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The memory of her late husband’s slow and painful death is fresh in Anita Stratton’s mind when she finds herself confronted with the high-voltage glare of national publicity when her first novel rockets into the best-seller lists. The furor she arouses leaves her publishers, the staid and respectable firm of Beetham Brothers, as bewildered as she herself is. A capable young secretary, Gail Sinclair, finds herself caught up in the Stratton affair when Anita asks her if she may join her on her drive through France during her summer holiday. Everything seems on par for a pleasant motor trip filled with the sunshine and warmth of rural France, until Anita’s late husband’s sister, the enigmatic Mrs. Westerby, enters the scene. Dressed in a flourish of capes, feathers, and buckled shoes, Mrs. Westerby appears determined to steal the spotlight from her sister-in-law.
An “evocative and entertaining” biography of the nineteenth century circus performer who became a global phenomenon (Neil Harris, author of Humbug). When P. T. Barnum met twenty-five-inch-tall Charles Stratton at a Bridgeport, Connecticut hotel in 1843, one of the most important partnerships in entertainment history was born. With Barnum’s promotional skills and the miniature Stratton’s comedic talents, they charmed a Who’s Who of the nineteenth century, from Queen Victoria to Charles Dickens to Abraham Lincoln. Adored worldwide as “General Tom Thumb,” Stratton played to sold-out shows for almost forty years. From his days as a precocious child star to his tragic early death, Becoming Tom Thumb tells the full story of this iconic figure for the first time. It details his triumphs on the New York stage, his epic celebrity wedding, and his around-the-world tour, drawing on newly available primary sources and interviews. From the mansions of Paris to the deserts of Australia, Stratton’s unique brand of Yankee comedy not only earned him the accolades of millions of fans, it helped move little people out of the side show and into the limelight.
This work focuses on the baseball movie genre in the years following World War II, beginning with the 1948 biopic The Babe Ruth Story and ending with the 1962 Mickey Mantle-Roger Maris vehicle Safe at Home!, when the consensus was that conflict should be limited in American society by emphasizing economic growth and a strong stand against Communism. This study of selected films indicates, however, that this strategy was not entirely effective; while offering a certain amount of nostalgia, these films could not provide shelter from the storm gathering in postwar America which challenged conventional ideas of race, gender and class and broke in the 1960s.
Since the first baseball movie (Little Sunset) in 1915, Hollywood has had an on-again, off-again affair with the sport, releasing more than 100 films through 2001. This is a filmography of those films. Each entry contains full cast and credits, a synopsis, and a critique of the movie. Behind-the-scenes and background information is included, and two sections cover baseball shorts and depictions of the game in non-baseball films. An extensive bibliography completes the work.
An up-to-date and indispensable guide for film history buffs of all kind, this book surveys more than 500 major films based on true stories and historical subject matter. When a film is described as "based on a true story" or "inspired by true events," exactly how "true" is it? Which "factual" elements of the story were distorted for dramatic purposes, and what was added or omitted? Inspired by True Events: An Illustrated Guide to More Than 500 History-Based Films, Second Edition concisely surveys a wide range of major films, docudramas, biopics, and documentaries based on real events, addressing subject areas including military history and war, political figures, sports, and art. This book provides an up-to-date and indispensable guide for all film history buffs, students and scholars of history, and fans of the cinema.
In this penetrating and riveting biography of one of Hollywood's most beloved screen icons, Donald Dewey probes beneath Jimmy Stewart, the conservative image and ideal, to reveal James Stewart, the actor and the man. Through hundreds of interviews and in-depth analysis of his seventy-five films, the author assesses how the Hollywood man-about-town of the 1930's and 40's - Stewart's lovers included Ginger Rogers, Olivia de Havilland and Marlene Dietrich - became the epitome of American family values who remained married for forty-five years; and how the studio-bred, effervescent star of It's a Wonderful Life developed into the brilliant actor whose performances in films such as Vertigo and Shenandoah exposed a vulnerability unseen in his personal relationships. With many insights into the turmoil of his private life, the artistry behind his cinematic craft and his heroic military record in the Second World War, Dewey gives us much more than a legend to love.
Filmmakers have often encouraged us to regard people with physical disabilities in terms of pity, awe, humor, or fearas "Others" who somehow deserve to be isolated from the rest of society. In this first history of the portrayal of physical disability in the movies, Martin Norden examines hundreds of Hollywood movies (and notable international ones), finds their place within mainstream society, and uncovers the movie industry's practices for maintaining the status quokeeping people with disabilities dependent and "in their place." Norden offers a dazzling array of physically disabled characters who embody or break out of the stereotypes that have both influenced and been symptomatic of societys fluctuating relationship with its physically disabled minority. He shows us "sweet innocents" like Tiny Tim, "obsessive avengers" like Quasimodo, variations on the disabled veteran, and many others. He observes the arrival of a new set of stereotypes tied to the growth of science and technology in the 1970s and 1980s, and underscores movies like My Left Foot and The Waterdance that display a newfound sensitivity. Nordens in-depth knowledge of disability history makes for a particularly intelligent and sensitive approach to this long-overlooked issue in media studies.
This book profiles forty major league ballplayers who engineered remarkable comebacks to salvage fading careers. Details of each comeback is provided along with a summary of the player's career. The comeback players range from Hall of Famers like Ted Williams and Stan Musial; to near-greats like Tommy John and Luis Tiant; to journeyman performers like George McQuinn and Tony Cuccinello. In the absence of statistical standards to evaluate or even define comebacks, the selection of the top comeback players was based on the following criteria: historical significance, uniqueness, dramatic content, degree of difficulty, and the player's overall reputation and standing.
