The Hollywood "sex comedy"--a feature-length film in which sex motivates the storyline and the laughs are triggered by sexual situations--came into its own with the 1953 release of the once-controversial The Moon Is Blue. That film received very positive critical and audience response despite being denied a seal of approval from the Production Code Administration and receiving a "Condemned" rating from the Legion of Decency. (These two formidable watchdog agencies would continue to be challenged--and audiences would continue to be convulsed--by the abundance of sex comedies still to come.) The present informal survey focuses on 25 selected examples of the genre, released between 1953 and 1964. Along with such familiar works as The Seven Year Itch, The Tender Trap, Pillow Talk and Kiss Me, Stupid, several lesser-known sex comedies like I Married a Woman, The Tunnel of Love, Happy Anniversary and Period of Adjustment are documented, analyzed and placed in context with their times. Some are masterpieces, others mildly amusing and a few downright awful, but all are fascinating artifacts of a bygone era in popular entertainment.

The most up-to-date study of the Hollywood romantic comedy film, from the development of sound to the twenty-first century, this book examines the history and conventions of the genre and surveys the controversies arising from the critical responses to these films. Provides a detailed interpretation of important romantic comedy films from as early as 1932 to movies made in the twenty-first century Presents a full analysis of the range of romantic comedy conventions, including dramatic conflicts, characters, plots, settings, and the function of humor Develops a survey of romantic comedy movies and builds a canon of key films from Hollywood's classical era right up to the present day Chapters work as discrete studies as well as within the larger context of the book

Billy Wilder's work remains a masterful combination of incisive social commentary, skilled writing and directing, and unashamed entertainment value. One of Hollywood's foremost emigre filmmakers, Wilder holds a key position in film history via films that represent a complex reflection of his European roots and American cultural influences. This wide-ranging collection of essays by an international group of scholars examines the significance of Wilder's filmmaking from a variety of original perspectives. Engaging with issues of genre, industry, representation and national culture, the volume provides fresh insights into Wilder's films and opens up his work to further exploration.

Movie stars do it better, or so it seems. Sex on the silver screen unfolds in such a perfect way and we get sucked in. Whether we want to admit it or not, much of our sexual behavior has been learned from the movies. From Joe Bob Briggs comes Profoundly Erotic, a collection of essays on sex in film. This guide explores the most seminal films―from cult classics to Hollywood blockbusters―that both shaped and reflected America’s changing mores and codes about sex. Briggs, who has been called the Leonard Maltin of cult movies, makes good on his reputation as an off-kilter and daring movie guru in this revealing look at filmed fornication. Profoundly Erotic follows Joe Bob’s popular Profoundly Disturbing. Now Joe Bob takes on the key films that turn us on, such as It Happened One Night (1938), Lolita (1962), Belle de Jour (1967), and sex, lies, and videotape (1989). Illustrated with lurid stills and posters, the book strips down the hottest screen moments in history with the bodies we adore, from Rudolf Valentino and Mae West to Brigitte Bardot and Sharon Stone. In addition to the ten main movies, the book features a hundred more capsule reviews in “For Further Frisson” sidebars. Praise for Profoundly Disturbing: “A valuable and entertaining survey of movies that broke taboos.” ―Leonard Maltin “The book merits attention from fans tired of high-minded essays about classics such as Citizen Kane, and explains why crass, tasteless pictures often make more impact than those released with the stamp of respectability.” ―Publishers Weekly

Topics include films starring: Myrna Loy and William Powell, Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, Doris Day and Rock Hudson.

