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Professor Steve Chibnall

Job: Professor of British Cinema and Director of the Cinema and Television History Centre (CATH)

Faculty: Arts, Design and Humanities

School/department: School of Media and Communication

Research group(s): Cinema and Television History Centre (CATH)

Address: 黑料网, The Gateway, Leicester, UK, LE1 9BH

T: +44 (0)116 257 7320

E: schib@dmu.ac.uk

W: /cathi

 

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Personal profile

Steve is believed to be the only Professor of British Cinema in the world, and is one of the UK’s senior film historians.  He is director of 黑料网’s Cinema and Television History (CATH) Research Centre and curator of the Hammer Script Archive, the Jimmy Sangster Collection, the Francis Searle Archive and the Roy Ward Baker Bequest (all lodged with the CATH Centre).  He is also owner of the Steve Chibnall Archive, a private collection of tens of thousands of pieces of British film and popular culture memorabilia which postgraduate students in the CATH Centre may draw upon in their research.  He has written or edited ten books, published dozens of articles and book chapters, featured on television and radio over a long career and currently contributes sleeve notes and commentary moderations to DVD releases by Odeon Entertainment and the BFI.  He is Visiting Professor at The Cinema Museum in London, where he organises frequent on-stage events, co-series editor for Routledge’s British Popular Cinema series, and a board member of the Journal of British Cinema and Television (EUP).  Steve’s main responsibilities at 黑料网 are research student supervision, and research group leadership.

Research group affiliations

  • Cinema and Television History (CATH) Research Centre

Publications and outputs


  • dc.title: Whitehead, Peter Lorrimer dc.contributor.author: Clarke, Alissa; Chibnall, S. dc.description.abstract: Whitehead, Peter Lorrimer (1937鈥�2019), film-maker, writer, and falconer, was born on 8 January 1937 at Liverpool Maternity Hospital, the only child of William Whitehead (1903鈥�1948), gas fitter, and his wife Zenia Madge, n茅e Sutherland (1905鈥�1996), factory worker, who had married in 1933.

  • dc.title: Hollywood-on-Thames: The British productions of Warner Bros. 鈥� First National, 1931-1945 dc.contributor.author: Chibnall, S. dc.description.abstract: A few years after Warner Bros pioneered sound cinema, the company established a production base at Teddington in England to enable it, in the face of protectionist legislation, to maintain distribution in its most lucrative foreign market. The records of that operation have remained largely unexplored since the end of World War Two. This article uses them, in conjunction with contemporary reports in the trade press, to explore these first steps in the globalization of Hollywood production. It highlights cultural differences and policy clashes, often through the lens of the correspondence between Burbank Studio Head, Jack Warner, and the executive put in charge of the Teddington studios, Irving Asher. This correspondence proves vital to understanding the competing corporate visions of American overseas production in the 1930s, and its analysis ultimately demonstrates that business in Hollywood, far from dispassionate, is actually a highly personal affair. The article also pays particular attention to the economics of the British operation and, for the first time, reveals financial data relating to production costs and rental receipts from the Teddington ledger. Only when Britain and the USA finally became allies in the fight against Nazi Germany did Warner Bros make a total commitment to its English studio, which momentarily enjoyed financial success until a Nazi rocket put paid to its productions for the duration of the war. dc.description: The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.

  • dc.title: The Peter Whitehead Residency - Summer of Love: Revisited Season at the Royal Albert Hall dc.contributor.author: Chibnall, S.; Clarke, Alissa; Chilcott, Robert dc.description.abstract: This HEIF-funded impact project was based on the recent acquisition of the archive of Peter Whitehead, a prominent film-maker, writer and image-maker, whose work is particularly relevant to media celebrations and re-imaginings of the mid 1960s on the 50th anniversary of that era. The aims were to stage high-profile events in a prominent London venue and, in doing so, to set new standards for public engagement with cultural history research, drawing on, for example, techniques derived from immersive theatre and historical re-enactment. This was very successfully achieved though working partnerships with the Royal Albert Hall and the media company Network Distributing Ltd. This yielded five highly successful events produced at and in partnership with the Royal Albert Hall (May and June 2017) and significant press coverage. dc.description: The RAH co-operated with 黑料网鈥檚 press and publicity unit, and both produced excellent promotional material. The RAH produced a dedicated brochure for the season and featured some of Robert Chilcott's footage for the archive on its web site. 黑料网 featured the events on its website and press releases, and live-streamed the 4th event on its Facebook page. All events were fully documented by Robert Chilcott and the digital footage will be archived at 黑料网 and the RAH to ensure the sustainability of the impact and create a legacy for the events. Excellent feedback was given on what the programmer at the RAH described as a 鈥榳onderful鈥� season, 鈥榞reat fun and very well received鈥� (email 7/8/17).

