Böcker utgivna av BearManor Media

Starting with Road to Singapore in 1940, Paramount Pictures teamed Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour to star in one of the most successful series of movies ever made.All seven "road" films followed the same basic format: adventurers Hope and Crosby would be caught in a seemingly impossible situation, they would defeat the bad guys, and then vie with one another for Lamour's attention. A few ballads, duets, and comedy numbers were added for musical flavor and it all worked to perfection.This book is a fond look back on three screen stars, all with successful careers of their own, who traveled seven "roads" together and left audiences with miles of movie memories.

Illustrated with over 300 photos, many of them rare and never before in print, JUST JOAN is a compilation of over four years of comprehensive research, culled from rare Lincoln Center archives, original magazines and those who knew her. Crawford is examined as a feminist forerunner, a gay icon, a dynamic artist, and as one of the world's great movie stars. The many anecdotes and quotes within JUST JOAN reveal the sassy, indomitable spirit of this actress who grew up in abject poverty with an indifferent family and yet, against unseemly strife and setbacks, rose from the ashes like a phoenix. Her determination, talent and committed work ethic enabled her to find a career and home with what would be one of the most celebrated and powerful studios in film history, MGM. Hers is the moving, complex story of the pursuit and realization of the American Dream, part sublime, part nightmare, self-actuated. With rich detail and devotion, JUST JOAN bears testament to Crawford's enduring enigma and powerful star. "If Joan Crawford was the ultimate star then Donna Nowak is the ultimatefan. She appreciates this complex subject for her skill as an actress, herimportance as a pop culture icon, as well as displaying a fi ne sense ofhumor for Crawford's more lurid notoriety. Nowak has a fervor, devotion,and attention to detail that even the fastidious Crawford would cheer."- Charles Busch"Intelligent, insightful, witty - Donna Nowak's essays and reviews onthe style, work and life of Joan Crawford would have compelled theUltimate Star to officially adopt her as the devoted creative daughter shealways longed for."- Shaun Considine

With the success of Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi, Universal Pictures was quick to capitalize on creating a new Lon Chaney in Bela Lugosi. Chaney had been the original choice to portray a duel role as both Dracula and Professor van Helsing, Dracula's adversary. Before production could begin Chaney died suddenly leaving Carl Laemmle Jr. without a star.Laemmle Jr. had seen Dracula on the stage in New York City, although he could not recall if he had seen Lugosi or Raymond Huntley in the role of Count Dracula. However Lugosi was performing in the touring company which happened to be in Los Angeles at that time. Was he the new Lon Chaney?Lugosi was not Carl Jr's first choice for the role. However he eventually won the part and now they needed more ideas for him. "Murders in the Rue Morgue", "Cagliostro", "The Invisible Man" and "Frankenstein" were top on the list.One day in March 1931 Robert Florey, recently returned to Hollywood from Europe, was having lunch at the Musso and Frank Restaurant on Hollywood Boulevard. He was approached by an old acquaintance, Richard Schayer, head of Universal's story department. Schayer told him that his studio was looking for ideas for a new horror film to star Bela Lugosi and he knew Florey was involved with The Théâtre du Grand-Guignol de Paris, (a small theater, in an obscure alley in Paris which specialized in sadistic, shocking, explicit, violent melodramas and became known as the "Theater of Horrors". It opened in 1897 and closed in 1962.)They both agreed on "Frankenstein" being the best choice. Schayer suggested that Florey would stand a better chance at being asigned writer and director if he were to present the idea to Carl Laemmle Jr.We present now the script for"Frankenstein" as it would have been had Bela Lugosi starred; and Rober Florey directed.

