American Gothic is the story of the Hollywood horror film from its
nineteenth-century beginnings through to the arrival of Vincent Price as a
horror star in the mid-1950s. This 60-year period encompasses the shadowy
nightmares of the silent era, the breakthrough hits produced by Universal
in the early days of talkies, the lurid melodramas released by Warner Bros
and M-G-M, the RKO chillers of the 1940s, and the science fiction shockers
of the 1950s.

This is the story of the Hollywood horror film from its 19th century beginnings through to the arrival of Vincent Price as a horror star in the mid-1950s. This 60-year period encompasses the shadowy nightmares of the silent era, the breakthrough hits produced by Universal in the early days of talkies, the lurid melodramas released by competitors like Warner Bros and M-G-M, the cerebral RKO chillers of the 1940s, and the science-fiction shockers of the 1950s. Author of the acclaimed English Gothic, Jonathan Rigby has written another engrossing chronicle of one of cinemaa??s most enduring genres.

Jonathan Rigy, author of the acclaimed English Gothic, has
written another engrossing chronicle of one of cinema's most enduring
genres.

Critics' praise for Jonathan Rigby's companion volume English Gothic:

'...authoritative... an essential purchase...'
Empire

'A major achievement'
Film Review

'Essential... don't even try to discuss British horror films until you've
read it.'
SFX

2007-11-17 Classic account of classic horror cinema

Anyone who read Jonathan Rigby's earlier milestone study of horror cinema, English Gothic, should need little urging to obtain a copy of his latest work. As the title suggests, this new book is an in-depth history of the horror movie in the USA. All of Rigby's considerable virtues as a writer are on display here; the erudition, the wit, and above all the readability. His prose is sheer pleasure to read and, combined with his formidable knowledge of the subject matter, and his obvious love for it, make this book a masterpiece of its kind. Those fearing that over 300 pages of densely packed text surveying vintage horror films might tend to the dull are in for a very pleasant surprise. In Jonathan Rigby's hands this material is a constantly lively, informative and fascinating read. In fact, I even found myself engaged and engrossed by the early chapters on obscure silent films -- having decided I was going to skip them and head straight for the good stuff (Frankenstein and Dracula) I instead found myself drawn in and captivated by the illuminating, sardonic and meticulous writing featured here. Of course, once we do reach the early sound pictures and Frankenstein, Dracula et al, things really do get swinging. But besides all the well known classics of the genre, Rigby also sheds light on obscure, forgotten and offbeat works, often making them sound irresistibly fascinating. I soon found myself with a growing list of films to track down on DVD, including Kongo, Dementia and Jules Dassin's short version of The Telltale Heart. Rigby's scholarly yet spirited analysis (with a healthy dose of dry humour) makes these films come alive in the reader's mind. In this endeavour he's helped considerably by the lavish illustrations throughout this elegant and handsome volume (the book was designed by Peri Godbold). There is hardly a page which doesn't offer a rare black and white still or a reproduction of a poster; and for those who aren't fans of monochrome, there's an eight page colour section. This book was a continual pleasure to read and when I finished it I immediately wanted more. And since American Gothic only covers films up until the 1950s, hopefully there will soon be another volume detailing a further half century of genre cinema. My only complaint is a lack of an index of names to accompany the index of titles. The book is such a goldmine of historical information it would make sense to include this and make American Gothic an even more indispensable research tool, as well as an irresistibly enjoyable read.