Lee Marvin did not receive his first starring film role until he was 40, but in three short years--following the successes of Cat Ballou (for which he won the Academy Award as Best Actor), The Professionals and especially The Dirty Dozen--he was the most popular film actor in America. Marvin was a fascinating man, a loving husband and father, and one of the most natural, effective actors of his time. This is a comprehensive reference of the Oscar-winning actor's work. It includes biographical information on Marvin, an analysis of each of his 64 movies, chapters on his two television shows (M Squad and Lawbreaker), a listing of his television appearances, and a complete filmography (which includes video availability). The work is supplemented with dozens of photographs and film stills.

(Screen World). Movie fans eagerly await each year's new edition of Screen World , the definitive record of the cinema since 1949. Volume 55 provides an illustrated listing of every American and foreign film released in the United States in 2003, all documented with more than 1,000 photographs. The 2004 edition of Screen World features such notable films as Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King , which won all 11 Academy Awards it was nominated for, including Best Picture, tying a record; Clint Eastwood's Mystic River , which won Academy Awards for Best Actor Sean Penn and Best Supporting Actor Tim Robbins; Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation , Academy Award-winner for Best Original Screenplay; and Peter Weir's Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World . Also featured are Patty Jenkins' Monster , featuring Academy Award-winner for Best Actress Charlize Theron, and independent successes such as Gurinder Chadha's Bend It like Beckham and Tom McCarthy's The Station Agent . As always, Screen World 's outstanding features include: photographic stills and shots of the four Academy Award-winning actors as well as all acting nominees; a look at the year's most promising new screen personalities; complete filmographies cast and characters, credits, production company, date released, rating and running time; and biographical entries a priceless reference for over 2,400 living stars, including real name, school, and date and place of birth. Now featuring 16 pages of color photos!

American International Pictures was in many ways the "missing link" between big-budget Hollywood studios, "poverty-row" B-movie factories and low-rent exploitation movie distributors. AIP first targeted teen audiences with science fiction, horror and fantasy, but soon grew to encompass many genres and demographics--at times, it was indistinguishable from many of the "major" studios. From Abby to Zontar, this filmography lists more than 800 feature films, television series and TV specials by AIP and its partners and subsidiaries. Special attention is given to American International Television (the TV arm of AIP) and an appendix lists the complete AITV catalog. The author also discusses films produced by founders James H. Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff after they left the company.

There has been a tremendous amount of renewed interest in the output of Britain's Hammer Films. But there remain a great number of worthwhile British horror films, made at the same time by other companies, that have received little attention. The author provides a comprehensive listing of British horror films--including science fiction, fantasy, and suspense films containing horror-genre elements--that were released between 1956 and 1976, the "Golden Age" of British horror. Entries are listed alphabetically by original British title, from Vincent Price in The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) to Zeta One (1969). Entries also include American title, release information, a critique of the film, and the film's video availability. The book is filled with photographs and contains interviews with four key figures: Max J. Rosenberg, cofounder of Amicus Productions, one of the period's major studios; Louis M. Heyward, former writer, film executive and producer; Aida Young, film and television producer; and Gordon Hessler, director of such films as The Oblong Box and Murders in the Rue Morgue.