Phantom lady : Hollywood producer Joan Harrison, the forgotten woman behind Hitchcock / Christina Lane.
Material type:
TextPublisher: Chicago : Chicago Review Press, 2020Description: 384 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cmContent type: - text
- unmediated
- volume
- 9781613733844
- 1613733844
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book
|
Main Library | Biography | Harrison J. L265 | Available | 33111009630399 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
Winner of the Mystery Writers of America's 2021 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Critical/Biographical
In 1933, Joan Harrison was a twenty-six-year-old former salesgirl with a dream of escaping both her stodgy London suburb and the dreadful prospect of settling down with one of the local boys. A few short years later, she was Alfred Hitchcock's confidante and one of the Oscar-nominated screenwriters of his first American film, Rebecca . Harrison had quickly grown from being the worst secretary Hitchcock ever had to one of his closest collaborators, critically shaping his brand as the "Master of Suspense."
Harrison went on to produce numerous Hollywood features before becoming a television pioneer as the producer of Alfred Hitchcock Presents . A respected powerhouse, she acquired a singular reputation for running amazingly smooth productions-- and defying anyone who posed an obstacle. She built most of her films and series from the ground up. She waged rough-and-tumble battles against executives and censors, and even helped to break the Hollywood blacklist. She teamed up with many of the most respected, well-known directors, writers, and actors of the twentieth century. And she did it all on her own terms.
Author Christina Lane shows how this stylish, stunning woman became Hollywood's most powerful female writer-producer--one whom history has since overlooked.
Includes filmography (pages 287-315).
Includes bibliographical references (pages 317-370) and index.
Prologue -- At home -- Wartime -- Beyond the village -- True crime pays -- Bigger steps -- A team of three -- Going Hollywood -- Oscar calls -- Building suspense -- Hitting hurdles -- Phantom lady -- New associations -- Bedeviling endings -- Crimes and misdemeanors -- Let it ride -- Full circle, by degrees -- A new proposal -- Back on top -- Into the unknown.
"The untold story of Hollywood's most powerful female writer-producer of the 1940s, Joan Harrison, who grew from being the worst secretary Alfred Hitchcock ever had to one of his closest collaborators, critically shaping his brand as the "Master of Suspense""-- Provided by publisher.