An alphabetical reference on the major film figures (stars, producers, directors, writers, et al.), past and present. Each entry provides a substantial career biography and a complete listing of all films the individual has been involved with. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Screen Savers II is John DiLeo's three-part grab bag of classic movies, beginning with his extensive essays about ten remarkable and underappreciated movies, as in the first Screen Savers, and representing a variety of genres and stars such as Barbara Stanwyck, James Stewart, Ginger Rogers, and DiLeo favorite Joel McCrea. Part Two collects and categorizes posts from DiLeo's classic-film blog screensaversmovies.com, containing his musings on classics revisited, sleepers and stinkers, films old and new, plus his memorial tributes to Hollywood notables. Part Three might be called a delayed bonus round to DiLeo's 1999 quiz book, with all-new matching quizzes. Can you identify the films in which a character writes a book titled Hummingbird Hill; Fred Astaire dances with Betty Hutton; a character named Sean Regan is important but never seen?

For decades, Screen World has been the film professional's, as well as the film buff's, favorite and indispensable annual screen resource, full of all the necessary statistics and facts. Now Screen World editor Barry Monush has compiled another comprehensive work for every film lover's library. In the first of two volumes, this book chronicles the careers of every significant film actor, from the earliest silent screen stars – Chaplin, Pickford, Fairbanks – to the mid-1960s, when the old studio and star systems came crashing down. Each listing includes: a brief biography, photos from the famed Screen World archives, with many rare shots; vital statistics; a comprehensive filmography; and an informed, entertaining assessment of each actor's contributions – good or bad! In addition to every major player, Monush includes the legions of unjustly neglected troupers of yesteryear. The result is a rarity: an invaluable reference tool that's as much fun to read as a scandal sheet. It pulsates with all the scandal, glamour, oddity and glory that was the lifeblood of its subjects. Contains over 1 000 photos!

At the turn of the twentieth century, the proliferation of movies attracted not only the attention of audiences across America but also the apprehensive eyes of government officials and special interest groups concerned about the messages disseminated by the silver screen. Between 1907 and 1926, seven states -- New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, Kansas, Maryland, and Massachusetts -- and more than one hundred cities authorized censors to suppress all images and messages considered inappropriate for American audiences. Movie studios, hoping to avoid problems with state censors, worrying that censorship might be extended to the federal level, and facing increased pressure from religious groups, also jumped into the censoring business, restraining content through the adoption of the self-censoring Production Code, also known as the Hays code.But some industry outsiders, independent distributors who believed that movies deserved the free speech protections of the First Amendment, brought legal challenges to censorship at the state and local levels. Freedom of the Screen chronicles both the evolution of judicial attitudes toward film restriction and the plight of the individuals who fought for the right to deliver provocative and relevant movies to American audiences. The path to cinematic freedom was marked with both achievements and roadblocks, from the establishment of the Production Code Administration, which effectively eradicated political films after 1934, to the landmark cases over films such as The Miracle (1948), La ronde (1950), and Lady Chatterley's Lover (1955) that paved the way for increased freedom of expression. As the fight against censorship progressed case by case through state courts and the U.S. Supreme Court, legal authorities and the public responded, growing increasingly sympathetic toward artistic freedom. Because a small, unorganized group of independent film distributors and exhibitors in mid-twentieth-century America fought back against what they believed was the unconstitutional prior restraint of motion pictures, film after 1965 was able to follow a new path, maturing into an artistic medium for the communication of ideas, however controversial. Government censors would no longer control the content of America's movie screens. Laura Wittern-Keller's use of previously unexplored archival material and interviews with key figures earned her the researcher of the year award from the New York State Board of Regents and the New York State Archives Partnership Trust. Her exhaustive work is the first to discuss more than five decades of film censorship battles that rose from state and local courtrooms to become issues of national debate and significance. A compendium of judicial action in the film industry, Freedom of the Screen is a tribute to those who fought for the constitutional right of free expression and paved the way for the variety of films that appear in cinemas today.

It took nine decades for women to meet their male counterparts on equal ground once again. Women in Hollywood, while chronicling the achievements of film stars and other famous actresses, focuses on the unknown women who were in the forefront of the film industry, among the early directors and screenwriters - long before they came to prominence again as studio executives in the nineties. Here is an indispensable and largely neglected chapter in the illustrious 100-year history of Hollywood.