Behind the Screen: How Gays and Lesbians Shaped Hollywood
by William J. Mann
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Description
Mann looks at the influence of gay actors, directors, and set and costume designers on the development of the motion pictures.Tags
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Member Reviews
Fascinating and readable. Examines the subject field by field (screenwriters, set designers, directors) and era by era (early Hollywood, WWII, twilight of the studio system). Sources are clearly cited, whether they're dinner-party stories recalled from memory or period employment records.
As a historian I found this book lacking the clarity and strength in sources that appear in the biographies that he has written.
As a social history this lacks sufficient sources to make some of the arguments. He also uses sources that would be better used in a cultural history.
As a social history this lacks sufficient sources to make some of the arguments. He also uses sources that would be better used in a cultural history.
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Author Information
22+ Works 2,938 Members
William J. Mann is an American novelist, biographer, and Hollywood historian best known for his studies of Hollywood and the American film industry, especially his 2006 biography of Katharine Hepburn, Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn. Kate was named one of the 100 Notable Books of 2006 by the New York Times. Mann was born in Connecticut and show more received his Master's degree at Wesleyan University. His first novel, The Men From the Boys, was published by Dutton in 1997. His other biographies include How to Be a Movie Star: Elizabeth Taylor in Hollywood, and 2014's New York Times bestseller: Hello Gorgeous: Becoming Barbra Streisand. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Awards and Honors
Awards
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Behind the Screen: How Gays and Lesbians Shaped Hollywood
- Original publication date
- 2001
- Dedication
- For Tim Huber and Miles White
- First words
- "Tell me anywhere else in America where you could have found it."
Across from me, the blue eyes of the eighty-year-old man shone sharply in the Palm Springs sun. His fingers tapped hard upon the glass surface of the... (show all) table.
"You can't, can you?" He sat back in his chair and gave me a satisfied smile. "Because there was nowhere else. Not unless you were in Cafe Society or some bigwif on Broadway. But in Hollywood... gays had power, gays were 'in.'" -Introduction
The handsome hero couldn't breathe: there was water up his nose. The villain held him by the back of his neck, keeping him face down in the flume. Behind him, the crew slapped their knees in laughter, and the director, barely... (show all) able to conceal his own mirth, ticked off the screen seconds in his mind. When finally he called "cut," up from the flume staggered the Great God Kerrigan - cursing, spitting, gasping for air. -Great Gods, The First Gay Idols, 1910-1925 - Canonical DDC/MDS
- 791.43
- Canonical LCC
- PN2286.M36
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, LGBTQ+, Sexuality and Gender Studies, History, General Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir
- DDC/MDS
- 791.43 — Arts & recreation Recreation, sports, and performing arts Public performances Motion pictures, radio, television, podcasting Motion pictures
- LCC
- PN2286 .M36 — Language and Literature Literature (General) Literature (General) Drama Dramatic representation. The theater Special regions or countries
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 209
- Popularity
- 156,791
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.84)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 2
- ASINs
- 1
