Adrian Brunel and British Cinema of the 1920s: The Artist Versus the Moneybags

British cinema has been in the shadow of Hollywood for over a hundred years, constantly attempting to define itself in an effort to challenge its dominance. During the 1920s, a small group of intellectuals argued that injecting a level of 'art' into the medium was the way to do this, a view strongly opposed by the industry's commercial forces.

Using the experiences of Adrian Brunel, Josephine Botting demonstrates how this clash affected the careers of filmmakers attempting to prove their theory. Brunel was cultured yet financially insecure, caught between the creative Bohemianism of 1920s London and a conventional, conservative film industry.

Tracing the ups and downs of Brunel's biography with detailed reference to his personal papers, Adrian Brunel and British Cinema of the 1920s exposes the various forces controlling the production, distribution and exhibition of films in Britain as Brunel tried to negotiate them and find a niche in the insecure and competitive arena of British film.

Author: Josephine Botting
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Published: 03/17/2023
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.13lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.56d
ISBN: 9781399501354

About the Author

Josephine Botting is a Curator at the BFI National Archive.