2009_373_syllabus

Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant in
Bringing Up Baby (1939)

Jefferson Hendricks
Centenary College of Louisiana
Fall 2009

Texts/Calendar
Policies and Requirements
General Links for Writers
Writing About Film
Film Links
Contact Info

Johnny Depp in
Dead Man (1995)

Texts:

1. Stanley Cavell, Pursuits of Happiness: The Hollywood Comedy of Remarriage (Harvard U. P.) ISBN-10: 067473906X - ISBN-13: 978-0674739062

2. Gregg Rickman and Jim Kitses, The Western Reader (Limelight Editions) ISBN-10: 0879102683 - ISBN-13: 978-0879102685

3. Maria DiBattista, Fast Talking Dames (Yale U. P.) ISBN-10: 0300099037 - ISBN-13: 978-0300099034

Calendar:

Wk 1 Aug 24-28

Tu: Aug 25 Introduction to Course

Th: Aug 27 Sherlock, Jr. (USA, 1924. Dir. Buster Keaton)

Required Readings:

Required reading:

Buster Keaton -- Wikipedia
Buster Keaton -- Gerald Mast, Film Research.com
Sherlock, Jr. -- Eric Smoodin, Film Research.com

Wk 2 Aug 31-Sept 4

Tu: Sept 1 It Happened One Night (USA, 1934. Dir. Frank Capra)

Readings:

Cavell, Pursuits of Happiness: "Introduction: Words for a Conversation," pp. 1-43.
Stanley Cavell -- Wikipedia
A Philosopher Goes to the Movies: A Conversation with Stanley Cavell -- Harvey Kreisler, U. of California, Berkeley
Criticism -- Robin Wood, Film Reference.com
Film Studies -- Bill Nichols, Film Reference.com

Th: Sept 3

Required Readings:

Cavell, Pursuits of Happiness: "Chapter 2: Knowledge as Transgression: It Happened One Night," pp. 71-109.
"A Capra Moment" -- Stanley Cavell, Humanities
Genre Studies -- Wikipedia
Film Genre(s) -- Wikipedia
Screwball Comedy -- Gregg Rickman, Green Cine
Frank Capra -- Charles Affron, Film Reference.com

Background Readings:

An Introduction to Genre Theory -- Daniel Chandler, University of Wales, Aberystwyth
Screwball Comedy (film) -- Wikipedia
It Happened One Night -- Martha P. Nochimson, Senses of Cinema
It Happened One Night -- Lauren Rabinovitz, Film Reference.com
It Happened One Night -- Tim Dirks, Greatest Films
"It's Fun...But It Takes Courage: Remembering Frank Capra's America" -- Annalee Newitz, Bad Subjects
"The Charm of Morality: Frank Capra and his Cinema," -- Lorraine Mortimer, Continuum: The Australian Journal of Media & Culture
Elizabeth's Frank Capra page
Frank Capra page -- Erik Weems
Clark Gable -- Joanne L. Yeck and John McCarty, Film Reference.com

Wk 3 Sept 7-11

Tu: Sept 8 The Lady Eve (USA, 1941. Dir. Preston Struges)

Required Readings:

DiBattista, Fast Talking Dames, Chapter 1: "Fast Talking Dames," pp. 4-35.
Preston Sturges -- Jonas Varsted Kirkegaard, Senses of Cinema
Preston Sturges -- Eric Smoodin, Film Reference.com

Background Readings:

"Ants in His Pants" (essay on Preston Sturges) -- Jerry Kemp, Sight and Sound
Preston Sturges -- American Masters, PBS
Sturges Emerges -- Stu Kobak
Barbara Stanwyck -- Arthur Nolletti Jr. and Maria DiBattista, Film Reference.com

Th: Sept 10

Required Readings:

Cavell, Pursuits of Happiness, Chapter 1: "Cons and Pros: The Lady Eve," pp. 45-69.
DiBattista, Fast Talking Dames, Chapter 9: "The Lady Eve and the Female Con," pp. 298-323.
The Lady Eve -- Robin Wood, Film Reference.com
The Lady Eve -- Peter Tonguette, Senses of Cinema

Background Readings:

The Lady Eve -- Tim Dirks, Greatest Films
The Lady Eve -- Roger Ebert, Chicago-Sun Times
The Lady Eve and Sullivan's Travels -- Gary Johnson -- review of Critierion DVDs
The Lady Eve and Sullivan's Travels -- Matthew Kennedy -- review of Criterion DVDs
The Official Preston Sturges Website
Preston Sturges: A Selected Bibliography of Materials in the UC Berkeley Library

[Gay and Lesbian Film Festival @ Robinson Film Center: September 11-17]

Wk 4 Sept 14-18

Tu: Sept 15 Bringing Up Baby (USA, 1938. Dir. Howard Hawks)

Required Readings Before the Film:

DiBattista, Fast Talking Dames, Chapter 2: "Female Pygmalions," pp. 36-83.
Howard Hawks -- Gerald Mast, Film Reference.com
Cary Grant -- Janet E. Lorenz and Guo-Juin Hong, Film Reference.com
Katharine Hepburn -- Robin Wood and Audrey P. Kuperberg, Film Reference.com
Absolute Definition: Katharine Hepburn -- Lesley Chow, Senses of Cinema
Genre -- Arthur Asa Berger, Museum of Broadcast Communication

Required Readings After the Film:

Cavell, Pursuits of Happiness: Chapter 3: "Leopards in Connecticut: Bringing Up Baby," pp. 111-132.
DiBattista, Fast Talking Dames: Chapter 5: "Missing Links: Bringing Up Baby," pp. 174-201.

Background Reading:

Bringing Up Baby -- Tim Dirks, Greatest Films
Bringing Up Baby -- Wikipedia
Bringing Up Baby -- James Kendrick, QNetwork.com
Screwball Comedy (all sections) -- Wes D. Gehrig, Film Reference.com
Bringing Up Baby -- Lauren Rabinovitz, Film Reference.com
"The Screwball Heroine Saves the Day" (Bringing Up Baby, Romancing the Stone, etc.) -- Elizabeth Abele, Schuylkill
"The Glory of Cary Grant and Other Girlish Delights" -- Elizabeth Abele, Images: A Journal of Film and Popular Culture [on Bringing Up Baby]
"The Camera as Romantic Catalyst" (on Bringing Up Baby) -- Tony Pellum
The Ultimate Cary Grant Pages -- Debbie Dunlap
Romantic Comedy -- David R. Shumway, Film Reference.com

Th: Sept 17 The Philadelphia Story (USA, 1940. Dir. George Cukor)

Required Readings Before the Film:

DiBattista, Fast Talking Dames, Chapter 3: "Blonde Bombshells: Jean Harlow, Carole Lombard, and Ginger Rogers," pp. 84-131.
George Cukor -- Gene D. Phillips, Film Reference.com
"George Cukor: The Valor of Discretion" -- Joseph McBride, Bright Lights Film Journal
James Stewart -- Janet E. Lorenz and Linda J. Stewart, Film Reference.com
Screwball Comedy: notes & two definitional essays -- Glen Johnson, Catholic U.

Required Readings After the Film:

Cavell, Pursuits of Happiness: Chapter 4: "The Importance of Importance: The Philadelphia Story," pp. 133-160.

Background Readings:

George Cukor -- Wikipedia
George Cukor -- Dan Callahan, Senses of Cinema
The Philadelphia Story -- Wikipedia
"George Cukor: The Philadelphia Story" -- Derek Malcolm, The Guardian
The Philadephia Story -- Emmanuel Levy
The Philadelphia Story -- Tim Dirks, Greatest Films
"Genre and Film: Problematic Conjunctions" -- Carol Laseur, The Field of Genre and Australian Filmic Texts: Transforming Cultural Narratives

Wk 5 Sept 21-25

Tu: Sept 22 Ninotchka (USA, 1939. Dir. Ernst Lubitsch)

Required Readings:

DiBattista, Fast Talking Dames, Chapter 4: "My Favorite Brunettes: Myrna Loy, Jean Arthur, and Claudette Colbert," pp. 132-173.
Ernst Lubitsch -- Greg S. Faller, Film Reference.com
Greta Garbo -- John Baxter and Guo-Juin Hong, Film Reference.com

Background Readings:

Greta Garbo -- Jacob M. Appel, St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture
Greta Garbo -- Turner Classic Movies
Greta Garbo -- Wikipedia

Garbo Forever -- a fan site from Germany

Th: Sept 24

Required Readings:

