Introduction Part I - Looking Forward, Thinking Back: Post-War Western Culture Chapter 1: Social Comment Films, Film Noir, and Neo-Realism Chapter 2: Post-War/Cold War: Sci Fi and Horror Chapter 3: Myths, Fairytales and Legends for a Post-War Age Part II - Genre, Gender, Identity Chapter 4: Old Frontiers: The Western Chapter 5: Melodrama and the Woman's Film Chapter 6: Taboos and Transformations: Race, Identity and Sexuality in the Post-War Age Part III - Art Versus Mass Culture: The Uses of Literature in Adaptation and Remaking Chapter 7: 'Low Art' Genres: Comedies and Musicals Chapter 8: Literary Adaptation and Social Transformation Conclusions Bibliography Index

Discussing adaptation from multiple periods of cinema, the Bloomsbury Adaptation Histories series explores the historical contexts and cultural significance of screen adaptations of other media, particularly literature. Each book addresses an era’s view of such adaptations, contextualizing them in relation to debates and concerns of that time. By prominent academics in the growing field of adaptation studies, the series demonstrates a wide range of approaches: the first book in the series, for example, focuses on how the new technology of sound, as it was represented in promotional materials, redefined what constitutes a film adaptation. This series will prompt scholarly consideration of adaptation studies beyond the typical comparisons of literature and film.