All there is to know about the crime fighting hero created by mystery writer George Harmon Coxe -- from his debut in Black Mask, the popular 1930s pulp magazine, to his 10 year stint on radio, his short lived television career plus his exploits in the movies, novels, comic books and a play. Includes the complete very first Casey short story, "Return Engagement," that appeared in Black Mask, synopses of ALL 21 Casey short stories and novelettes, 6 novels, 4 comic books, 2 films and a play, 2 uncirculated radio scripts, a complete Program Log for radio series -- 431 programs, 1943-1950, 1954-1955, a complete Program Log for television series -- 62 programs, 1945, 1951-1952, 31 photographs and illustrations, including cast photographs for radio and television series, and the first-ever literary biography of George Harmon Coxe, twice President of the Mystery Writers of America and recipient of the MWA Grand Master Award in recognition of his lifetime contribution to the mystery genre and the consistently high quality of his work.A comprehensive, first-rate history of the sleuthing shutterbug. Chock full with valuable information. - Blood and Thunder, Fall/Winter, 2006A richly detailed portrait that secures the program's rightful place in radio's history. - Dick Bertel, Host of WTIC's Golden Age of Radio broadcastBoth Coxe and Casey are long gone but their books brings them back, as fresh as ever. - Francis M. Nevins, Noted mystery writer and criticThis is a great book that follows the career of Flashghun Casey for over two decades. - J. David Goldin, The Man Who Saved Radio

Pat Buttram is known by today's youth as the yodel-y voice in the Disney animated films The Rescuers, Robin Hood, The Fox and the Hound, The Aristocats and A Goofy Movie. To their parents, he's Mr. Haney, the hilarious con-man from Green Acres; and to their grandparents, he's Gene Autry's humorous sidekick. Pat was one of Hollywood's truest success stories. He lived his dream of making people laugh, winning honors from the The Pacific Pioneers Broadcaster's award all the way up to an Emmy, and everyone who knew him loved him. No one could keep an audience laughing as well as Pat could.Born in 1915 in rural Alabama, the seventh of eight children grew up to be one of the most interesting voices in movies and television. This is his story, told for the first time by his many friends, family members, co-stars, and co-workers at Gene Autry Enterprises. Interspersed throughout the book are many of Pat's original one-liners. If they make you laugh, they will have earned their keep.

Legendary film director Robert Wise called the Whistler features, "examples of budgetfilmmaking at its very best." Noted B movie historian Don Miller cited them as, "the bestB pics of the period from Columbia." Famed film critic/historian Leonard Maltin referredto the series as "one of the most unusual- and one of the best mystery series of the30's and 40's. . ."Based on J. Donald Wilson's hit radio suspense program featuring ironic tales ofterror spun by a mysterious host, The Whistler film series consisted of eight motion picturesproduced by Columbia Pictures between 1944 and 1948 starring legendary, AcademyAward-nominated actor, Richard Dix. Although manufactured quickly andcheaply to fill the bottom half of a mandatory double bill, The Whistler films were suspenseful and well made, engendering wide popularity and surprising critical acclaim. Today historians and movie aficionados frequently cite them for their innovation and style-and as early examples of film noir.This is the story of the making of this landmark Columbia series, and the manyextraordinary individuals who pooled their singular talents to make eight lowbudget movies into film classics. Included are rare profiles of 50 Whistler filmmakers:actors, directors, writers, and technicians.

The San Fernando Valley, hidden just on the other side of the Hollywood sign, is the pornography capital of the world. This valley of adult commerce is towered over by Alston Image, the most successful, respected and innovative producer of adult content in history. But when the company's eternally ambitious and publicly reclusive founder and CEO, Isaac Alston, decides to track down and produce the script for a legendary forbidden film by his favorite erotic auteur he incurs a public backlash that echoes across the entire nation. In this scorching debut, author Jordan Owen weaves a tale of scathing satire, corporate intrigue and moral outrage to journey deep into the hearts and minds of the industry that is the Eros Empire...Jordan Owen is a writer, musician and cultural agitator who currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia. If you buy this book you are only encouraging him.

