Hollywood UK: UK's Hollywood

Year 1995, Issue: 2, 21 - 26, 01.10.1995

Laurence Raw

Abstract

This paper examines first what 'Hollywood UK' meant--particularly during the first four decades of this century. It looks at the British community of actors, the kinds of roles they played in Hollywood, both on and off screen, and how they conformed to traditional stereotypes of the British, to satisfy the demands of both the studios and the film publicity magazines. The paper subsequently examines how America and the Americans have been represented in British films. It is worthwhile saying at the outset that more attention is paid to the image of Britain in American films than vice versa--chiefly because there are far more films to choose from, but also because many films which are described as 'British' in referencebooks have been made by major American studios in Britain with American money. Thus it is often very difficult to identify an authentically 'British' film

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