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Outputs (65)

Media cities and the reconstruction of space and place (2023)
Presentation / Conference
Spicer, A. (2023, November). Media cities and the reconstruction of space and place. Presented at Invited talk, Portico Library, Central Manchester

This presentation explores the concept of a 'media city'. It begins with a definition: media cities are a planned, highly structured intervention that is part of a transformational change in the urban landscape. The presentation then discusses a part... Read More about Media cities and the reconstruction of space and place.

Bristol’s film and television industries: An incremental ecosystem (2023)
Book Chapter
Spicer, A. (2023). Bristol’s film and television industries: An incremental ecosystem. In T. E. Virani (Ed.), Global creative ecosystems: A critical understanding of sustainable creative and cultural production (115-133). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33961-5

This chapter explores the growth and characteristics of Bristol’s screen industries, which consist principally of television production companies and a much smaller group engaged in feature film production. In contrast to what one could call ‘enginee... Read More about Bristol’s film and television industries: An incremental ecosystem.

Sarah Godfrey, masculinity in British cinema, 1990–2010 (2023)
Journal Article
Spicer, A. (2023). Sarah Godfrey, masculinity in British cinema, 1990–2010. Journal of British Cinema and Television, 20(2), 262-264. https://doi.org/10.3366/jbctv.2023.0671

Although much comment is passed about male characters and identities in discussions of British cinema, systematic studies of masculinity are extremely rare. To my knowledge, Sarah Godfrey’s is the first to appear since my own Typical Men: The Represe... Read More about Sarah Godfrey, masculinity in British cinema, 1990–2010.

Cinema and soft power: Configuring the national and transnational in geo-politics (2023)
Journal Article
Spicer, A. (2023). Cinema and soft power: Configuring the national and transnational in geo-politics. Transnational Screens, 14(1), 81-82. https://doi.org/10.1080/25785273.2023.2184921

As the contributors to this valuable collection all attest, the concept of ‘soft power’ can be traced to the political scientist Joseph Nye, who, after an initial attempt in 1990, published Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics (2004). N... Read More about Cinema and soft power: Configuring the national and transnational in geo-politics.

Combined blogs (2022)
Working Paper
Spicer, A. Combined blogs

These four blogs/working papers constitute one of the outputs from a research project that explores the ways in which Channel 4's relocation out of London in 2017-18 constitues a significant event for the brodcaster - the 'largest shake-up in its his... Read More about Combined blogs.

‘4 All the UK’: The policies and politics of relocation (2022)
Journal Article
Spicer, A. (2022). ‘4 All the UK’: The policies and politics of relocation. Viewfinder, 121,

This article discusses the cultural, social and political reasons why Channel 4 moved out of London in 2017-18 and the context of the move with the threat of privatisation by the government. It places Channel 4's relocation as part of a much longer h... Read More about ‘4 All the UK’: The policies and politics of relocation.

Channel 4 at 40: The TV revolution (2022)
Presentation / Conference
Spicer, A. (2022, December). Channel 4 at 40: The TV revolution. Presented at Channel 4 at 40: The TV Revolution in Bristol, Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol

This is the full text of my opening introduction to a public-facing event at the Arnolfini Gallery on 3 December 2022 entitled 'Channel 4 at 40: The TV Revoution in Bristol'. In this overview I provide the social, political, cultural and historical... Read More about Channel 4 at 40: The TV revolution.

Exploring stardom: Sean Connery (2022)
Presentation / Conference
Spicer, A. (2022, September). Exploring stardom: Sean Connery

Sean Connery was one of a select few stars who have become an instantly recognisable cultural icon whose image and distinctive voice have penetrated deeply into global popular culture and public consciousness. Best known as the screen’s ‘first’ Ja... Read More about Exploring stardom: Sean Connery.

Sean Connery: Beyond Bond (2022)
Exhibition / Performance
Spicer, A. Sean Connery: Beyond Bond. [Word document with embedded podcast]. Performed at Bristol. 25 August 2022 - 25 August 2022. (Unpublished)

This is the background text to my podcast for Watershed Cultural Cinema, September 2022, that accompanied the launch of my book - Sean Connery: Acting, Stardom and National Identity at Watershed on 4 September 2022. It also contains my brief introduc... Read More about Sean Connery: Beyond Bond.

