staging Christian manliness……Page 136
From stage to reel – racing into movie history……Page 138
M-G-M’s first Ben-Hur – Niblo’s 1926 extravaganza……Page 139
The Academy’s darling – William Wyler’s 1959 Ben-Hur……Page 141
NOTES……Page 145
8 John Huston’s The Red Badge of Courage……Page 149
NOTES……Page 160
9 Translating Daisy Miller……Page 162
I……Page 163
II……Page 167
III……Page 170
IV……Page 173
NOTES……Page 175
Henrietta’s granddaughter……Page 177
Talking beans……Page 179
Jamesian language, Emersonian vision, and postmodern irony……Page 183
“An erotic story”?……Page 186
“What will she ‘do’?”……Page 187
NOTES……Page 189
11 The Europeans – and the Americans……Page 191
NOTES……Page 201
A picture for adults……Page 202
Alternatives of consequence……Page 204
The nature of emotional greatness……Page 207
A double text……Page 208
“Willie Wyler’s medium”……Page 212
The dignity of men……Page 215
Brothers under the skin……Page 218
NOTES……Page 220
13 Hollywood and The Sea-Wolf……Page 222
NOTES……Page 234
A contradictory legacy……Page 235
When and where men were men……Page 236
Owen Wister’s “Horseman of the Plains”……Page 238
Shepherds with guns……Page 239
The westerner goes eastern……Page 244
The return of history: The Virginian (2000)……Page 247
Mavericks and a maiden……Page 251
The “equality” finds its measure……Page 254
NOTES……Page 258
Filmography……Page 262
Index……Page 270