Entertainment Archives - The History Press https://thehistorypress.co.uk/publication-subject/entertainment/ Independent non-fiction publisher Mon, 15 Sep 2025 04:01:22 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.2 https://thehistorypress.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/cropped-favicon-32x32.png Entertainment Archives - The History Press https://thehistorypress.co.uk/publication-subject/entertainment/ 32 32 The Times on Cinema https://thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/the-times-on-cinema/ Thu, 28 Aug 2025 04:01:52 +0000 https://thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/the-times-on-cinema/ The Times on Cinema opens The Times’ and the Sunday Times’ vast archives of reviews and coverage of Hollywood’s most treasured films. Featuring many of cinema’s most revered critics, including Philip French, Dilys Powell, Tom Shone and Kate Muir, whose award-winning journalism has often determined the success or failure of a film, the book spans […]

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The Times on Cinema opens The Times’ and the Sunday Times’ vast archives of reviews and coverage of Hollywood’s most treasured films. Featuring many of cinema’s most revered critics, including Philip French, Dilys Powell, Tom Shone and Kate Muir, whose award-winning journalism has often determined the success or failure of a film, the book spans seven decades of film criticism. Editor and critic Brian Pendreigh also complies a selection of the most infamously scathing reviews ever to grace the pages of The Times, as well as a collection of legendary interviews with iconic actors, actresses, directors and producers, who lay bare the secrets to their successes. Featuring a range of rare film stills from The Times’ collection, The Times on Cinema is the first book of its kind to make use of such an extensive archive, and is the perfect gift for all cinephiles.

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The Royal Film Performance https://thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/the-royal-film-performance/ Thu, 28 Aug 2025 04:01:48 +0000 https://thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/the-royal-film-performance/ For nearly eight decades, the Royal family has been gracing the red carpet to see the most eagerly anticipated film of the year. Since 1946, The Royal Film Performance has been an annual highlight of the entertainment social calendar, where cinema’s most famous icons have come face to face with royalty. With authors Gareth Owen […]

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For nearly eight decades, the Royal family has been gracing the red carpet to see the most eagerly anticipated film of the year. Since 1946, The Royal Film Performance has been an annual highlight of the entertainment social calendar, where cinema’s most famous icons have come face to face with royalty.

With authors Gareth Owen and Robert Sellers, dive into the glitz, glamour and regal encounters of each Royal Film Performance, the memorable moments and the fascinating stories. From Marilyn Monroe’s nervous encounter with Queen Elizabeth II to the cheeky remarks of Jayne Mansfield, witness the intersection of cinema’s luminaries and royalty.

As the curtain rises on this cinematic celebration, The Royal Film Performance: A Celebration pays homage to the stars, the royals and the unsung heroes of the industry, sure to delight fans of the royal family and cinema aficionados alike.

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Children of The Wicker Man https://thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/children-of-the-wicker-man/ Mon, 15 Sep 2025 04:01:22 +0000 https://thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/children-of-the-wicker-man/ Justin was always conflicted over the exalted claims made for the film: for him, The Wicker Man destroyed his family. His brother Dominic has been more distanced. The Wicker Man is a set of fragmented stories: benighted production, brutal editing, critical reception, financial failure, and later revival. Using the newly uncovered sources, the brothers investigate […]

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Justin was always conflicted over the exalted claims made for the film: for him, The Wicker Man destroyed his family. His brother Dominic has been more distanced. The Wicker Man is a set of fragmented stories: benighted production, brutal editing, critical reception, financial failure, and later revival. Using the newly uncovered sources, the brothers investigate what Robin Hardy’s creative contribution to The Wicker Man was, and consider who was truly sacrificed. They reveal an unlikely heroine: Justin’s mother, who bankrupted herself paying loans to her husband and the film, only for him to leave when it flopped. The brothers agree she should be justly regarded as executive producer of the film she never knew was a success. For all women behind artist husbands, this book reveals a series of heroines: the mothers of the children of The Wicker Man.

