Books by James L. Neibaur

The 1930s represented the strongest and most significant decade in Clark Gable's career. The decade culminated with Gable's most noted movie, Gone With the Wind. This book traces Gable's early career, film-by-film, offering background information and a critical assessment of each of his movies released during the 1930s,

One of the great icons of 1930s Hollywood film, Jean Harlow died a tragically early death in 1937 at age 26. Taking a film-by-film look at Harlow's work and her own impressions of her costars and directors, this retrospective traces her growth as an actress and how her often tumultuous life informed her performances.

Producer Hal Roach wanted to match his success with Laurel and Hardy by producing films with a female comedy team. So in 1931 he teamed up Thelma Todd and ZaSu Pitts for a series of two reel shorts that were quickly successful. This book is the first film-by-film look at each of the comedies these women made.

Mickey Rooney is a cinematic icon whose career lasted from the silent era into the twenty-first century. From the shorts he made as Mickey McGuire to supporting roles in such films as Night at the Museum, Rooney had more than 300 film appearances to his credit. Mickey Rooney was not just a movie star, he was the most popular film performer for several years in a row in the 1930s. In addition to his four Academy Award nominations, Rooney received two special Oscars, including an honorary award for his variety of memorable performances spanning several decades.In The Essential Mickey Rooney, James L. Neibaur examines more than sixty feature films in which the actor appeared, from starring roles in Boys Town, Babes in Arms, and The Human Comedy to acclaimed supporting performances in The Bold and the Brave and The Black Stallion. In addition to familiar works like the Andy Hardy comedies or musicals opposite Judy Garland, lesser known films like Quicksand and Drive a Crooked Road are discussed as examples of the masterful performances he offered again and again.An actor of rare talent and unrestrained exuberance, Rooney appeared so often on film that it probably is impossible to view every performance of his careerΓÇöone that lasted longer than any other actor in Hollywood. While minor roles are not discussed here, all of his vintage works are, making The Essential Mickey Rooney an indispensable resource for anyone wanting to learn more about the best work of this film icon.

The Essential Jack Nicholson looks at the key films in the career of one of Hollywood's biggest stars. After a brief profile of the actor, author James L. Neibaur highlights each of Nicholson's most important works, explaining why his performances are essential viewing. Neibaur also provides details about each film's production, critical reaction, commercial reception, major nominations, and awards. A filmography of all of Nicholson's movie roles (and select television performances) is also included. The Essential Jack Nicholson is a wonderful source of information for fans of this iconic star and his films.

This book provides a film-by-film look at the thirty-two movies James Cagney made during the 1930s, from his supporting role in Sinner's Holiday (1930) to the end of the decade as an established star of Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) and The Roaring Twenties in 1939.

Fatty Arbuckle and Buster Keaton appeared together in 14 films between 1917 and 1919. This book covers various films, from ""The Butcher Boy"" to ""The Garage"". It includes information on plot, production and personnel, and covers the master-apprentice relationship between the two silent stars.

Elvis Presley¿s stature as the ¿King of Rock and Roll¿ will never be challenged. Between his first RCA hit single in 1956¿the number-one smash ¿Heartbreak Hotel¿¿and his death in 1977, Elvis amassed more than 100 hits on the music charts. Presley¿s dominance on the music chart was paralleled only by the singer¿s motion picture career. Between 1956 and 1969, Elvis appeared in more than thirty films, further cementing his place as one of the most popular entertainers of the twentieth century. While there have been countless books that explore the real Elvis tucked beneath layers of showbiz mythology, such volumes often dismiss his motion picture career as insignificant or overlook his onscreen work entirely.In The Elvis Movies, James L. Neibaur looks at the thirty-one features that Presley made, from Love Me Tender in 1956 to Change of Habit in 1969. Most of these were star vehicles tailor-made for his image. As Neibaur points out, Elvis had a real interest in being a good actor, but his initial promise was soon thwarted by anti-creative decisions that sold a packaged version of the singer. Despite lapsing into a predictable formula of lightweight musicals, Elvis Presley¿s star power ensured that the films became box office successes. Neibaur examines each film, providing information about their production and offering assessments about their value in general, as well as their place in the Presley canon. Additional details include behind-the-scenes personnel, costars, DVD availability, and featured hit songs.An entertaining and informative look at an often underrated aspect of the singer¿s career, The Elvis Movies offers readers insight into his films. This volume will be a welcome resource to fans of the singer who want to know more about the King and his successful ventures on the big screen.