  • dc.title: Fleapits and Picture Palaces dc.contributor.author: Jones, Matthew; Chibnall, S.; Porter, Laraine dc.description.abstract: This 25-minute documentary, produced collaborative by members of the Cinema and Television History (CATH) Research Centre, explores the history of cinema-going in Leicester and its surrounding area. Connecting trends in local cinema culture with the broader national picture, it locates archival images and clips within the history of the rise, decline and resurgence of cinema-going as a popular activity. The film was screened several times at the Phoenix cinema in Leicester during 2015 and 2016, and has become a cornerstone of the Leicester Cinema History exhibition at 黑料网's Heritage Centre.

  • dc.title: Leicester Cinema History dc.contributor.author: Jones, Matthew; Chibnall, S.; Ercole, Pierluigi; Porter, Laraine; Hanson, Stuart; Acciari, Monia dc.description.abstract: This public exhibition, housed in the 黑料网 Heritage Centre, ran from February to May 2017. It charted the development, decline and resurgence of Leicester's cinema culture through a large map displaying the cinemas within the city and panels dedicated to the various types of cinemas that have operated in the surrounding area. Produced collaboratively by members of the Cinema and Television History (CATH) Research Centre, the exhibition also featured objects and historical artefacts drawn from the Steve Chibnall Collection that highlighted the material cultures of film exhibition and consumption.

  • dc.title: Hammer's Monsters: A Screen Bestiary dc.contributor.author: Jones, Matthew; Chibnall, S. dc.description.abstract: This public exhibition, housed in the 黑料网 Heritage Centre, ran from October 2016 to October 2017. It displayed materials from the Hammer Script Archive held by the Cinema and Television History (CATH) Research Centre at 黑料网 and provided a critical and historical commentary on these materials. Locating the archival objects and images within the industrial and creative history of the iconic Hammer Film Productions, the exhibition invited the public to reflect on the place of this studio within the broader development of British horror cinema.

  • dc.title: The Making of Tonite Let's All Make Love in London (1967): an interview with Peter Whitehead dc.contributor.author: Chibnall, S.; Chilcott, Robert dc.description.abstract: In a 36-minute interview, Peter Whitehead talks about the making of his 1967 film 'Tonight Let's All Make Love in London'. He comments on his interviews with Julie Christie, Michael Caine, Alan Aldridge and others, and he recounts his experience of filming Pink Floyd at the UFO Club and in the recording studio. This is a specially edited version of a 3-hour interview with Whitehead. dc.description: Robert Chilcott is a PhD candidate in the CATH Research Centre at 黑料网.

  • dc.title: 'Above and Beyond Everyday Life': the rise and fall of Rank's contract artists of the 1950s dc.contributor.author: Chibnall, S. dc.description.abstract: This article deals with the way in which Britain's largest film studio used the artists' contract system during the 1950s. It examines how film stars were trained and promoted and explains the decline of both Rank as a production company and its roster of contacted artists at the end of the decade.

  • dc.title: Introduction to, and public screening of, Peter Whitehead's film 'Tonite Let's All Make Love in London' (1967) dc.contributor.author: Chibnall, S. dc.description.abstract: To mark its 50th anniversary, Whitehead's critical portrait of 'swinging' London was introduced and screened to an audience of 75 (approx.) at the Phoenix Cinema in Leicester as part of its advertised public programme. Chibnall also supplied the projected materials and co-hosted a Q&A with Jenny Spires, who was influential in the making of the film dc.description: Alissa Clarke (黑料网 and CATH) was the co-host for the Q&A.

  • dc.title: If You Build It, She Will Come: An Appreciation of Baz Luhrmann鈥檚 The Great Gatsby (2013) dc.contributor.author: Chibnall, S.

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Key research outputs

Co-authored book: The British ‘B’ Film, (with Brian McFarlane), BFI/Palgrave, 2009, Pb 978-1-84457-319-6; Hb 978-1-84457-320-2; 356 pp.

