MarcMorris

I'd highly recommend these too, from FAB Press:

Beasts in the Cellar: The Exploitation Film Career of Tony Tenser (Tigon)

Ten Years of Terror: British Films of the 1970s

Making Mischief: Cult Films of Pete Walker

Come Play with Me: The Life and Films of Mary Millington

also:

English Gothic

Amicus: The Studio That Dripped Blood

Keeping the British End Up: Four Decades of Saucy Cinema

Nucleus Films:
DVD Releasing + Extras Production

Gibbie

LPC has noted some fascinating reads above.

I would also mention the location books.

The Movie Traveller - Foster

Movie Locations: A Guide to Britain & Ireland - Adams

The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations Presents London - Reeves

The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations, Reeves.

The_Late_Peter_Cook

Just been browsing through the new biography of Stewart Granger. The writing style of it's authour, Don Shiach, is a bit 'in your face'. Does he really think that Gary Cooper was illiterate as he states early on, (if he does, he obviously hasn't read Jeffrey Mayers biography of Cooper, which was also published by Aurum..)or that Freddie Mills was murdered shortly after a late-forties photo-shoot with Granger...

DB7

Hammer Films - The Elstree Studios Years
by Wayne Kinsey

Wayne Kinsey reveals the story of Hammer Films from 1967 to present day, following the highs and lows of the company as it bedded into its new home at Elstree. Based on extensive oral history recording with Hammer personnel, the book describes in fascinating detail how the studio would plummet from one of the most successful British Film companies and proud recipients of the Queen's Award to Industry, to the depths of bankruptcy within a single decade. As the British Censor relaxed, Hammer took full advantage, steeping their films in the seventies with sex and nudity as well as ever increasing gore. Even better than Kinsey’s previous volume – the acclaimed Hammer Films - The Bray Studios Years, this book is heavily illustrated throughout by rare never before published photos and documents, many taken behind the scenes of the famous “House that Dripped Blood”.

COMING AUTUMN 2005

The_Late_Peter_Cook

There's a new book out, "Michael Caine" by Christopher Bray, which isn't a straight biography but more about his screen career. It's an interesting read, but flawed by some very odd mistakes, for example Ican't recall seeing Walter Brennen in TREASURE OF THE SIERA MEDRID (exuse my poor spelling) but I do remember Walter HUSTON co-starring with Bogart in it!

Emperor of Lancashire

Both the Tomahawk Press books I have - Hammer: The Bray Studio Years, and The Making of Night of the Demon - are excellent, and I'm looking forward to this one very much indeed.

Thye've got a book on the Wicker Man on the way too. Marvellous!

The_Late_Peter_Cook

Looking on Amazon, there seems to be some bad news concering Manchester UP's 'British Film Makers' series. The new titles (such as the volume on Asquith) seem only to be in hard back and so are out of a lot of people's price range (I can't afford to pay £45 for a 200 page book).

Speaking of high prices, I've been waiting two years for 'British Cinema of the 1950s: The Decline of Deference' to come out in paperback, as I can't possibly afford the £68 price tag....

Steve Crook

A bookseller on ABE books is offering the book on Asquith for £35 + postage (from Powys)

There are also a few offering "British Cinema of the 1950s" from £52

Steve

sanndevil

It could have been worse - you could have endured the Westminster University Film Studies Masters Degree lectures upon which this book has been based! [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/clapping.gif[/img] Good old Vincent. Or not. Dependent upon which student you asked.

In fairness to Sue Harper and Vincent Porter, their research extends to territory covered somewhere between journalism and acedemia. The book is an interesting read.

Buy me a pint down the pub and I'll give you a candid opinion. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rotfl.gif[/img]

julian_craster

For expensive books, try to get your local public library to order it on
inter-library loan from the British Library. The fee is normally about £3 for postage, but a least you will be able to read the book, if not own it...

Steve Crook

A very good service offered by all public libraries in Britain.
One I used myself many times when I was a poor student.

It can take a while because it goes through various levels.
When you put in the request they do a local search within the borough to see if it's already available in a library in the borough - you can use the same service to reserve a book they've already got but that someone else has out on loan.
If they can't find it in the borough then they'll look in the region. For example, anywhere in London and the South East they'll use the LASER (London and South East Regions) inter-library loan system to check if any other library in the region has the book.
If they can't find it anywhere in the region then they'll expand the search to all the libraries in the country. That's all public libraries, all university and college libraries and even the British Library. That can involve an extra fee over the fee for the basic search but it's still only a few quid.
In the past, on the few times when the search has failed even at the national level, my local library has asked me if I thought they should buy it in. But with the current library cut-backs I'm not sure if they'd still do that. Maybe it was just that I was very friendly with the senior librarian [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img]

A brilliant service.

Steve

alan gowdy

I've just been reading "Filming The Dam Busters" by Jonathan Falconer (a Christmas present - I couldn't justify £20 of my hard-earned) and found it an excellent read with quite a few good quality B&W production stills - I'd recommend it to all who hold the film in high regard.

It states that the matte-work depiction of the explosion that breaches the Mohne dam as well as the addition of tracer bullets and flak was farmed out to "a contract special effects company in Soho". It's a shame they could not have kept this in-house because it is by far the least well realised aspect of the production and so unconvincing that it always threatens to spoil my enjoyment of what is otherwise a great yarn, well told.

"Don't forget... one of petrol, two of meths"

Steve Crook

Were there any decent matte artists in Britain at the time?
One of the best teams was led by W. Percy Day who had retired a few years before The Dam Busters (1954) was made and his protégé (and step-son) Peter Ellenshaw had already moved to Hollywoodland where he was doing some great work for Disney.

It's hard to tell, because the best matte work is usually un-noticeable - it's a stunning effect but you shouldn't realise that it's a matte.

Steve

alan gowdy

I absolutely agree, Steve - the highest praise matte work (or indeed CGI) can attract is that it is invisible (can I quote Pearl Harbor as an example of how NOT to do it?). A friend who is a sound engineer goes home happy when no-one makes any comment on his work!

"Don't forget... one of petrol, two of meths"

theuofc

Total agreement, Smudge. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/clapping.gif[/img] Freddie Young's book is won-der-ful. His chapters on working with David Lean and Michael Powell, along with a myriad of anecdotes on the perils of aerial cinematography, starting out in the business...all of these make for a great, great read. It's a slim volume, but smaller print so Freddie gets a lot of his fine memories down before his death soon after. A great loss to cinema. I would loved to have heard him in a Q&A.

Jack Cardiff, well, what can we say. A master and a lovely gentleman. I'm very glad that in his 90s, he is generous enough to continually share his memories and expertise in Q&A appearances around the globe. Add to 'Magic Hour,' his 'Conversations with Jack Cardiff' which goes into more detail about filming various titles and his work with certain directors and actors.

Best,

Barbara