Books by Brian Taves

The gifted romanticist, Talbot Mundy, offers in these pages an epic adventure spanning Africa, the Middle East, and Armenia in the early years of the 20th century. Mundy draws on a combination of personal experience and political conviction in portraying four fortune-hunters, Englishmen and American, who encounter colonial brutality in Africa, then join the defense of Armenia against Turkish genocide. This is the first book publication of this entire saga from the original magazine serialization, and includes an introduction by Mundy biographer Brian Taves explaining the genesis and impact of the stories.

Even for those who have never read Jules Verne (1828--1905), the author's very name conjures visions of the submarine in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, the epic race in Around the World in Eighty Days, the spacecraft in From the Earth to the Moon, and the daring descent in Journey to the Center of the Earth. One of the most widely translated authors of all time, Verne has inspired filmmakers since the early silent period and continues to fascinate audiences more than one hundred years after his works were first published. His riveting plots and vivid descriptions easily transform into compelling scripts and dramatic visual compositions.In Hollywood Presents Jules Verne, Brian Taves investigates the indelible mark that the author has left on English-language cinema. Adaptations of Verne's tales have taken many forms -- early movie shorts, serials, feature films, miniseries, and television shows -- and have been produced as both animated and live-action films. Taves illuminates how, as these stories have been made and remade over the years, each new adaptation looks back not only to Verne's words but also to previous screen incarnations. He also examines how generations of actors have portrayed iconic characters such as Phileas Fogg and Captain Nemo, and how these figures are treated in pastiches such as Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012). Investigating the biggest box-office hits as well as lower-budget productions, this comprehensive study will appeal not only to fans of the writer's work but also to readers interested in the ever-changing relationship between literature, theater, and film.

This critical biography chronicles both the actual travels and the philosophical meanderings of Talbot Mundy, one of the pioneers of the fantasy and adventure genre. Appendices include a comprehensive list of Mundy's works and a chronological listing by their original publication dates.

Thomas H. Ince (1880--1924) turned movie-making into a business enterprise. Progressing from actor to director and screenwriter, he revolutionized the motion picture industry through developing the role of the producer. In addition to building the first major Hollywood studio facility, dubbed "e;Inceville,"e; he was responsible for more than 800 films. Thomas Ince: Hollywood's Independent Pioneer chronicles Ince's life from the stage to his sudden death as he was about to join forces with media tycoon William Randolph Hearst. Author Brian Taves explores Ince's impact on Hollywood's production system, the Western, his creation of the first American movies starring Asian performers, and his cinematic exploration of the status of women in society. Until now, Thomas Ince has not been the subject of a biography. This book offers insight into the world of silent cinema through the story of one of its earliest and most influential moguls.

Discover the remarkable film career of Robert Florey, in Robert Florey: The French Expressionist by Brian Taves.During almost a half-century in the movies, from 1916 to 1963, Robert Florey directed sixty five features and 220 television films at most of the major studios. His greatest success came in thrillers, scripting the original Frankenstein and directing such horror classics as Murders in the Rue Morgue with Bela Lugosi and The Beast with Five Fingers with Peter Lorre.Displaying skill in many genres, Florey also co-directed two renowned comedies, The Cocoanuts with The Marx Brothers and Monsieur Verdoux with Charlie Chaplin. Florey was always known as an artist, gaining fame first through his experimental Avant-garde shorts, such as The Life and Death of 9413 - a Hollywood Extra, and he is renowned for directing episodes of The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents television series. His features remained distinctive for integrating European filmmaking styles into the Hollywood studio system.Author Brian Taves takes advantage of numerous primary sources, including studio archives, interviews with associates, and access to all of Florey's papers. Taves thoroughly analyzes and locates Florey's films within the context of the times, relating them to such topics as the influence of expressionism and other techniques, the realm of the "B" film, the position of the contract director in the studio system, and the transition of movie talent to television. This new edition of a book out of print since 1995 delves more deeply into Florey's remarkable career. In addition to a Bibliography, the book contains several appendixes, including a Filmography, a Television Filmography, and "Charles Chaplin's Tirade Between Takes of Monsieur Verdoux" (transcribed by Robert Florey), as well as an Index.¿A book on Florey is long overdue¿ Now the job has been done, and done magnificently¿. I¿ve already used the book in one of my film history courses, and I hope it¿ll find is way on to a lot of university shelves. And for the film history enthusiast, it¿s a must¿. Worth every penny¿¿William K. Everson, Films in Review"A crucial biography in the study of film history. ROBERT FLOREY: THE FRENCH EXPRESSIONIST reveals deep insight about the important director thanks to skilled writing and access to rare archival materials."Gary Rhodes, Film historian and Bela Lugosi biographer ¿One of the most ambitious studies of a director who worked largely in B filmmaking¿¿Kristin Thompson, University of Wisconsin-Madison ¿Essential¿. An epic work that every horror fan should own¿. The depth of interpretation of Florey¿s style, his background, his detailed film career as recreated by Taves is simply gripping in its detail.¿Gary J. Svehla, Midnight Marquee