Richard Jaeckel, Hollywood's Man of Character

Richard Jaeckel, Hollywood's Man of Character PDF

Author: Gene Freese

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2016-04-20

Total Pages: 214

ISBN-13: 147666210X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Character actor Richard Jaeckel worked five decades in Hollywood alongside the industry's biggest names. Noted for tough-guy portrayals, he appeared in such classic westerns and war films as Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), The Gunfighter (1950), 3:10 to Yuma (1957), and The Dirty Dozen (1967). Bringing strength and integrity to his roles, he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Sometimes a Great Notion (1970). A World War II veteran and Merchant Marine, he was respected in the surfing and fitness communities for his ageless athleticism. His performance as Turk in Come Back, Little Sheba (1952) was groundbreaking for iron-pumping actors wanting to be taken seriously for their dramatic abilities. This revealing portrait of the life of a working character actor covers Jaeckel's noteworthy career through each of his film and television appearances, from Guadalcanal Diary (1943) to Baywatch (1994). Recollections and behind the scenes stories from those he knew and worked with offer an in-depth look at the dedication and professionalism it takes to make it in Hollywood.

John Derek

John Derek PDF

Author: Michelangelo Capua

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2020-03-20

Total Pages: 207

ISBN-13: 1476675880

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Actor and director John Derek was born in Hollywood, where his striking good looks helped get him a contract with David O' Selznick. Derek's career took off after Humphrey Bogart made him his costar in the cultish noir Knock at Any Doors. Derek appeared in such Academy Award-nominated films as All the King's Men, Run for Cover, The Ten Commandments and Exodus, and worked with directors like Nicholas Ray, Cecil B. DeMille, Otto Preminger and others. He was a competent, dedicated performer even in his last, trivial roles. In the 1960s, his career in decline, he began directing his own films. Although critics panned the string of movies he made starring his three wives--Ursula Andress, Linda Evans and Bo Derek--some were box-office hits, like Tarzan, the Ape Man. This biography covers his extraordinary life and career, with extensive analysis of his films.

Classic Movie Fight Scenes

Classic Movie Fight Scenes PDF

Author: Gene Freese

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2017-10-05

Total Pages: 343

ISBN-13: 1476669430

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Both brawls and elaborate martial arts have kept movie audiences on the edges of their seats since cinema began. But the filming of fight scenes has changed significantly through the years--mainly for the safety of the combatants--from improvised scuffles in the Silent Era to exquisitely choreographed and edited sequences involving actors, stuntmen and technical experts. Camera angles prevented many a broken nose. Examining more than 300 films--from The Spoilers (1914) to Road House (1989)--the author provides behind-the-scenes details on memorable melees starring such iconic tough-guys as John Wayne, Randolph Scott, Robert Mitchum, Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood, Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris and Jackie Chan.

Hollywood Speaks

Hollywood Speaks PDF

Author: Mike Steen

Publisher:

Published: 1974

Total Pages: 392

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Tape-recorded interviews with actors and the technical people whose efforts combine to produce a film.

The Western Films of Robert Mitchum

The Western Films of Robert Mitchum PDF

Author: Gene Freese

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2019-11-05

Total Pages: 245

ISBN-13: 1476678499

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Robert Mitchum was--and still is--one of Hollywood's defining stars of Western film. For more than 30 years, the actor played the weary and cynical cowboy, and his rough-and-tough presence on-screen was no different than his one off-screen. With a personality fit for western-noir, Robert Mitchum dominated the genre during the mid-20th century, and returned as the anti-hero again during the 1990s before his death. This book lays down the life of Mitchum and the films that established him as one of Hollywood's strongest and smartest horsemen. Going through early classics like Pursued (1947) and Blood on the Moon (1948) to more recent cult favorites like Tombstone (1993) and Dead Man (1995), Freese shows how Mitchum's nuanced portrayals of the iconic anti-hero of the West earned him his spot in the Cowboy Hall of Fame.

Jock Mahoney

Jock Mahoney PDF

Author: Gene Freese

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2013-10-31

Total Pages: 223

ISBN-13: 0786476893

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Iowa-born Jock Mahoney was an elite athlete and U.S. Marines fighter pilot prior to falling into a film career. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest stuntmen in movie history, having taken leaps and bounds for Errol Flynn, John Wayne, Randolph Scott, and Gregory Peck. One of the first stuntmen to successfully move into acting, he was the popular star of the 1950s television westerns Range Rider and Yancy Derringer and twice played Tarzan on the big screen, presenting a memorable portrayal of an educated, articulate and mature jungle lord true to author Edgar Rice Burroughs' original vision. Filming in real jungles around the world took a physical toll on Mahoney that transformed him from leading man to burly character actor. He had to overcome the effects of a stroke but true to his tough guy nature rose above it to resume his life's many adventures. Mahoney was beloved by fans at conventions and appearances until his untimely demise in 1989 from a stroke-caused motor vehicle accident.

Hollywood and the Military Bureaucracy

Hollywood and the Military Bureaucracy PDF

Author: Bob Herzberg

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2021-04-16

Total Pages: 199

ISBN-13: 1476678480

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Through a century of movies, the U.S. military held sway over war and service-oriented films. Influenced by the armed forces and their public relations units, Hollywood presented moviegoers with images of a faultless American fighting machine led by heroic commanders. This book examines this cooperation with detailed narratives of military blunders and unfit officers that were whitewashed to be presented in a more favorable light. Drawing on production files, correspondence between bureaucrats and filmmakers, and contemporary critical reviews, the author reveals the behind-the-scenes political maneuvers that led to the rewriting of history on-screen.