The History of American Literature on Film

by Thomas Leitch, Greg M. Colón Semenza (Editor), Bob Hasenfratz (Editor)

Overview

From William Dickson's Rip Van Winkle films (1896) to Baz Luhrmann's big-budget production of The Great Gatsby (2013) and beyond, cinematic adaptations of American literature participate in a rich and fascinating history. Unlike previous studies of American literature and film, which emphasize particular authors like Edith Wharton and Nathaniel Hawthorne, particular texts like Moby-Dick, particular literary periods like the American Renaissance, or particular genres like the novel, this volume considers the multiple functions of filmed American literature as a cinematic genre in its own right-one that reflects the specific political and aesthetic priorities of different national and historical cinemas even as it plays a decisive role in defining American literature for a global audience.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781628923735
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	06/13/2019
Series:	The History of World Literatures on Film
Pages:	464
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Thomas Leitch is Professor of English at the University of Delaware, USA. His most recent books are Wikipedia U: Knowledge, Authority, and Liberal Education in the Digital Age (2014) and The Oxford Handbook of Adaptation Studies (2017).

Table of Contents

List of Figures viii

Acknowledgments xiv

1 Introduction: American Cinema and American Literatures l

2 1895-1915: The Attraction of Adaptation 31

3 1915-27: American Exotics 69

4 1927-39: Novel Impressions 111

5 1939-51: Invisible Adaptation 155

6 1951-67: Weaponized Best Sellers 199

7 1967-75: Counterculture Classics 231

8 1975-89: Screening the Silenced 267

9 1989-2007: Adapt or Die 301

10 2007-18: Entertainment for Me 339

Bibliography 379

Index 393

Editorial Reviews

01/01/2020

Despite this work's title, Leitch (English, Univ. of Delaware; The Oxford Companion to Adaptation Studies) goes beyond a simple history, instead examining different approaches that Hollywood has taken in adapting American literature (primarily novels but also plays, poems, and comics) to film. An introduction explores why relatively few works from the American canon have been made into motion pictures, especially in comparison to British literature (notably, the subject of the previous volume in the series, The History of British Literature on Film, 1895–2015). While this introduction offers a few contestable assertions and leaves some threads of thought dangling, it nevertheless considers in close and thoughtful detail both the nature of the American and British film industries (especially the BBC's effect on the latter) and analyzes each country's literary tradition. Leitch dives into a chronological study of adaptations from 1895 to 2018. His coverage is impressive, including the usual blockbusters and star vehicles but also lesser-known works (including other, earlier adaptations of the L. Frank Baum's "Oz" books), which results sometimes in sentences that are little more than long lists of movie titles and dates. VERDICT Although slow going for most film buffs, this dense, scholarly work will appeal to academics interested in cinema studies.—Robert Mixner, Bartholomew Cty. P.L., Columbus, IN

Library Journal

A superb achievement. Leitch challenges conventional notions of 'literature' and 'history' and in doing so puts practices of adaptation at the heart of Hollywood cinema. Writing with characteristic wit and intelligence, he traces how American cinema, in its irreverent approach to its national literature, shaped the cultural context for best-sellers, classics and comic books alike. Those who just dip in will find insights on every page, not just into films, stars and genres but into topics as diverse as the shift to sound in the 1930s and convergence culture in the 2000s. But Leitch's real achievement is to carry his sustained argument with such vigour and conviction over so many years of cinema history and so many pages of this absorbing book.
Professor Christine Geraghty, Honorary Professorial Fellow, University of Glasgow, UK

A thrilling story of the history of American literature on screen, from Hollywood's inception to the present, The History of American Literature on Film demonstrates Hollywood's diverse and fraught relation to American literary traditions. A boon to film, literature, adaptation, and media scholars, the book provides a history of Hollywood film, as well as a valuable analysis of the variegated and multiple "scripts" that provoke and serve as sources for film adaptations. Focused on distinct themes, yet wide-ranging and full of important insights about American film, literary, and media cultures, this exhilarating book is as informative as it is deeply pleasurable to read.
Julie Grossman, Prof. of English and Communication and Film Studies, Le Moyne College, USA

This monograph benefits from Thomas Leitch's extensive career researching and teaching American literature, film, and adaptation. Rigorously researched and rich with knowledge and insight, this wide-ranging, multi-faceted, deftly integrates larger purviews with closer analyses, bringing fresh and rigorous insights to long-standing debates. This formidable achievement is a valuable contribution to adaptation studies.
Kamilla Elliott, Professor of Literature and Media, University of Lancaster, UK

From the Publisher