Books in French are on www.livres-cinema.info
MENU   

Katharine Hepburn

Star as Feminist

by Andrew Britton

Type
Biographies
Subject
ActorKatharine Hepburn
Keywords
Katharine Hepburn, star, feminism
Publishing date
2003
Publisher
Columbia University Press
Collection
Film and Culture
Language
English
Size of a pocketbookRelative size of this bookSize of a large book
Relative size
Physical desc.
Hardcover • 256 pages
6 ¼ x 9 ¼ inches (16 x 23.5 cm)
ISBN-10
ISBN-13
0-231-13276-X
978-0-231-13276-3
User Ratings
no rating (0 vote)

Average rating: no rating

0 rating 1 star = We can do without
0 rating 2 stars = Good book
0 rating 3 stars = Excellent book
0 rating 4 stars = Unique / a reference

Your rating: -

Report incorrect or incomplete information

Book Presentation:
Of all the major Hollywood stars, Katharine Hepburn was the least conventional, conforming to none of the stereotypes of female superstardom. She was not an exotic outsider in Hollywood like Greta Garbo or Marlene Dietrich; nor was she a victim of the studios like Judy Garland or Marilyn Monroe; and she was certainly not a creature of the system like Joan Crawford and Lana Turner. Instead, she always appeared intelligent, willful and independent, able to develop her own persona within the confines of the studio system.

Andrew Britton proposes a feminist reading of Hepburn's films, arguing that her persona raises problems about class, female sexuality, and women's oppression that strain to the limits the conventions of a cinema ultimately committed to the reassertion of bourgeois gender roles. Hepburn's work is also used to explore more general issues, such as the functioning of the star system. This is one of the very few analyses of American cinema to focus on a film star rather than a director or a genre and as such is essential reading for anyone interested in the movies.

First published in the United Kingdom twenty years ago, this lavishly illustrated new edition features a foreword by the noted film critic Robin Wood.

About the Author:
Andrew Britton lectured in film studies at the Universities of Warwick, Essex, and Reading. He also taught at Queens and Trent Universities in Ontario, Canada, and was a guest lecturer at other universities in Britain, Canada, and the United States. He died in 1994.Robin Wood is a founding editor of CineAction and author of Hitchcock's Films Revisited, Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan... and Beyond, and Sexual Politics and Narrative Film. He is professor emeritus at York University and the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for Cinema Studies.

See the publisher website: Columbia University Press

See the complete filmography of Katharine Hepburn on the website: IMDB ...

> From the same author:

Britton on Film:The Complete Film Criticism of Andrew Britton

Britton on Film (2008)

The Complete Film Criticism of Andrew Britton

by Andrew Britton

Subject: On Films > Film selections

> On a related topic:

Kate:The Woman Who Was Hepburn

Kate (2007)

The Woman Who Was Hepburn

by William J. Mann

Subject: Actor > Katharine Hepburn

K. Hepburn

K. Hepburn (2007)

by Alain Silver
(in English, French and German)

Subject: Actor > Katharine Hepburn

Film Performance:From Achievement to Appreciation

Film Performance (2005)

From Achievement to Appreciation

by Andrew Klevan

Subject: Technique > Acting

Gloria Swanson:Hollywood's First Glamour Queen

Gloria Swanson (2025)

Hollywood's First Glamour Queen

by Stephen Michael Shearer

Subject: Actor > Gloria Swanson

Like Water:A Cultural History of Bruce Lee

Like Water (2024)

A Cultural History of Bruce Lee

by Daryl Joji Maeda

Subject: Actor > Bruce Lee

Marlon Brando:Hollywood Rebel

Marlon Brando (2024)

Hollywood Rebel

by Burt Kearns

Subject: Actor > Marlon Brando

On Audrey Hepburn:An Opinionated Guide

On Audrey Hepburn (2024)

An Opinionated Guide

by Steven Cohan

Subject: Actor > Audrey Hepburn

On Elizabeth Taylor:An Opinionated Guide

On Elizabeth Taylor (2024)

An Opinionated Guide

by Matthew Kennedy

Subject: Actor > Elizabeth Taylor

Lionel Barrymore:Character and Endurance in Hollywood's Golden Age

Lionel Barrymore (2024)

Character and Endurance in Hollywood's Golden Age

by Kathleen Spaltro

Subject: Actor > Lionel Barrymore

11822 books listed   •   (c)2024-2025 cinemabooks.info   •