Monograph: Quota Quickies: The Birth of the British B Film, BFI, 2006; Pb 1-84457-155-6; Hb 1-84457-154-8; pages 314 

Monograph: Brighton Rock, I.B.Tauris, 2004; Pb 1-85043-400-X; pages 128

Monograph: Get Carter, I.B.Tauris, 2003; Pb 1-86064-910-6; pages 136

Monograph: Law -and Order News: Crime Reporting in the British Press, Originally published by Tavistock 1977, republished in 2001 in Tavistock Classics series by Taylor and Francis; 2001; Hb 0415-264-081

Edited Book: British Horror Cinema (ed with Julian Petley), Routledge; 2001; Hb 0-415-23003-9; Pb 0-415-23004-7 Pages 256.

Edited Book: Sim Branaghan, The British Film Poster, BFI, 2006. Pages 304, illustrations 350.

Edited Journal: Journal of British Cinema and Television, 7:3 Special issue on Continental Connections, co-ed with James Chapman. EUP 2010

Edited Journal: Journal of British Cinema and Television, 4:2 Special Issue on Space and Place in British Cinema and Television (ed. with Julian Petley). EUP, 2007 

Exhibition Catalogue: Kiss and Kill: Film Visions of Brighton, Royal Pavilion Museums and Galleries, Brighton and Hove, 2002 (joint-authored with Frank Gray and Andy Medhurst); ISBN 0 948723-49-1 pages 84.

Research interests/expertise

  • British cinema past and present especially: History of British B Movies, Censorship and stardom 1945-60, British film poster design, British widescreen films, Anglo-Italian Co-productions, Adelphi Films. 
  • Crime in film, literature and news. 
  • The history of graphic illustration for books and posters.
  • Sociology of collecting.

Areas of teaching

  • British cinema
  • Sociology of collecting

Qualifications

BA Hons Sociology, MA Sociology, PhD (all University of Essex)

Courses taught

Research student supervision

Honours and awards

Honorary Visiting Professor, The Cinema Museum, London, UK. 2012

 

Forthcoming events

Cine Sisters Week, The Cinema Museum, London, 13-19 October 2012. Including the following live events:

  • 13 Oct. An evening with Eunice Gayson
  • 18 Oct. An evening with Liz Frazer
  • 19 Oct. Joanna Scanlan and Vicki Pepperdine in conversation

Cine Sisters at Christmas, The Cinema Museum, London, 13 and 20 December, comprising:

  • 13 Dec. Cine Sister Hyde: a 40th anniversary screening of Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1972) with the film’s writer and stars in aid of the Ralph Bates Cancer Research Fund.
  • 20 Dec. Funny Women: female comics from yesterday and today.
Guest at the Queen of Horror Festival, Hastings, UK. 26-28 October 2012
Launch of Behind the Scenes at the BBFC: Film classification from the silver screen to the digital age, Edward Lamberti (ed.) to which Steve has contributed a chapter, BFI Southbank, 14 November 2012

Recent research outputs

‘The Lonely Passion of Kate Hudson: Filming and Falling in the Venetian Summertime’, David Lean Centenary Conference, University of London, July 2008. 

‘Nowhere Else to Go: The death of the Travelogue’, British Culture and Society in the 1970s Conference, University of Portsmouth, July 2008 (invited). 

‘Coronation Blues’, Social Fears and Moral Panics, IAMHIST international conference, University of Aberystwyth, July 2009 (invited).

‘A Family Film Business: The Adelphi Archives’, Archives and Auteurs international conference, University of Stirling, September 2009.

‘From English Rose to Italian Diva: the tragic, glamorous trajectory of Belinda Lee’ (with Sandra Frost), Desiring Divas conference, Downing College, University of Cambridge, September 2011.

Conferences organised:

International Conference: A Century of Cinema Exhibition at Phoenix Square, Leicester, in partnership with the Cinema Exhibitors’ Association and the Cinema Theatre Association, 10 and 11 July 2010.

International Conference: Romcom Actually: Romantic Comedy on Film and Television, 黑料网, 2-3 March, joint with the University of East Anglia.

International Conference: Bloodlines: British Horror Past and Present, 黑料网 and Phoenix Square, Leicester, 4 and 5 March 2010.

Symposia organised: 

New Television History (7 papers, 40 delegates), at 黑料网 in association with the University of East Anglia and the University of Warwick, 10 September 2010.

Symp