Sean Connery: Acting, Stardom and National Identity (2022)
Book
Spicer, A. (2022). Sean Connery: Acting, Stardom and National Identity. Manchester: Manchester University Press

This study provides an authoritative and comprehensive account of the career of one of one modern cinema’s most distinctive stars, an instantly recognisable cultural icon whose image and distinctive voice have penetrated deeply into global popular cu... Read More about Sean Connery: Acting, Stardom and National Identity.

GO WEST! 2 Bristol's Film and Television Industries (2022)
Report
Spicer, A., Presence, S., & Frymus, A. (2022). GO WEST! 2 Bristol's Film and Television Industries. Bristol: UWE Bristol

This report updates and substantially extends the 2017 report, Go West! Bristol's Film and Television Industries. It revises all the statistical information, including the number of companies. The report analyses the major changes that have occurred... Read More about GO WEST! 2 Bristol's Film and Television Industries.

Bond and stardom (2022)
Presentation / Conference
Spicer, A. (2022, March). Bond and stardom. Presented at Cinematic Bond at 60: National and International Perspectives

Bond has become a modern and enduring folk hero and cultural icon, which has profound implications for the six actors who have played the role. In examining this, somewhat neglected, facet of that phenomenon – Bond and stardom – I argue that playing... Read More about Bond and stardom.

Writing film industry history (2021)
Book Chapter
Spicer, A. (2021). Writing film industry history. In P. McDonald (Ed.), The Routledge Companion to Media Industries (429-438). London and New York: Routledge

This chapter provides a critical overview of the main ways in which film industry history has been formulated and described. It argues that any account must address three basic questions: (i) how film industry history has been defined and delimited (... Read More about Writing film industry history.

Public service broadcasters as place-makers and the politics of relocation (2021)
Presentation / Conference
Spicer, A. (2021, July). Public service broadcasters as place-makers and the politics of relocation. Presented at New Frontiers? Channel 4’s Move out of London, Online

This keynote discusses the place-making role of the UK's Public Service Broadcasters (PSBs). It argues that although PSBs are committed, by statute, to representing the diverse cultures of the UK's nations (Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) and i... Read More about Public service broadcasters as place-makers and the politics of relocation.

The impresario in British cinema: Bernard Delfont at EMI (2021)
Journal Article
Spicer, A. (2021). The impresario in British cinema: Bernard Delfont at EMI. Journal of British Cinema and Television, 18(1), 7-33. https://doi.org/10.3366/jbctv.2021.0553

The article argues that Bernard Delfont played a significant role in the development of the British film industry in the 1970s as head of EMI’s entertainment division that included film. In contradistinction to existing accounts, it is contended that... Read More about The impresario in British cinema: Bernard Delfont at EMI.

Making it real: A policy programme for UK documentary film (2021)
Report
Presence, S., Quigley, A., & Spicer, A. (2021). Making it real: A policy programme for UK documentary film. Bristol: AHRC

This report outlines a new policy programme for the UK documentary film sector. Based on the extensive consultation that followed our previous report, Keeping It Real: Towards a Documentary Film Policy for the UK (2020) – itself based on the largest... Read More about Making it real: A policy programme for UK documentary film.

Parting the iron curtain: Michael Klinger’s attempt to make 'A Man and a Half' (2020)
Book Chapter
Spicer, A. (2020). Parting the iron curtain: Michael Klinger’s attempt to make 'A Man and a Half'. In J. Fenwick, K. Foster, & D. Eldridge (Eds.), Shadow Cinema: The Historical and Production Context of Unmade Films (57-70). (1). Bloomsbury Publishing

Between 1967 and 1984, British independent producer Michael Klinger attempted to make a war film initially called Parachute that was renamed A Man and a Half. It was an international production through which as Klinger hoped to establish himself as a... Read More about Parting the iron curtain: Michael Klinger’s attempt to make 'A Man and a Half'.

Keeping it real: Towards a documentary film policy for the UK (2020)
Report
Presence, S., Spicer, A., Quigley, A., & Green, E. (2020). Keeping it real: Towards a documentary film policy for the UK. Bristol: AHRC

This report presents the findings of a survey of UK feature documentary producers and directors that was conducted in the summer of 2019 under the auspices of the ‘UK Feature Docs’ research project, an AHRC-funded study of the UK’s feature-length doc... Read More about Keeping it real: Towards a documentary film policy for the UK.

