Howard Hawks (Contemporary Approaches to Film and Media Studies)

Prolific director Howard Hawks made films in nearly every genre, from gangster movies like Scarface to comedies like Bringing Up Baby and Monkey Business and westerns like Rio Bravo. In this new edition of a classic text, author Robin Wood explores the ways in which Hawks pushed the boundaries of each genre and transformed the traditional forms in new, interesting, and creative ways. The provocative chapters demonstrate the ways in which Hawks' films were affected by the director's personality and way of looking at and feeling things, and by his celebration of instinct, self-respect, group responsibility, and male camaraderie. Wood's connections between the professionalism of Hawks' action films and comedies, with their "lure of irresponsibility," has become a standard way of conceptualizing Hawks' films and the model to which all later critical work has had to respond. Read more