The work examines the evolution of the thriller from the heyday of the Hollywood mogul era in the 1930s when it was primarily bottom-of-the-bill fodder, through its maturity in the World War II years and noir-breeding 1950s, its commercial and critical ascendancy in the 1960s and 1970s, and finally its subsequent box office dominance in the age of the blockbuster.

Bill Mesce, Jr., is an adjunct instructor at several New Jersey universities and colleges, and an author, screenwriter, and playwright. He lives in Linden, New Jersey.

Bill Mesce, Jr.
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 344
Bibliographic Info: 28 photos, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2007
pISBN: 978-0-7864-2751-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0978-2
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii
Preface      1
Introduction      3

PART I. THE DREAM FACTORY
1. The Assembly Line      9
2. The Mill Wheels      13
3. Marginalia      20

PART II. THEWAR YEARS
4. Answering the Call      33
5. Stepping into the Abyss      49

PART III. DYSTOPIA
6. The Empires Begin to Fall      55
7. Into the Blackness      62

PART IV. RETRENCHMENT
8. Out of Chaos Comes Order      93
9. Sweet Freedom      103

PART V. FOOL’S GOLD
10. The Money Train      161
11. Shock and Awe      171
12. The Funnel      188
13. Killers      198
14. Anomie      214

Conclusion      289
Bibliography      309
Index      317