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All Outputs (65)

Secret histories and the dirty war: The 1970s Second World War film (2010)
Presentation / Conference
Spicer, A. H. (2010, October). Secret histories and the dirty war: The 1970s Second World War film. Paper presented at Going to War: Film History and the Second World War, London

This paper focuses on a neglected period of the British war film (the 1970s) and argues that this was a volatile, unsettled period when the direction and ideology of the war film was in flux. Producers were unclear as to what would engage audiences.... Read More about Secret histories and the dirty war: The 1970s Second World War film.

Creativity and commerce: Michael Klinger and new film history (2010)
Journal Article
Spicer, A. H. (2010). Creativity and commerce: Michael Klinger and new film history. New Review of Film and Television Studies, 8(3), 297-314. https://doi.org/10.1080/17400309.2010.499771

The crisis in film studies and history concerning their legitimacy and objectives has provoked a reinvigoration of scholarly energy in historical enquiry. 'New film history' attempts to address the concerns of historians and film scholars by working... Read More about Creativity and commerce: Michael Klinger and new film history.

On the margins: Anthony Simmons, 'The Optimists of Nine Elms' and 'Black Joy' (2010)
Book Chapter
Dolan, J., & Spicer, A. H. (2010). On the margins: Anthony Simmons, 'The Optimists of Nine Elms' and 'Black Joy'. In P. Newland (Ed.), Don't Look Now: British Cinema in the 1970s (79-91). Bristol: Intellect

This co-authored chapter in an edited collection on British Cinema in the 1970s recuperates from critical oblivion the BAFTA award winning film and TV director, Anthony Simmons. The article locates Simmons in the decline of the British industry that... Read More about On the margins: Anthony Simmons, 'The Optimists of Nine Elms' and 'Black Joy'.

Historical Dictionary of Film Noir (2010)
Book
Spicer, A. H. (2010). Historical Dictionary of Film Noir. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press

PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS NOT THE FULL BOOK TEXT - PUBLISHER POLICY ONLY ALLOWS ACCESS TO AN EXTRACT OF THIS BOOK IN THE UWE BRISTOL RESEARCH REPOSITORY The Dictionary is number 27 in this prestigious series. It will become the most authoritative guide... Read More about Historical Dictionary of Film Noir.

The creative producer: Michael Klinger (2009)
Presentation / Conference
Spicer, A. H. (2009, September). The creative producer: Michael Klinger. Paper presented at Archives and Auteurs Conference, University of Stirling, Scotland

Michael Klinger was the most successful independent producer working in the British film industry during the 1960s and 1970s. However, there has been no critical account of his work and he is barely mentioned, if at all, in standard histories of Brit... Read More about The creative producer: Michael Klinger.

Understanding film production: Michael Klinger and the new film history (2009)
Presentation / Conference
Spicer, A. H. (2009, July). Understanding film production: Michael Klinger and the new film history. Presented at Researching Film History Symposium, Geological Society, London, UK

This paper explored a wider debate about the epistemology and ontology of film history. Using the Michael Klinger papers, it offered an original exploration of an unknown history: his attempt to produce a Jewish epic war film based on the Dieppe Raid... Read More about Understanding film production: Michael Klinger and the new film history.

Introduction (2009)
Journal Article
Cook, J. R., & Spicer, A. H. (2009). Introduction. Journal of British Cinema and Television, 5(2), 213-222. https://doi.org/10.3366/E1743452108000332

This was a themed issue of the Journal and the first to focus on the issue of screenwriting/the screenwriter. This was path-breaking in relation to British cinema where this topic has hardly begun to be addressed. The issue, that included academics,... Read More about Introduction.

Productive research: Approaches and sources to uncovering the role of the film producer (2009)
Presentation / Conference
Spicer, A. H. (2009, April). Productive research: Approaches and sources to uncovering the role of the film producer. Presented at Studies beyond the Screen Symposium, University of Exeter, UK

This paper reviewed the approaches and methodologies deployed to research and write the monograph Sydney Box for Manchester University Press (2006) focusing on the use of archival material and other primary sources. It argued that film history needs... Read More about Productive research: Approaches and sources to uncovering the role of the film producer.

