Twentieth-Century Gothic: An Edinburgh Companion
Sorcha Ni Fhlainn (ed.), Bernice M. Murphy (ed.)
Published:
2022
Online ISBN:
9781399518949
Print ISBN:
9781474490122
Contents
- < Previous chapter
- Next chapter >
Twentieth-Century Gothic: An Edinburgh Companion
Chapter
Get access
Xavier Aldana Reyes
Pages
114–128
-
Published:
June 2022
Cite Icon Cite
Cite
Reyes, Xavier Aldana, 'Mid-Century Gothic Cinema (1931–79): From Monster Business to Exploitation Horror', in Sorcha Ni Fhlainn, and Bernice M. Murphy (eds), Twentieth-Century Gothic: An Edinburgh Companion (
Close
Search
Close
Search
Advanced Search
Search Menu
Abstract
This chapter traces the key changes experienced by Gothic cinema during the years bookended by the success of Universal Studios’ Dracula and Frankenstein and Hammer’s failed attempts to modernise their Gothic horror brand. Key developments during this period included the crystallisation of the horror franchise as a viable commercial venture in the 1930s and 1940s, the rise of Gothic realism in the women films of the 1940s, the widespread use of colour film processes in the late 1950s, and the subsequent rise of titillating and increasingly openly erotic spectacles in the exploitation cinemas of Italy and Spain in the 1960s and 1970s. Alongside these medium-specific developments ran the temporal fixing of the nineteenth century as the new Gothic era, or ‘Gothic cusp’, a fantastic or idealised version of the past that enabled the staging of ideological tensions between the barbaric past and the modern present. With the rise of p*rnography in the 1970s, it is argued, the Gothic aesthetic became unnecessary, even redundant, as the concerns once channelled through the safe distance offered by retrojection were suddenly able to manifest in horror films set in contemporary times. By considering similarities and points of divergence between Universal’s Frankenstein (1931) and Hammer’s The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), the chapter underlines the cultural continuity of the Gothic aesthetic in this period and its evolution.
Keywords: horror franchise, Gothic realism, exploitation cinema, Gothic aesthetics, Frankenstein (1931), The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
Subject
Literary Theory and Cultural Studies
You do not currently have access to this chapter.
Sign in
Get help with access
Personal account
- Sign in with email/username & password
- Get email alerts
- Save searches
- Purchase content
- Activate your purchase/trial code
- Add your ORCID iD
Sign in Register
Institutional access
- Sign in with a library card
- Sign in with username/password
- Recommend to your librarian
Sign in through your institution
Sign in through your institution
Institutional account management
Sign in as administrator
Get help with access
Institutional access
Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:
IP based access
Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.
Sign in through your institution
Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
- Click Sign in through your institution.
- Select your institution from the list provided, which will take you to your institution's website to sign in.
- When on the institution site, please use the credentials provided by your institution. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.
- Following successful sign in, you will be returned to Oxford Academic.
If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.
Sign in with a library card
Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.
Society Members
Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:
Sign in through society site
Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:
- Click Sign in through society site.
- When on the society site, please use the credentials provided by that society. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.
- Following successful sign in, you will be returned to Oxford Academic.
If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.
Sign in using a personal account
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.
Personal account
A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.
Viewing your signed in accounts
Click the account icon in the top right to:
- View your signed in personal account and access account management features.
- View the institutional accounts that are providing access.
Signed in but can't access content
Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.
Institutional account management
For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.
Purchase
Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.
Purchasing information
Metrics
Metrics
Total Views 0
0 Pageviews
0 PDF Downloads
Since 5/26/2024
Citations
Powered by Dimensions
Altmetrics
More from Oxford Academic
Arts and Humanities
Literary Theory and Cultural Studies
Literature
Books
Journals