Male stardom in 1960s British cinema (2020)
Book Chapter
Spicer, A. (2020). Male stardom in 1960s British cinema. In Sixties British Cinema Reconsidered (11-28). Edinburgh University

The chapter analyses eight stars – Alan Bates, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Tom Courtenay, Albert Finney, Richard Harris, Peter O’Toole and Terence Stamp – all of whom were the product of the post-war changes (including the 1944 Education Act) that o... Read More about Male stardom in 1960s British cinema.

A regional company? RED Production and the cultural politics of place (2019)
Journal Article
Spicer, A. (2019). A regional company? RED Production and the cultural politics of place. Journal of British Cinema and Television, 16(3), 273-304. https://doi.org/10.3366/jbctv.2019.0478

This article explores the significance of RED Production’s location in the north-west of England, analysing the complexities of its positioning as a ‘regional’ company contextualised within the broader issues surrounding regional television productio... Read More about A regional company? RED Production and the cultural politics of place.

'Being European': UK production companies and Europe (2018)
Journal Article
Spicer, A. (2019). 'Being European': UK production companies and Europe. Studies in European Cinema, 16(1), 55-72. https://doi.org/10.1080/17411548.2018.1537107

This article discusses the relationship between UK film producers and Europe, offering a historical overview and an extended case study of an existing company, Number 9 Films. It argues that although UK film production and the attitude of policy make... Read More about 'Being European': UK production companies and Europe.

The European producer: Simon Perry (2018)
Journal Article
Spicer, A. (2018). The European producer: Simon Perry. Journal of British Cinema and Television, 15(4), 589-608. https://doi.org/10.3366/jbctv.2018.0444

This is the first detailed interview with Simon Perry, an important independent producer and who was CEO of British Screen from 1991-2000 during which he help to support a range of British films that would otherwise not have been produced. Perry was... Read More about The European producer: Simon Perry.

'It’s our property and our passion’: Managing creativity in a successful company – Aardman Animations (2017)
Book Chapter
Spicer, A. (2017). 'It’s our property and our passion’: Managing creativity in a successful company – Aardman Animations. In E. Bakoy, R. Puijk, & A. H. Spicer (Eds.), Building Successful and Sustainable Film and Television Businesses. Bristol: Intellect

This chapter explores how creativity is managed by Aardman Animations, one of the most successful independent UK film and television companies, whose vision is to forge an artists’ ‘studio’ rather than simply a business. This chapter argues that this... Read More about 'It’s our property and our passion’: Managing creativity in a successful company – Aardman Animations.

The finance and production of independent film and television in the United Kingdom: A critical introduction (2017)
Book Chapter
Presence, S. (2017). The finance and production of independent film and television in the United Kingdom: A critical introduction. In E. Bakoy, R. Puijk, & A. H. Spicer (Eds.), Building Successful and Sustainable Film and Television Businesses: A Cross-National Perspective (247-269). Bristol: Intellect

This chapter provides a critical introduction to the finance and production of independent film and television production in the UK. Film, long considered entertainment rather than art, continues to suffer from low levels of public funding, and the m... Read More about The finance and production of independent film and television in the United Kingdom: A critical introduction.

Building Successful and Sustainable Film and Television Businesses: A Cross-National Perspective (2017)
Book
Bakøy, E., Puijk, R., & Spicer, A. (Eds.). (2017). Building Successful and Sustainable Film and Television Businesses: A Cross-National Perspective. Bristol: Intellect

This edited collection focuses on the production cultures of successful small and medium-sized (SME) film and television companies in Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK, based on a three-year research project, ‘Success in the Film and Televi... Read More about Building Successful and Sustainable Film and Television Businesses: A Cross-National Perspective.

Producers and Moguls, 1930-1980 (2017)
Book Chapter
Spicer, A. H. (2017). Producers and Moguls, 1930-1980. In I. Hunter, L. Porter, & J. Smith (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to British Cinema History. London: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)

This chapter provides an overview of production practices in the British film industry over a fifty year period. It does this through an analysis of the role of the producer, dividing producers into three broad types: moguls (who owned a studio); A f... Read More about Producers and Moguls, 1930-1980.

