Continuum Transatlantic Crossings: British Feature Films in the USA (Rethinking British cinema)

This is the first major study of the distribution and exhibition of British films in the USA. Charting the cross-cultural reception of many British films, Sarah Street draws on a wide range of sources including studio records, film posters, press books and statistics. While the relative strength of Hollywood made it difficult for films which crossed the Atlantic, Street's research demonstrates that some strategies were more successful than others. She considers which British films made an impact and analyses conditions that facilitated a positive reception from critics, censors, exhibitors and audiences. Case studies include "Nell Gwyn" (1926), "The Private Life of Henry VIII" (1933), "The Ghost Goes West" (1935), "Henry V" (1946), "Black Narcissus" (1947), "The Red Shoes" (1948), Ealing comedies, "The Horror of Dracula" (1958), "Tom Jones" (1963), "A Hard Day's Night" (1964), "Goldfinger" (1964), "The Remains of the Day" (1993), "Four Weddings and a Funeral" (1994) and "Trainspotting" (1996). Against a background of the economic history of the British and Hollywood film industries, this book considers the many questions surrounding the history of British films in the USA, their relevance to wider issues of Anglo-American relations and to notions of "Britishness" on screen.