Since 2009, The National Pastime has served as SABR's convention-focused publication. Published annually, this research journal provides in-depth articles focused on the respective geographic region where the national convention is taking place in a given year. The SABR 45 convention took place in Chicago, and here are 25 articles on baseball in and around the bat-and-ball crazed Windy City. Contents Introduction by Stuart Shea Sputtering Towards Respectability: Chicago’s Journey to the Big Leagues by Brian McKenna The Windy City – Collar City Connection:The Curious Relationship of Chicago’s and Troy (NY)’s Professional Baseball Teams (1870–82) by Jeff Laing Mike González:The First Hispanic Cub by Lou Hernández Bibb Falk: The Only Jockey in the Majors by Matthew M. Clifford Ted Lyons: 300 Wins—Closer with a Closer? by Herm Krabbenhoft Mel Almada: The First Hispanic to Homer at Several Historic American League Stadia by Lou Hernández Andy Pafko: Darling of the 1945 Cubs by Joe Niese Bill Murray’s Prediction by Rob Edelman The Top 10 Chicago White Sox Games of the 1950s by Stephen D. Boren Mr. Cub by Joseph Wancho How Good Was the White Sox’ Pitching in the 1960s? by Brendan Bingham The ’67 White Sox: “Hitless” Destiny’s Grandchild? by Bryan Soderholm-Difatte The Chicago White Sox, 1968–70: Three Years in Hell by Sam Pathy Black Sox on Film by Rob Edelman If Gil Hodges Managed the Cubs and Leo Durocher the Mets in 1969, Whose “Miracle” Would it Have Been? by Mort Zachter Split Season 1981, Chicago Style by Jeff Katz Palmer House Stars by Leslie Heaphy The Peculiar Professional Baseball Career of Eddie Gaedel by Eric Robinson When They Were Just Boys: Chicago and Youth Baseball Take Center Stage by Alan Cohen Stories of the White Sox: Farrell, Lardner, and Algren by James Hawking Curse of the Billy Goat: An Adaptive Coping Strategy for Cubs Fans by Jeremy Ashton Houska, Ph.D. Of Black Sox, Ball Yards, and Monty Stratton: Chicago Baseball Movies by Rob Edelman Memories That Will Never Go-Go by Francis Kinlaw Chicago Goes Hollywood: The Cubs, Wrigley Field, and Popular Culture by David Krell Buying the White Sox: A Comic Opera Starring Bill Veeck, Hank Greenberg, and Chuck Comiskey by John Rosengren William Hulbert: Father of Professional Sports Leagues by David Bohmer The Western Baseball Tours of 1879 by Brock Helander The Legacy of the Players League’s 1890 Chicago Pirates by Gordon Gattie There Was Almost No World Series in 1905, Too: How Charlie Comiskey Could Have Ended the Fall Classic Before it Started by Chuck Hildebrandt The Last Best Day: When Chicago Had Three First-Place Teams by Mark S. Sternman Why did Wrigley, Lasker, and the Chicago Cubs Join a Presidential Campaign? by Mark Souder Silas K. Johnson: An Illinois Farm Boy Who Made Baseball History by Matthew M. Clifford A Fall Classic Comedy, Game Six, 1945 by John Rosengren Bears, Cubs, and a Moose, Oh My by Joseph Wancho Dean of Chicanery: Jerry Reinsdorf’s Plan to Enlist Hank Greenberg to Umpire the Northwestern Law School Student-Faculty Game and How it Backfired by John Rosengren “Don’t Tell Them Any Different”: ‘Don Kessinger Night’ Caps a Long Career by Mark Randall Lasting Impressions of Harry Caray by Suzanne Wright The Game That Was Not: Philadelphia Phillies at Chicago Cubs, August 8, 1988 by Steven Glassman The Chicago History Museum’s Baseball Photo Treasure Trove: The Chicago Daily News Glass Plate Negative Collection by Mark Fimoff From the North Side to the Deep South by Francis Kinlaw
Before she achieved immortality on the long-running situation comedy Bewitched, Agnes Moorehead had established a distinguished career as a character actress. After her screen debut in Citizen Kane (1941), Moorehead became one of the most familiar female faces on the silver screen. For moviegoers of the 1940s and ‘50s, she was the quintessential character actress, earning four Academy Award nominations during a career that saw her gain the respect of her peers in all four major entertainment media: radio, film, theater, and television. In The Films of Agnes Moorehead, Axel Nissen looks at the actress’s sixty-three feature films between 1941 and 1973. Each film is profiled here, with particular emphasis placed on the films that merit closer attention: Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, Mrs. Parkington, Dark Passage, All That Heaven Allows, The Left Hand of God, The Swan, Tempest, The Bat, and Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte. Arranged in chronological order, the discussion of these films highlights Moorehead’s contribution to each feature. In addition to analyzing her performances, the author discusses the development of Moorehead’s career as a whole, along with her relationship with various studios, directors, producers, and fellow actors. Based on extensive interviews with the actress’s surviving friends and co-workers, as well as detailed archival research into primary sources, this book brings to light new information not just about Moorehead’s work in film, but on her life and career in general. Though this book will certainly appeal to movie buffs, The Films of Agnes Moorehead will also be of interest to students and scholars of classic Hollywood films, including those interested in women and film, gender studies, and film history.