Creativity and the 'B' feature: Terence Fisher's crime films

Spicer, Andrew H.

Abstract

This article explores the neglected area of the B Feature, produced by small companies on very tight budgets. It explores how it is possible to be creative in these constrained circumstances by concentrating on the crime film directed by Terence Fisher in the late 1940s and the 1950s. These preceded the horror films ('Frankenstein', 1957 >)for which he is famous and which have been endlessly discussed. His crime films have had little or no attention and yet they reveal a clever sensibility at work, able to explore character and displaying a developed visual style. They reveal unexpectedly subtle performances by unsung actors, notably Eleanor Summerfield.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2006
• Journal: Film Criticism
• Print ISSN: 0163-5069
• Publisher: Michigan Publishing
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 30
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 185-207
• Keywords: creativity, 'B feature', Terence Fisher, crime films
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1045423
• Publisher URL: http://filmcriticism.allegheny.edu/index.htm
• Additional Information: Additional Information : contains illustrations taken from the films