DiBattista, Fast Talking Dames, Chapter 7: "Garbo's Laugh," pp. 236-267.
Ninotchka -- Charles Affron, Film Reference.com

Background Readings:

Ninotchka -- Tim Dirks, Greatest Films
Ninotchka -- Jessica Singer, Brattle Theatre Film Notes
Ninotchka -- Andrea Foshee, Turner Classic Movies
Ninotchka -- Wikipedia

Wk 6 Sept 28-Oct 2

Tu: Sept 29 His Girl Friday (USA, 1940. Dir. Howard Hawks)

Required Readings:

Howard Hawks -- David Boxwell, Senses of Cinema
Howard Hawks -- Wikipedia
Genre -- Barry Keith Grant, Film Reference.com (all sections)

Background Readings:

Howard Hawks -- Turner Classic Movies

Th: Oct 1

Required Readings:

Cavell, Pursuits of Happiness, Chapter 5: "Counterfeiting Happiness: His Girl Friday," pp. 161-188.
DiBattista, Fast Talking Dames, Chapter 8: "Female Rampant: His Girl Friday," pp. 268-297.
His Girl Friday -- Lauren Rabinovitz, Film Research.com
"Keeping Up With Hawks" (Style in Cinema) -- Lea Jacobs, Style

Background Readings:

His Girl Friday -- Tim Dirks, Greatest Films
His Girl Friday -- Brad Laiman, Film Threat

Wk 7 Oct 5-9

Tu: Oct 6 The Awful Truth (USA, 1937. Dir. Leo McCarey)

Required Readings:

Leo McCarey -- Robin Wood, Film Reference.com
Leo McCarey -- Paul Harrill, Senses of Cinema
Irene Dunn -- Jeanine Basinger and Corey K. Creekmur, Film Reference.com
"Screwball Comedies: Constructing Romance, Mystifying Marriage" -- David R. Shumway, Cinema Journal, Vol. 30, No. 4 (Summer, 1991), pp. 7-23. [Available on JSTOR through the Magale Library]

Background Readings:

Irene Dunne -- Donna Moore

Th: Oct 8

Required Readings:

Cavell, Pursuits of Happiness, Chapter 7: "The Same and Different: The Awful Truth," pp. 229-263.
DiBattista, Fast Talking Dames, Chapter 6: "The Lady-Dame: Irene Dunne and The Awful Truth," pp. 202-235 and "Conclusion: Blondes Born Yesterday," pp. 324-340.

"If I were different, maybe things could be the same, only different: The Awful Truth" -- Alan Vanneman, Bright Lights Film Journal

Background Readings:

The Awful Truth -- Tim Dirks, The Greatest Films
The Awful Truth -- Elbert Ventura, Pop Matters
"An Exchange with Stanley Cavell" -- Rex Butler, Senses of Cinema
review of Pursuits of Happiness: The Hollywood Comedy of Remarriage -- Noel Carroll, The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 41, No. 1 (Autumn, 1982), pp. 103-106. [Available on JSTOR through the Magale Library]

Wk 8 Oct 12-16

Tu: Oct 13

Mid-term exam

[Wed: Mid-term grades due]

Th: Fall Break

Wk 9 Oct 19-23

Tu: The Big Trail (1930)

Th: Oct 22

[Western Film Festival: Oct 22-29)

Wk 10 Oct 26-30

Tu: Students attend Western Film Festival

Th: Students attend Western Film Festival

[Western Film Festival: Oct 22-29:

Stagecoach [no Blu-Ray];
Jeremiah Johnson [no Blu-Ray];
Buffalo Bill and the Indians [no Blu-Ray];
Dances With Wolves [no Blu-Ray];
Shane [new 35mm print] or The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance [new 35mm print];
Blazing Saddles [Blu-Ray])

Wk 11 Nov 2-6

Tu: The Westerner

Th:

Wk 12 Nov 9-13

Tu: My Darling Clementine (1946)

Th:

[Jewish Film Festival: Nov 14-19]

Wk 13 Nov 16-20

Tu: Nov 17

Th: Nov 19

[Jewish Film Festival: Nov 14-19]

Wk 14 Nov 23-27 -- Thanksgiving Break

Wk 15 Nov 30-Dec 4

Tu: Rio Bravo (1959)

Th:

Wk 16 Dec 7-11 -- Prep Week

Tu: The Ballad of Little Jo (1993)

Th: Dead M