Autonomy and dependency in two successful UK film and television companies: An analysis of RED Production Company and Warp Films (2016)
Journal Article
Presence, S., & Spicer, A. H. (2016). Autonomy and dependency in two successful UK film and television companies: An analysis of RED Production Company and Warp Films. Film Studies, 14(1), 5-31. https://doi.org/10.7227/FS.14.0002

This article analyses the production cultures of two film and television companies in the United Kingdom - RED Production and Warp Films - by discussing the companies' formation and identity, aims and ethos, internal structures and their networks of... Read More about Autonomy and dependency in two successful UK film and television companies: An analysis of RED Production Company and Warp Films.

'The general public don’t need to know who we are. We’re building a profile for the industry as a whole’: Inward engagement in the UK film and television industries (2015)
Presentation / Conference
Presence, S., & Spicer, A. H. (2015, March). 'The general public don’t need to know who we are. We’re building a profile for the industry as a whole’: Inward engagement in the UK film and television industries. Paper presented at Media Engagement International Conference, Lund University, Sweden

The paper stems from research undertaken as part of SiFTI (Success in the Film and Television Industries), a research project analysing the production cultures of several small-to-medium sized critically and commercially successful film and televisio... Read More about 'The general public don’t need to know who we are. We’re building a profile for the industry as a whole’: Inward engagement in the UK film and television industries.

Producing Noir: Wald, Scott, Hellinger (2014)
Book Chapter
Spicer, A. H. (2014). Producing Noir: Wald, Scott, Hellinger. In R. Miklitsch (Ed.), Kiss the Blood Off My Hands: On Classic Film Noir (130-151). Detroit: University of Illinois Press

This chapter is the first to be written about the role the producer played in creating 'classic' film noir (1940-1959). It explores the work of three contrasting producers, Jerry Wald (studio-based); Adrian Scott (studio, then blacklisted; and Mark H... Read More about Producing Noir: Wald, Scott, Hellinger.

The art and craft of producing films: Simon Relph (2014)
Journal Article
Spicer, A. (2014). The art and craft of producing films: Simon Relph. Journal of British Cinema and Television, 11(2-3), 236-251. https://doi.org/10.3366/jbctv.2014.0205

This article provides a career overview of Simon Relph, an important independent British producer and also the architect and first CEO of British Screen, which supported the work of numerous filmmakers who might otherwise have struggled to get their... Read More about The art and craft of producing films: Simon Relph.

The independent producer and the state: Simon Relph, government policy and the British film industry, 1980-2005 (2014)
Book Chapter
Spicer, A. H. (2014). The independent producer and the state: Simon Relph, government policy and the British film industry, 1980-2005. In A. H. Spicer, A. McKenna, & C. Meir (Eds.), Beyond the Bottom Line: The Producer in Film and Television Studies (65-93). New York and London: Bloomsbury Academic. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781501300202.ch-004

This chapter is the first comprehensive assessment of the career and importance of Simon Relph, who was an independent film producer, the Managing Director of British Screen (1985-90) which was one of the two main funders and commissioners (alongside... Read More about The independent producer and the state: Simon Relph, government policy and the British film industry, 1980-2005.

The Man Who Got Carter: Michael Klinger, Independent Production and the British Film Industry, 1960-1980 (2013)
Book
Spicer, A. H., & McKenna, A. (2013). The Man Who Got Carter: Michael Klinger, Independent Production and the British Film Industry, 1960-1980. London: I.B. Tauris

This is the first study to focus on the most successful British independent producer of the 1970s, though his career stretched from the early 1980s to the early 1980s. The research for this publication was funded by a two-year AHRC grant and is based... Read More about The Man Who Got Carter: Michael Klinger, Independent Production and the British Film Industry, 1960-1980.

A Companion to Film Noir (2013)
Book
Spicer, A. H., & Hanson, H. (2013). A. Spicer, & H. Hanson (Eds.), A Companion to Film Noir. Malden, MA and Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell

This edited collection contains 29 essays specially commissioned for this volume by leading scholars in the field. The volume is organised into 7 parts. Part 1, 'Conceptualising Film Noir', contains four essays that explore the ways in which this cat... Read More about A Companion to Film Noir.

Rescued from oblivion: Michael Klinger, Jewish Independent Producer (2013)
Journal Article
Spicer, A. (2013). Rescued from oblivion: Michael Klinger, Jewish Independent Producer. Jewish Film & New Media: An International Journal, 1(1), 87-90. https://doi.org/10.13110/jewifilmnewmedi.1.1.0087

This article gives a four-page overview of the career and significance of the British Jewish producer Michael Klinger. It argues for his importance and the varied and sometimes challenging nature of the films he produced, why his career took the shap... Read More about Rescued from oblivion: Michael Klinger, Jewish Independent Producer.