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Capitol Gains https://thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/capitol-gains/ Thu, 28 Aug 2025 04:01:25 +0000 https://thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/capitol-gains/ February 1963 marked the Beatles’ breakthrough in Britain. However, by December, they were still no further forward than any other British act before them in conquering America. How the Beatles were really signed by Capitol Records in late 1963, after 12 months of derision and rejection from the label, has remained the subject of much […]

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February 1963 marked the Beatles’ breakthrough in Britain. However, by December, they were still no further forward than any other British act before them in conquering America.

How the Beatles were really signed by Capitol Records in late 1963, after 12 months of derision and rejection from the label, has remained the subject of much speculation over the years. Once the band had hit the big time in the US in February 1964, the truth was quickly papered over by their manager, Brian Epstein, and Capitol executives.

Now, for the first time, corporate and personal archives reveal the true story, and explain why Capitol believed that the British approach to the record industry was just as antiquated and flawed as its approach to other declining industries in the 1960s. The book explores why, as a consequence, Capitol decided they would need to re-mix many of the UK master tapes, create new US albums that were distinctly different in content, sleeve design and name to the UK versions.

Departmental memos show how Brian Epstein quickly found himself between a rock and a hard place, struggling to keep the peace between Capitol, who he knew were providing the lion’s share of the Beatles’ wealth, and were usually right on commercial and creative decisions, and the Beatles themselves.

This no holds barred account also explores how Capitol’s PR department struggled against the odds to extricate the Beatles from stories that threatened to damage their carefully cultivated image and harm record sales.

It also probes corporate accounts to discover the extent to which Capitol made the Beatles rich, and how a number of decisions made by the band and their manager ultimately drove them to the brink of bankruptcy in 1969.

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1971 https://thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/1971/ Thu, 11 Sep 2025 04:01:22 +0000 https://thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/1971/ 1971 was a great year for cinema. Woody Allen, Robert Altman, Dario Argento, Ingmar Bergman, Stanley Kubrick, Sergio Leone, George Lucas, Sam Peckinpah, Roman Polanski, Nicolas Roeg and Steven Spielberg, among many others, were behind the camera, while the stars were also out in force. Warren Beatty, Marlon Brando, Michael Caine, Julie Christie, Sean Connery, […]

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1971 was a great year for cinema. Woody Allen, Robert Altman, Dario Argento, Ingmar Bergman, Stanley Kubrick, Sergio Leone, George Lucas, Sam Peckinpah, Roman Polanski, Nicolas Roeg and Steven Spielberg, among many others, were behind the camera, while the stars were also out in force. Warren Beatty, Marlon Brando, Michael Caine, Julie Christie, Sean Connery, Faye Dunaway, Clint Eastwood, Jane Fonda, Dustin Hoffman, Steve McQueen, Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino and Vanessa Redgrave all featured in films released in 1971.

The remarkable artistic flowering that came from the ‘New Hollywood’ of the ’70s was just beginning, while the old guard was fading away and the new guard was taking over. With a decline in box office attendances by the end of the ’60s, along with a genuine inability to come up with a reliable barometer of box office success, studio heads gave unprecedented freedom to young filmmakers to lead the way.

Featuring interviews with cast and crew members, bestselling author Robert Sellers explores this landmark year in Hollywood and in Britain, when this new age was at its freshest, and where the transfer of power was felt most exhilaratingly.

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Ian Fleming’s War https://thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/ian-flemings-war/ Wed, 20 Aug 2025 04:01:19 +0000 https://thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/ian-flemings-war/ In 1953, Ian Fleming’s literary sensation James Bond emerged onto the world’s stage. Nearly seven decades later, he has become a multi-billion-pound film franchise, now equipped with all the gizmos of the modern world. Yet Fleming’s creation, who battled his way through the fourteen novels from 1953 to 1966, was a maverick – a man […]

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In 1953, Ian Fleming’s literary sensation James Bond emerged onto the world’s stage. Nearly seven decades later, he has become a multi-billion-pound film franchise, now equipped with all the gizmos of the modern world. Yet Fleming’s creation, who battled his way through the fourteen novels from 1953 to 1966, was a maverick – a man out of place. Bond even admits it, wishing he was back in the real war … the Second World War. Indeed, the thread of the Second World War runs through the whole of the Bond series, and many were inspired by the real events and people Fleming came across during his time in Naval Intelligence. In Ian Fleming’s War, Mark Simmons explores these remarkable similarities, from Fleming’s scheme to capture a German naval codebook that appears in Thunderball as Plan Omega, to the exploits of 30 Assault Unit, the commando team he helped to create, which inspired Moonraker.

