Edgar G. Ulmer - by Bernd Herzogenrath (Paperback)

About the Book

This collection of 20 essays pays homage to a filmmaker who had a reputation for delivering the most movie for the least amount of money. Edgar G. Ulmer delivered classics like The Black Cat, starring Bela Lugosi, and was nicknamed "The King of the Bs" and "The King of Poverty Row." Ulmer's stealing away the wife of a producer led to his exile from Hollywood, and working outside the studio system and with low budgets, he turned out film noir, science fiction, and ethnic films that achieved cult status and limited critical acceptance. Among the contributors are Ulmer historians Bill Krohn, Greg Mank, and Sharon Pucker Rivo. Illustrations and a filmography are included.

Book Synopsis

This collection of 20 essays pays homage to a filmmaker who had a reputation for delivering the most movie for the least money. Edgar G. Ulmer, nicknamed "The King of the Bs" and "The King of Poverty Row," gave us classics like The Black Cat, starring Bela Lugosi. His stealing away the wife of a producer led to exile from Hollywood and, working outside the studio system and with low budgets, he turned out film noir, science fiction, and ethnic films that achieved cult status and critical acceptance.

Review Quotes

"Herzogenrath...has a real affection for his subject"-Little Shoppe of Horrors; "A terrific director who honed his chops on German Expressionism and economic necessity, the legendary Edgar G. Ulmer set up aesthetic shop making six-day wonders in the cinema's lower depths. Ulmerian mise-en-scène is synonymous with problem solving-and vice versa. No filmmaker ever demonstrated a more formidable capacity for making something from nothing and Bernd Herzogenrath's anthology pays belated, serious tribute to his genius."-J. Hoberman, film critic and author of Bridge of Light: Yiddish Film between Two Worlds, and co-author of Midnight Movies; "At last, here is a scholarly book in English about one of the key figures of low-budget and marginal cinema who has most eluded scholarship. Bernd Herzogenrath's fascinating collection not only clarifies many particulars about the life, career, and art of Ulmer (including his birthplace); it also proposes some new and more fruitful routes we might take in understanding them."-Jonathan Rosenbaum, author of Discovering Orson Welles, and co-author of Midnight Movies.

About the Author

Bernd Herzogenrath teaches American literature and culture at the University of Frankfurt and the University of Cologne in Germany. He is also the editor of The Films of Tod Browning: Essays on the Macabre and Grotesque (McFarland 2008).