Melodrama Events at the University of Kent on Sun 29th of Sept

Posted on September 9, 2013 by melodramaresearchgroup

Posted by Sarah

A reminder that the following exciting melodrama events are taking place at the Gulbenkian Cinema at the University of Kent on the 29th of September.

The first focuses on Douglas Sirk’s film Magnificent Obsession (1954).

11 am: There is a free 30 min talk on melodrama by Dr John Mercer, Film Studies, City Birmingham University http://www.bcu.ac.uk/pme/school-of-media/applying-to-us/our-staff/john-mercer

John is co-author, with Martin Shingler, of Melodrama : Genre, Style, Sensibility. London ; New York : Wallflower, 2004

11.30 am Magnificent Obsession screens.

The Gulbenkian website description of the film: “Based on Lloyd C. Douglas’ spiritual novel of the same title, churlish playboy Bob Merrick becomes indirectly responsible for the death of a much loved local doctor when he foolishly wrecks his speed boat. In trying to make amends, he falls in love with the doctor’s widow and must remake his life in order to win her love.”

For further details and to book your ticket go to:

http://www.kent.ac.uk/gulbenkian/cinema/films/2013/september/2013-09-magnificent-obsession.html

6.45pm: Dr Tamar Jeffers McDonald of the University of Kent (http://www.kent.ac.uk/arts/staff-profiles/profiles/film/t_jeffers-mcdonald.html) will introduce Alfred Hitchcock’s film The Man who Knew Too Much (1956). Tamar is the author of a forthcoming book on one of the stars of the film, Doris Day, and will speak about Doris’ darker films.

The Gulbenkian website’s description of the film: “A family vacationing in Morocco accidentally stumble on to an assassination plot and the conspirators are determined to prevent them from interfering. Includes a 5-10 minute introduction”

For further details and to book your ticket go to: http://www.kent.ac.uk/gulbenkian/cinema/films/2013/september/2013-09-the-man-who-knew-too-much.html

To see more details of Tamar’s book Doris Day Confidential: Hollywood, Sex and Stardom go to: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Doris-Day-Confidential-Hollywood-Stardom/dp/1848855826/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378711364&sr=8-1&keywords=doris+day+confidential

CFP: The Melodramatic Moment, 1790-1820

Posted on September 6, 2013 by melodramaresearchgroup

Posted by Sarah,

I thought people might be interested in an upcoming conference on melodrama due to take place at the Institute of Historical Research in London in March 2014. The era it focuses on is a fair bit earlier than we have been examining, but I’m sure there is still much of relevance.

http://events.history.ac.uk/event/show/11430

Lois Weber’s The Blot (1921) to be screened at the BFI

Posted on July 3, 2013 by melodramaresearchgroup

Posted by Sarah, on Frances’ behalf

The BFI will be screening a Lois Weber film next month which may be of interest to some of you. Weber, you may remember, was the director of one of the early cinema shorts we watched last term called Suspense (1913). Weber was a prominent film director of the period, often making films which addressed social issues and controversial topics. The BFI will be screening Weber’s The Blot from 1921 next month which is an important film in the director’s oeuvre and it incorporates many of the themes we have discussed in our melodrama meetings. Here is the description from the BFI website:

“Lois Weber was in her time one of the most influential figures in the US film industry. Her masterpiece, The Blot, is a realistic study of genteel poverty among the struggling middle-classes. A professor scarcely has the means to support his wife and daughter, who in turn has three suitors, one an [sic] poor cleric, one the son of a nouveau riche neighbour, and one a playboy. The film is a subtle, compassionate study of the vagaries of society’s rewards and the cruel masquerade of gentility.”

Enjoy!

https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/default.asp?doWork::WScontent::loadArticle=Load&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::article_id=7D94E989-64D2-4501-8343-53214B47AB99&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id=D227EFA6-8921-484E-B232-8A687EDA0B05

BFI’s Gothic Film Season

Posted on June 29, 2013 by melodramaresearchgroup

Posted by Sarah

I thought it would be worth drawing attention to an upcoming melodrama-related event. This especially ties into the Gothic strand of melodrama the Melodrama Research Group has recently been investigating.

The British Film Institute has announced its season of Gothic Films. This is scheduled to run from October 2013 to January 2014 and involve indoor and outdoor events across the country.

Visit the website http://www.bfi.org.uk/gothic for more details, including a spooky video trailer.

Summer Activities

Posted on June 13, 2013 by melodramaresearchgroup

Posted by Sarah

It will be a rather long three months until the group meets again… In the meantime, I intend to occasionally post subjects of interest (such as links to films, radio dramas, books etc on archive.org, youtube and other free-to-all platforms) which people can get involved with by commenting on the blog. If you would like to propose something to be included please do email me on sp458@kent.ac.uk.

I plan to email individual members when something new has been posted on the blog, just to make sure you don’t miss out!

Melodrama Read through, 5th June, Jarman 7 UPDATE

Posted on June 4, 2013 by melodramaresearchgroup

Posted by Sarah,

I just thought I’d reiterate that it would be great if those who are free a little earlier than 5pm tomorrow, can turn up and congregate outside Jarman 7 at about 4.45pm. I’m hopeful that this will mean we can sort out some of the practicalities beforehand and start the read-through itself promptly at 5.

I look forward to seeing you there!

An Additional Blog

Posted on May 16, 2013 by melodramaresearchgroup

Posted by Sarah

Just to let you know that we now have an additional blog. This is not part of the University of Kent blogs, but uses the same format as our main blog. It will be a useful space to post additional items, and allows for larger uploads.

Visit it here: http://melodramaresearchgroupextra.wordpress.com/

Summary of Discussion on the Melodrama Research Group’s Plans

Posted on May 16, 2013 by melodramaresearchgroup

Posted by Sarah

As always, do log in and comment or email me on sp458@kent.ac.uk to leave your thoughts. I’m sure the outline below will take shape and be added to very soon!

Discussion of the Group’s activities mostly centred on our plans for Spring 2014. It was thought that a symposium with invited speakers might be the best way to stage an event. The idea of a festival which did not focus on film screenings, but rather melodrama in other media or indeed archive material relating to film melodrama, was suggested. This might well focus on several different areas, which is especially apt given the variety and pervasiveness of melodrama. For both of these it was agreed that the involvement of practitioners in melodrama would be very worthwhile.

A possible trip to the New Amsterdam Film Museum was also mentioned which would be very exciting!