Thorold Dickinson A World of Film

by Horne, Philip; Swaab, Peter

• ISBN13: 9780719078477
• ISBN10: 0719078474
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-09-01
• Publisher: Manchester University Press

Summary

The films of Thorold Dickinson (1903-1984), now being rediscovered, engage with major issues including national identity, the post-colonial world, and political violence--and they also show a rare mastery of style, a thrilling eroticism, and a preoccupation with the psychology of betrayal. But the director ofGaslight,The Next of KinandThe Queen of Spadeswas also an editor, documentarist, trade unionist, film producer (for the British Army and the UN), pioneering academic and controversialist. His adventurous and truly global involvement in film took him to Paris in the heyday of silent cinema in the 1920s, to Stalin's USSR in 1937, to the Spanish Civil War, to Africa, India, Israel and America. This book gives a lively, multi-angled account of Dickinson's works, life and times, conveying a sense of his own voice and fascinating character. It includes a richly detailed introduction, a film-by-film discussion of Dickinson with Scorsese, vivid personal memoirs of the director, a dossier of Dickinson's original writings and interviews from 1924 to 1973 (some never previously published), critical essays on all the feature films, and a ground-breaking reference section. The book draws on extensive archival research and close consultation with those who knew Dickinson well. Contributors include: Martin Scorsese, Gavin Millar, Lutz Becker, Charles Barr, Laura Marcus, Kevin Jackson, Kevin Gough-Yates, Ian Christie, Gregory Dart, Hillel Tryster, Janet Moat.

Author Biography

Philip Horne is Professor of English at University College London. Peter Swaab is Reader in English at University College London.

 

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Illustrations

Note on references

Contributors

Introduction

About Thorold Dickinson: two exchanges with Martin Scorcese

Dickinson on Dickinson

Memories of Dickinson

Thorold: A little memoir

My teacher Thorold Dickinson

A rediscovery of cinema

Dickinson's films

The Arsenal Stadium Mystery

Gaslights

The Prime Minister

The Next of Kin

The High Command and Men of Two Worlds

The Queen of Spades

Secret People

Hill 24 Doesn't Answer

Dickinson's Unmade films

Filmography

Bibligoraphy

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