First U.S. Printing". . . and as the Baron Frankenstein has been adjudged responsible for the actions of the monster which he created . . . you are charged to carry out sentence of death by beheading. . "So read the instructions on the warrant- but Frankenstein did not die!This is the gruesome, horrific story of Frankenstein's revenge which took the form of an operation to remove the brain from one man, and transplant it in another. Karl, the unfortunate victim of the Baron's machinations, comes to a tragic end, tormented by his new-found freedom and, finally, destroyed by it.Karl, the unfortunate victim of Baron Frankenstein's experiments, is tormentedby his new-found freedom. But his tortured brain cannot grasp the fact that he is merely the tool of the Baron and his assistant. And finally, Frankenstein's gruesome work destroys the brain he has transplanted. . .A Hammer Film Production, Ltd. horror-drama "The Revenge of Frankenstein" was distributed by Columbia Pictures. Starring Peter Cushing, Eunice Gayson, Francis Matthews and Michael Gwynn, it is produced by Anthony Hinds andDirected by Terence Fisher, Screenplay by Jimmy Sangster

The Divine Woman, Released by MGM, 1928 starring Greta Garbois considered a "Lost Film" Only a short nine minute sequence with Russian subtitles has survived, discovered in 1993 at the Gosfilmofond, Moscow. Unfortunately it was stored in the same MGM backlot vault as another "Lost" film "London After Midnight" and both were destoyed by a fire.Adapted from the 1925 play Starlight by Gladys Unger which starred Doris Keane, the plot is loosely based on stories of the early life of the French actress Sarah Bernhardt. Marianne (Greta Garbo) is a poor French girl who goes to Paris in the 1860s to seek her fortune as an actress. As she rises to success in the theatre, she must choose between the romantic attentions of two men: Lucien (Lars Hanson), a passionate young army deserter who goes to jail after stealing a dress for her, and Henry Legrand (Lowell Sherman), a Paris producer who offers her fame and fortune.If the film is never foundThis novelette written by Gladys Unger, based on the shooting script by Dorothy Farnum might be the only glimpse we have on Garbo's only lost film.

A vicious serial killer is terrifying the bayous of Louisiana, and the only person who can catch him is FBI Agent Kate Palmer. But after years spent thinking like serial killers in order to catch them, Kate is facing burnout. To make matters worse, she's about to rekindle a relationship with the only man she ever loved when the Bayou Butcher strikes again, this time frighteningly close to home.For Kate, that makes it personal. And it might also be just what it takes to break her completely.

From the mind of veteran Hollywood television and screenwriter comes a haunting collection of tales focusing on the darker side of childhood. Stretching from the dark days of World War II to the steamy jungles of the Congo and on to the windswept bluffs overlooking exclusive Del Mar, California, you are about to enter a realm of wicked aunts and uncles, homicidal teenagers and proud but impoverished street urchins.Occasionally they find salvation... but not always.

JAN WAHL grew up in North-West Ohio where as a child he played piano on a radio program called The Kiddies Karnival. Next came the creation of traveling magic and puppet shows and shadowplays. Once he appeared at the Toledo Town Hall with the legendary magician Harry Blackstone.At Cornell University he had the good fortune to take classes with Vladimir Nabokov. In Denmark while on a Fullbright scholarship he was invited by director Carl Theodor Dreyer to be part of the making of the now classic film Ordet. He returned to Denmark to act as scribe to Isak Dinesen (Out of Africa) at the time she was writing her Last Tales. He lived a number of years in Guanajuato, Mexico and resides now in Toledo.His more than 100 books mostly for children have been illustrated by Norman Rockwell, Maurice Sendak, Uri Shulevitz, Edward Gorey, Feodor Rojankovsky and other notable artists and have been anthologized, animated, and set to music. His awards include the Avery Hopwood, Redbook, Ohioana and Parents Magazine awards as well as the Coretta Scott King and Bologna Youth Critics prizes.

"The Palik Series of Jules Verne, Published in conjunction with the North American Jules Verne Society, Edited by Brian Taves"This adventure is for everyone who has thrilled to The Scarlet Pimpernel, A Tale of Two Cities, or Scaramouche. A nobleman, the Count of Chanteleine, leads a rebellion against the revolutionary French government. While he fights for the monarchy and the church, his home is destroyed and his wife murdered by the mob. Now he must save his daughter from the guillotine. This exciting swashbuckler is also a meticulous historical re-creation of a particularly bloody episode in the Reign of Terror.The Count of Chanteleine is the first English translation of this Jules Verne novel, the fourth volume in the Palik series published under the auspices of the North American Jules Verne Society. Commentary by an international team of experts supports Edward Baxter's translation.

