Posted by Sarah, on Ann-Marie’s behalf<\/p>\n
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Steve Neale\u2019s article \u2018Melo Talk\u2019 attempts to look at how the term melodrama was used in the trade press. Neale\u2019s sources include Film Daily<\/i>, Hollywood Reporter, Motion Picture Herald <\/i>and Variety<\/i>, yet it seems his use is selective. He states that the term melodrama is \u2018rather rare in reviews of women\u2019s films,\u2019[1]<\/a> for instance, films such as Dark Victory<\/i>. The analysis is often limited by his reliance on review pages in trade papers, whereas he could have benefited to look at the categorizing pages such as the release chart. This is the case with Dark Victory<\/i>. Neale informs us that Variety<\/i> reviews it as an \u201cintense drama,\u201d[2]<\/a> and thus leads us to infer that woman\u2019s pictures, and this in particular, was not categorized as a melodrama. However, Motion Picture Herald<\/i> does in fact claim it to be a melodrama (CLICK HERE FOR PDF:Motion Picture Herald 25th February 1939<\/a>). Thus, is Neale being selective by relying on reviews, or selecting what suits his analysis?<\/p>\n He concludes that \u2018the trade press clearly recognized [melodramas as] the adventure film, the thriller, the horror film, the war film and the western.\u2019[3]<\/a> This is questionable due to the status and categorizing of Dark Victory<\/i> as a melodrama. Thus, further research is needed to clarify whether the majority were treated in the same manner as Dark Victory<\/i>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Steve Neale, \u2018Melo Talk: On the Meaning and Use of the Term \u201cMelodrama\u201d in the American Trade Press\u2019, The Velvet Light Trap<\/i>, Number 32, (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993) p.74<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [2]<\/a> Neale, \u2018Melo Talk\u2019, The Velvet Light Trap<\/i> p. 74<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [3]<\/a> Neale, \u2018Melo Talk\u2019, The Velvet Light Trap<\/i> p.76<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Posted by Sarah, on Ann-Marie’s behalf Steve Neale\u2019s article \u2018Melo Talk\u2019 attempts to look at how the term melodrama was used in the trade press. Neale\u2019s sources include Film Daily, Hollywood Reporter, Motion Picture Herald and Variety, yet it … Continue reading