Bibliographic Information

Rock Hudson

John Mercer

(Film stars / series editors, Martin Shingler and Susan Smith)(BFI books)

Palgrave, 2015

  • : pbk

Available at  / 1 libraries

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Description and Table of Contents

Description

Tall, dark and handsome, with a manufactured name and a scrupulously designed professional image, Rock Hudson represented the Hollywood ideal of American masculinity during the 1950s and 60s; an ideal that was to be questioned and ultimately undermined during the years to follow by lurid accounts of his private life and his death from AIDS related illness. This illuminating analysis of Hudson's career reassesses the perceived disparity between his public persona and his 'true' nature. Exploring his unique qualities as a performer and exposing the role of his agent, producers and directors in the construction of his image, John Mercer unpicks Hudson's stardom to reveal a more complex star identity than has hitherto been understood. Foregrounding the ways in which Hudson's career provides insights into the nature of American popular culture and attitudes towards gender and sexuality, Mercer ultimately depicts Hudson as a star who embodied a period of transition between the old Hollywood and the new.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments .- Introduction .- 1. The Apprenticeship, 1948-54 .- 2. The Tall, Dark and Handsome Star .- 3. Adult Content and the Mature Actor .- Notes .- Bibliography .- Filmography .- Index.

by "Nielsen BookData"

Related Books: 1-2 of 2

  • Film stars

    series editors, Martin Shingler and Susan Smith

    Palgrave Macmillan

  • BFI books

    BFI

Details

  • NCID
    BB20482652
  • ISBN
    • 9781844574643
  • Country Code
    uk
  • Title Language Code
    eng
  • Text Language Code
    eng
  • Place of Publication
    London
  • Pages/Volumes
    vi, 162 p.
  • Size
    19 cm
  • Classification
  • Subject Headings
  • Parent Bibliography ID
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