By the mid-1920s, Buster Keaton had established himself as one of the geniuses of cinema with such films as Sherlock, Jr., The Navigator, and his 1927 work The General, which was the highest ranked silent on the American Film Institutes survey of the 100 greatest films. Before Keaton ventured into longer works, however, he had honed his skills as an actor, writer, and director of short films produced in the early 1920s.In Buster Keaton's Silent Shorts: 1920-1923, James L. Neibaur and Terri Niemi provide a film-by-film assessment of these brilliant two-reelers. The authors discuss the significance of each shortThe High Sign, One Week, Convict 13, The Scarecrow, Neighbors, The Haunted House, Hard Luck, The Goat, The Playhouse, The Boat, The Paleface, Cops, My Wife's Relations, The Blacksmith, Frozen North, Daydreams, The Electric House, The Balloonatic, and The Love Nestto the Keaton filmography, as well as each film's importance to cinema. Offering a clear and in-depth perspective on these 19 films, the authors explain what makes these shorts effective and why they're funny. Buster Keaton's Silent Shorts will enlighten both scholars and casual fans alike about the early work produced by one of cinemas most gifted comedians and filmmakers.

Born into a family of vaudevillians, Buster Keaton made his first film appearance in 1917 at the age of 21. By the early 1920s, he had established himself as one of the geniuses of silent cinema with such films as Sherlock, Jr. and The Navigator and his 1925 work, The General, placed at number 18 in the American Film Institutes poll of the 100 greatest features, the highest ranked silent film on the survey. But with the advent of sound in the late 1920s, silent stars like Keaton began to fall out of favor and the great comedians career began to decline.In The Fall of Buster Keaton, James Neibaur assesses Keatons work during the talking picture era, especially those made at MGM, Educational, and Columbia studios. While giving some attention to the early part of Keatons career, Neibaur focuses on Keatons contract work with the three studios, as well as his subsequent work as a gagman, supporting player, and television pitchman. The book also recounts the resurgence of interest in Keatons silent work, which resulted in a lifetime achievement Oscar and worldwide recognition before his death in 1966. This fascinating account of an artists struggle and triumph during the more challenging period of his career will be of interest to anyone wanting to learn about one of films most influential performers.

Harry Langdon was a silent screen comedian unlike any other. Slower in pace, more studied in movement, and quirkier in nature, Langdon challenged the comic norm by offering comedies that were frequently edgy and often surreal. After a successful run of short comedies with Mack Sennett, Langdon became his own producer at First National Pictures, making such features as Tramp Tramp Tramp, The Strong Man, and Long Pants before becoming his own director for Threes a Crowd, The Chaser, and Heart Trouble.In The Silent Films of Harry Langdon (1923-1928), film historian James Neibaur examines Langdons strange, fascinating work during the silent era, when he made landmark films that were often ahead of their time. Extensively reviewing the comedians silent screen work film by film, Neibaur makes the case that Langdon should be accorded the same lofty status as his contemporaries: Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. With fascinating insights into the work of an under-appreciated artist, this book will be of interest to both fans and scholars of silent cinema.

This book looks at the film and television genre that made Clint Eastwood a star: westerns. The author discusses in detail the production, impact, influences, and successes (both critical and commercial) of each of Eastwood's films. Neibaur also examines the continued success and influence of his films on the western film genre.

This book begins with a discussion of Bob Hope's early career and the short films that he starred in, and then covers each of the Hope films beginning with The Big Broadcast of 1938. Cast and credit information is provided for each film.

Charley Chase began his film career in early 1913 working as a comedian, writer, and director at the Al Christie studios under his real name, Charles Parrott. Chase then joined Mack Sennetts Keystone studio in 1914, costarring in early films of Charlie Chaplin and Roscoe ';Fatty' Arbuckle, as well as directing the frenetic Keystone Cops. By 1924 he was starring in a series of one-reel comedies at Hal Roach studios, graduating to two-reel films the following year. In 1929, he made the transition to sound films. Along with the continuing popularity of his own short comedies, Chase often directed the films of others, including several popular Three Stooges efforts.In The Charley Chase Talkies: 1929-1940, James L. Neibaur examines, film-by-film, the comedians seventy-nine short subjects at Roach and Columbia studios. The first book to examine any portion of Chase's filmography, this volume discusses the various methods Chase employed in his earliest sound films, his variations on common themes, his use of music, and the modification of his character as he reached the age of forty. Neibaur also acknowledges the handful of feature film appearances Chase made during this period.A filmmaker whom Time magazine once declared was receiving the most fan mail of any comedian in movies, Charley Chase remains quite popular among classic film buffs, as well as historians and scholars. A detailed look into the work of an artist whose career straddled the silent and sound eras, The Charley Chase Talkies will be appreciated by those interested in film comedy of the 1920s and 30s.