There is more to cinema than its main attractions. Whats on with it? was a frequent question asked by cinemagoers before the 1970s; as they tried to decide which A film to see - and the supporting feature often made the difference in ticket sales. These B films were shown as curtain-raisers on double-bill programmes in the days before television led to major changes in film exhibition. But while they are fondly remembered by audiences; and were a central component of the British film industry; supporting films have largely been neglected by film critics and historians. The British B Film is the first book to provide an in-depth account of what B films were like; how they came to be made; and how they were received. The careers of many notable actors; directors and other film-makers were launched in these unpretentious but often very entertaining films that ran for roughly an hour before the cinema interval. Steve Chibnall and Brian McFarlanes carefully researched study traces the story of B-film production in Britain; from World War II to the late 1960s; providing a fresh perspective on the B movie phenomenon; both as artefact and as industry product; as well as highlighting what such films tell us about the changing times in which they were made. Some B film-makers and actors went on to bigger things; some had done bigger things in earlier years; some made their whole careers in B movies in Britain. This book draws on sources such as the trade papers which routinely reviewed B films; the fan magazines of the period; and on interviews with some of the most prolific B film-makers. Overall; the book opens up a fascinating corner of British film-making over a period in which the whole pattern of production; distribution and exhibition was changing. But; and perhaps most importantly; the authors stress that there is more sheer enjoyment to be had from these films than has hitherto been allowed; and they aim to communicate the sorts of pleasure they offered to audiences. STEVE CHIBNALL is Professor of British Cinema at De Montfort University; UK. His books include Quota Quickies: The Birth of the British B Film (2007) and studies of Brighton Rock and Get Carter in the British Film Guides series.BRIAN MCFARLANE is Adjunct Associate Professor at Monash University; Melbourne and Visiting Professor at the University of Hull. He is the editor of The Encyclopedia of British Cinema (3rd edition; 2007); co-author of Michael Winterbottom (2009) and author of Screen Adaptations: Charles Dickens Great Expectations (2008).
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Review
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. A great book for anybody interested in creating livable cities!By Marcia Borst KlenbortThe surprising death of Dev Bowly Jr. at age 71 in August 2014 sadly cuts short his energetic lifework: as a neighborhood historian; as a Legal Aid lawyer; as a Chicago-wide public housing researcher and preservationist; as an extraordinarily active student and interpreter of architecture both in his native city and in a summer community on the shore of Lake Michigan; and -- his unfinished project -- as chronicler of Chicagos great philanthropist Julius Rosenwald. We are lucky to have this book; The Poorhouse: Subsidized Housing in Chicago; published in 2012 (a revised and updated version of his original book by the same name; which was published in 1978). This book adds three more decades; so we now see public housing from its advent in 1895 to the start of the 21st century. The subject is public multi-family housing in Chicago. Who notices the need for housing projects? Who builds them? Who lives there? How long do they last? How do government agencies -- local and federal -- work with communities to establish housing projects? To tear them down? Which projects can count as "success for the city"? Which projects as "success for the poor people" who live there? Its a big story; fascinating to me as one who grew up on the South Side of Chicago; as Dev did; but it can fascinate city dwellers throughout the country who ponder the role of good public housing in creating livable cities. The very readable text (whod have thought a book about public housing could be such a page-turner?) is augmented by dozens of period photographs. From the beginning story of Francisco Terrace; the first subsidized housing in 1895 (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright); to the destruction or reworking and restoring of failed projects; this is a book thats a pleasure to read. I hope there will be an effort to publish his unfinished writings about Julius Rosenwald; the Sears tycoon who saw the need for and built the first decent housing for Chicagos Black citizens in the late twenties at 47th St. and Michigan Ave. Rosenwald at that time also saw a need much further South; and; as Dev briefly tells; started building small rural schools for black children in the South for whom schools did not exist. And shops. And houses for teachers. Over five thousand of them; In fifteen Southern states.