A British empire of their own? Jewish entrepreneurs in the British film industry (2012)
Journal Article
Spicer, A. H. (2012). A British empire of their own? Jewish entrepreneurs in the British film industry. Journal of European Popular Culture, 3(2), 117-129. https://doi.org/10.1386/jepc.3.2.117_1

The article provides an overview of the contribution of Jewish entrrpreneurs to the British film industry from the beginnings through to the present. It argues that film was an open and rapidly expanding industry that offered exciting opportunities i... Read More about A British empire of their own? Jewish entrepreneurs in the British film industry.

Film and visual culture (2012)
Book Chapter
Spicer, A. H. (2012). Film and visual culture. In I. Heywood, B. Sandywell, M. Gardiner, N. Gunalan, & C. M. Soussloff (Eds.), The Handbook of Visual Culture. Berg

Film noir and Los Angeles (2011)
Book Chapter
Spicer, A. H. (2011). Film noir and Los Angeles. In G. Solomons (Ed.), World Film Locations: Los Angeles. Bristol: Intellect

An overview of the different ways in which Los Angeles has been represented in film noir and neo-noir, so films from the 1940s to the present, from Double Indemnity (1944) to Collateral (2004). The essay explores the particular relationship between L... Read More about Film noir and Los Angeles.

The angel of death: Targetting the hitman (2011)
Book Chapter
Spicer, A. H. (2011). The angel of death: Targetting the hitman. In B. Nicol, P. Pulman, & E. McNulty (Eds.), Crime Cultures: Figuring Criminality in Fiction and Film (155-174). London: Continuum

Although there are hundreds of films that feature hitmen, this is the first critical account of the origins, development and possible cultural and historical significance of this figure and thus an original contribution to scholarship. It charts the... Read More about The angel of death: Targetting the hitman.

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.

The production line: Reflections on the role of the producer in British cinema (2004)
Journal Article
Spicer, A. H. (2004). The production line: Reflections on the role of the producer in British cinema. Journal of British Cinema and Television, 1(1), 33-50. https://doi.org/10.3366/JBCTV.2004.1.1.33

A film producer has two responsibilities: to the public and to his backers. If he is an imaginative and courageous producer, the two may coincide. The ideal producer, it seems to me, must always look ahead and try not merely to acquiesce in box-offic... Read More about The production line: Reflections on the role of the producer in British cinema.

Film Noir (2002)
Book
Spicer, A. H. (2002). Film Noir. Longman/Pearson Education

This research monograph is based on the analysis of over 500 films. The book has been reviewed in: Sight and Sound (12/8: August 2002); Audience (May 2003), the Journal of British Cinema and Television (2/2: 2005). It has been cited in studies of fi... Read More about Film Noir.

Typical Men: The Representation of Masculinity in Popular British Cinema (2001)
Book
Spicer, A. H. (2001). Typical Men: The Representation of Masculinity in Popular British Cinema. I. B. Tauris

Typical Men's investigation of masculinity was conducted through wide-ranging primary research (including viewing over 1,000 films) and an innovative methodology that constructed various 'cultural types' as a way of understanding and mapping the comp... Read More about Typical Men: The Representation of Masculinity in Popular British Cinema.

Introduction to SiFTI collection
Book Chapter
Bakoy, E., Puijk, R., & Spicer, A. (2017). Introduction to SiFTI collection. In E. Bakoy, & R. Puijk (Eds.), Building Successful and Sustainable Film and Television Businesses (1-20). Bristol: Intellect

The introduction to this collection of 15 chapters reviews the current nature and concerns of what is generally called Media Industry Studies or Production Studies. It undertakes a critical survey of the literature and explains how the volume is posi... Read More about Introduction to SiFTI collection.

Conclusion to SiFTI collection
Book Chapter
Bakoy, E., Pujik, R., & Spicer, A. (2017). Conclusion to SiFTI collection. In E. Bakoy, R. Pujik, & A. H. Spicer (Eds.), Building Successful and Sustainable Film and Television Businesses (321-334). Bristol: Intellect

The conclusion, whilst recognising the specificity of the range of different film and television companies analysed in the collection and the varied criteria behind what 'success' might mean, tries to draw together the common elements that have emerg... Read More about Conclusion to SiFTI collection.