Golden Gate Bridge and cable cars,make room for Charlie, San Francisco's newestattraction. Who is that cat in the window? Whywas this seemingly ordinary cat receiving mailfrom Buckingham Palace, 10 Downing Street,The White House, and other notable places farand wide? Who was the little elderly lady helived with, who once fought with Bogie andflirted with Cary Grant? Like Charlie Chaplin,their counterpart, they, too, remain unforgettablecharacters.This is a Christmas story, like no other, that willtug at your heartstrings, heal your spirit, andmake you smile and cheer Charlie's heroism.

"I find myself always being drawn into Wes' comedic researchand storytelling by its insights into the history, politics andsociology of the period explored. In that context, his gift is notonly that of a researcher but also a "decoder" of what leads areader to exclaim. 'Oh, so that's how he (the subject) got thatway.'"- Steve Bell, former anchor forABC News and Good Morning, America

In 1888, the elusive serial killer, Jack the Ripper, terrorized the Whitechapel District of London. Scotland Yard was baffled. But, that same year, Jack met his match when he crossed paths with the dreadfully evil ...really awful...Count Dracula.On July 22, 1934, notorious bank robber John Dillinger was shot "dead" by the FBI in front of Chicago's Biograph Theater. But, on September 17, 1941, in Miami Beach, Florida, John Dillinger met with former "King of Chicago," mobster Al Capone, to plan the biggest heist of his career.In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson completed the Louisiana Purchase with France's Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. The price was four cents per acre. But, in 2011, Napoleon decided that he wanted his land back.Master storyteller Michael B. Druxman turns history and literature topsy-turvy in six unforgettable tales.Titles include: "The Old Coot," "Dracula Meets Jack the Ripper""Big Al and Desperate Dan""Napoleon Brandy""The Space Ship""Bugsy's Boys"

"The Palik Series of Jules Verne, Published in conjunction with the North American Jules Verne Society, Edited by Brian Taves"Long before Verne stories had formed the basisfor such movies as Around the World in 80 Days,many of his plays were theatrical blockbusters onthe 19th century stage. Expert scholarly researchintroduces four of Verne's plays written in his youth,translated by Frank Morlock. Verne's themes rangefrom romantic comedies to a scientist's discovery thatthere may not be such a difference between humanand ape after all!

"The Palik Series of Jules Verne, Published in conjunction with the North American Jules Verne Society, Edited by Brian Taves"Shipwrecked Family: Marooned with Uncle Robinson Castaway by pirates on a deserted island ... without tools or supplies to survive ... a mother and her children have only a kindly old sailor to help. But what explains the strange flora and fauna they find?The second volume in the Palik series, presented by the North American Jules Verne Society, offers another story never before published in English. Shipwrecked Family was rejected by Verne's publisher, so rather than finish it, he began to rewrite it with new characters-and that became the classic, The Mysterious Island, where Captain Nemo made his last appearance. Here, then, is Verne's first draft of that novel, one which is very different from the book that it became.Expert translation is provided by Sidney Kravitz, also translator of the definitive modern edition of The Mysterious Island. BearManor Media is pleased to present, in conjunction with the North American Jules Verne Society, a series of stories that have never before appeared in English translation. Tales from fantasy to humor, of castaways, outlaws, and swashbucklers, even stage plays, here are all the adventures that have made Verne such a beloved author. These books are unavailable from any other publisher, and the series has been underwritten by the generous bequest of the late Society member, Ed Palik, for whom it is named. Leading Verne scholars from around the world are collaborating to bring readers the finest translations and analysis about each story, under the general editorship of Society Vice President Brian Taves. Each volume is lavishly illustrated with engravings from the original French editions of Verne's stories.