Crime movies are as old as filmmaking itself. They embody the American nightmare, functioning both as a mirror of society and a tool for educating the public about its enemies. In this history of the genre Carlos Clarens gives us a mini-history of crime American-style. From D. W. Griffith and New York's Biograph Studios, where raw violence was introduced to celluloid immortality, to today's multimillion-dollar celebrations of blood and power, Crime Movies shows us the whole picture: the unchanging cast of characters (the gangster hero, swaggering, charming, suspicious; the stoolpigeon or strikebreaker; the moll); the stars (James Cagney, Spencer Tracy, George Raft, Edward G. Robinson, Humphrey Bogart, Richard Widmark); the censorship battles, political pressure, and public outcry. This book illuminates movies such as Intolerance, Underworld, Little Caesar, Public Enemy, Kiss of Death, On the Waterfront, Bonnie and Clyde, The Godfather, Goodfellas, Reservoir Dogs, and hundreds of others, while detailing the film-making strategies Hollywood has adopted to deal with the controversial yet profitable and enduring subject of American criminality.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
This intelligent study of the crime film, generously illustrated with black-and-white photographs, sets the genre within its social and political context. Writer Carlos Clarens shows the relationship between the politics of Roosevelt's New Deal and the gangster films of James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson, between the idealism of the 1960s and '70s and films such as Bonnie and Clyde and The Godfather. Foster Hirsch has updated Carlos Clarens's groundbreaking text with a chapter that begins in the early 1980s, where Clarens's original discourse leaves off, and covers recent works such as The Untouchables, Married to the Mob, Miller's Crossing, and Pulp Fiction. This updated edition of Crime Movies now covers this thrilling and violent genre from the silent era until today. --Raphael Shargel
From Library Journal
LJ's reviewer stated that "Like most of the extant literature, [this] book is a lavishly illustrated survey of titles, but Clarens thoughtfully relates how the tabloid news coverage, politics, and censorship, and the economics and social factors of each decade contributed to what was seen on screen" (LJ 3/15/80). This reprint has been updated to include more recent films such as Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas and Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Monumental History,
By
This review is from: Crime Movies (Paperback)
My copy of Carlos Clarens' original "Crime Movies" is a book I have treasured since the early 80s. It is very well researched, covering films from the silent era to the present. Not only did Clarens cover the movies, but he also covered the censorship controversies around them, particulary in the mid-Thirties.In short, this is film genre history as it should be: giving the reader an idea of the breadth of a genre, but focusing on the major films, as well as showing how individual writers and directors could make differences in the genre. Strongly recommended for people interested in the issue of movie violence, "film noir" and how films have changed over time.
5.0 out of 5 stars
More Than Just a Crime Movie Book,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Crime Movies (Paperback)
This is far more than just a crime movie book of the
"and then they made" variety. It really delves into the psychology of what made gangster movies such a hit with the movie going public of the early 30s. Did you know that a 1931 survey had movie stars and gangsters as the top occupations that the man in the street aspired to!!! I found it fascinating that whenever a film tried to turn the focus to the police the public stayed away. The obvious reason was that they were not as charismatic as the gangsters, who were portrayed by such larger than life stars as Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney. With the emergence of John Dillinger, gangsters became even more popular than ever - unlike the Chicago mobsters, these mid west bandits were usually poor folk who wanted something more and were not too choosey about how they got it!! J. Edgar Hoover really clamped down and would not allow any movie to be made featuring a real gangster's name (Monogram's 1947 "Dillinger" slipped through the cracks). Hoover wouldn't even endorse the movie "G Men" because (shock!! horror!!) Cagney as a G man was seen going into a nightclub!! Important crime movies are given intelligent appraisals - "Musketeers of Pig Alley", "Regeneration", "Underworld", "Little Caesar", "Doorway to Hell" and "The Public Enemy". Even an oddity like Fritz Lang's "You and Me" which adds social commentary, music and comedy. A huge chapter is included on film noir, another on the Bonnie and Clyde phenomenon as well as "The Godfather". Definately a must to add to your collection if you are a serious film lover.
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a critical work,
By Mert Ar (Turkiye Istanbul) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Crime Movies (Paperback)
I recommend Crime Movies for readers interested in movies.This book includes a big time from Griffith to 1994.
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