The Mark of Cain: Eric Portman and British stardom (2009)
Book Chapter
Spicer, A. H. (2009). The Mark of Cain: Eric Portman and British stardom. In T. Soila (Ed.), Stellar Encounters: Stardom in Popular European Cinema (108-117). New Barnet, Herts.: John Libbey

Studies of film stardom have concentrated almost entirely on Hollywood stars. This collection breaks new ground by focusing on stardom in various European cinemas. My contribution explores an important post-war British male star, his persona, acting... Read More about The Mark of Cain: Eric Portman and British stardom.

The precariousness of production: Michael Klinger and the role of the film producer in the British film industry during the 1970's (2008)
Presentation / Conference
Spicer, A. H. (2008, July). The precariousness of production: Michael Klinger and the role of the film producer in the British film industry during the 1970's. Paper presented at British Culture and Society in the 1970's, University of Portsmouth, UK

Michael Klinger was the most successful independent producer working in the British film industry during the 1960s and 1970s. However, there has been no critical account of his work and he is barely mentioned, if at all, in standard histories of Brit... Read More about The precariousness of production: Michael Klinger and the role of the film producer in the British film industry during the 1970's.

The Outsider: Anthony Simmons (2008)
Journal Article
Dolan, J., & Spicer, A. H. (2008). The Outsider: Anthony Simmons. Journal of British Cinema and Television, 5(1), 132-145. https://doi.org/10.3366/E1743452108000113

This interview with veteran British Film director Anthony Simmons gives an account of Simmons’ career in the context of a declining industry in the 1970s. It offers previously unknown production background to films such as Black Joy and The Optimists... Read More about The Outsider: Anthony Simmons.

Missing boxes: The unmade films of Sydney Box, 1940-1967 (2008)
Book Chapter
Spicer, A. H. (2008). Missing boxes: The unmade films of Sydney Box, 1940-1967. In D. North (Ed.), Sights Unseen: Unfinished British films (87-104). Cambridge Scholar Publishing

The essay is a continuation of my AHRC-funded work on Sydney Box that was published by Manchester UP in 2006. Here the focus is on the reasons why films do not get produced (lack of funds, censorship, changes in personnel, clash of personalities etc)... Read More about Missing boxes: The unmade films of Sydney Box, 1940-1967.

Sydney Box (2006)
Book
Spicer, A. H. (2006). Sydney Box. Manchester University Press; Palgrave

Sydney Box was the first study in the British Film Makers series that focussed on a producer rather than a director. The research for this monograph was facilitated by a Research Leave grant from the AHRB/C (2002 - 2003). Spicer was also awarded an A... Read More about Sydney Box.

European Film Noir (2006)
Book
Spicer, A. H. (2006). European Film Noir. Manchester University Press

This chapter appears in a book edited by Spicer who also wrote the introductory essay. This book is the first sustained attempt to dislodge the paradigm of film noir as an exclusively American form, through detailed discussion of the development of f... Read More about European Film Noir.

Creativity and the 'B' feature: Terence Fisher's crime films (2006)
Journal Article
Spicer, A. H. (2006). Creativity and the 'B' feature: Terence Fisher's crime films. Film Criticism, 30(2), 185-207

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 Fish... Read More about Creativity and the 'B' feature: Terence Fisher's crime films.

What cannot be said: 'Silent Dust'(1949)and the malevolent veteran (2005)
Journal Article
Spicer, A. H. (2005). What cannot be said: 'Silent Dust'(1949)and the malevolent veteran. Zeithistorische Forschungen, 1(1), 110-118

This was a counterpoint to the book chapter on service comedy. It explored a different type of 'unofficial' counter-hegemonic constructions of the Second World War' by focusing on a group of British films made immediately after the war and sporadical... Read More about What cannot be said: 'Silent Dust'(1949)and the malevolent veteran.

The "Other War": Images of the second world war in service comedies (2004)
Book Chapter
Spicer, A. H. (2004). The "Other War": Images of the second world war in service comedies. In S. Bennett, S. Caunce, E. Mazierska, S. Sydeny-Smith, & J. Walton (Eds.), Relocating Britishness (167-182). Manchester: Manchester University Press

This chapter argues, following Angus Calder, that there was an official line of commemoration of the Second World War: a mythic construction that celebrated heroism, courage, resourcefulness, loyalty and patriotism. It valorised the virtues of the re... Read More about The "Other War": Images of the second world war in service comedies.