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The First Rule of Comedy..! https://thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/the-first-rule-of-comedy/ Fri, 22 Aug 2025 04:01:43 +0000 https://thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/the-first-rule-of-comedy/ Fondly remembered as Spike Dixon in Hi-De-Hi, Jeffrey Holland is one of our best-loved situation comedy actors. An invaluable member of the repertory company of writer and director David Croft, his many other television credits include Are You Being Served?, Dad’s Army, It Ain’t Half Hot Mum, Oh, Doctor Beeching!, and You Rang, M’Lord? Written […]

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Fondly remembered as Spike Dixon in Hi-De-Hi, Jeffrey Holland is one of our best-loved situation comedy actors. An invaluable member of the repertory company of writer and director David Croft, his many other television credits include Are You Being Served?, Dad’s Army, It Ain’t Half Hot Mum, Oh, Doctor Beeching!, and You Rang, M’Lord?

Written in collaboration with Britain’s foremost comedy historian, Robert Ross, producer and presenter of the hugely successful touring show Jeffrey Holland: Comedy Friends and Heroes, this unique memoir reveals the hilarious tales from Holland’s long and illustrious career, through the comedy greats that have inspired him, to the comedy colleagues with whom he has worked.

There will be heart-warming stories from his twenty-year association with Paul Shane and Su Pollard: BBC’s comedy ‘A’ Team of sitcom. There will be poignant and deep reflection on his all-time favourite comedian, Stan Laurel, and revealing stories of working with the great and good of variety theatre – from understudying Frankie Howerd in pantomime, to unforgettable encounters with Ben Warriss, the no-nonsense straight man of Jewel and Warriss fame, via many happy years as part of Russ Abbot’s Madhouse.

Not to mention blissful thoughts on the joy of The Goon Show, and the thrill of stepping into the huge shoes of Peter Sellers, when the crazy characters were resurrected for Goon Again!

Filled with the enthusiasm and affection, The First Rule of Comedy..! is a life told through the eyes of one of the true greats of the genre.

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The 007 Diaries https://thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/the-007-diaries-4/ Fri, 08 Aug 2025 04:01:18 +0000 https://thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/the-007-diaries-4/ This fine press edition is strictly limited to 350 copies and will include a new foreword by Live and Let Die actress Madeline Smith, a signed post card from Madeline Smith, and a reproduction of two tarot cards featuring the bespoke Live and Let Die artwork by Fergus Hall. All copies will be hand numbered […]

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This fine press edition is strictly limited to 350 copies and will include a new foreword by Live and Let Die actress Madeline Smith, a signed post card from Madeline Smith, and a reproduction of two tarot cards featuring the bespoke Live and Let Die artwork by Fergus Hall. All copies will be hand numbered and will come in a slipcase with artwork by Mark Levy.

Out of print for over forty years, The 007 Diaries introduces Roger Moore’s James Bond Diary to a new generation of fans. To tie in with the release of his first James Bond film, Live and Let Die, Roger Moore agreed to keep a day-by-day diary throughout the film’s production, which would be published just ahead of the premiere in July 1973. From his unveiling as the new 007 in 1972 through to his first scenes on location in New Orleans and his final shot in New York, Moore describes his whirlwind journey as cinema’s most famous secret agent.

Taking in the sights of Jamaica before returning to Pinewood Studios, Moore’s razor wit and unique brand of humour is ever present. With tales from every location, including his encounters with his co-stars and key crew members, Moore offers the reader an unusually candid, amusing and hugely insightful behind-the-scenes look into the world’s most successful film franchise.

• Text is set in ‘Monotype’ Baskerville with Caslon display

• Printed on 120gsm Heritage Bookwhite mould-made paper

• Bound in Colorado Jordan cloth with two-colour foiling and slipcase

• Bound by the craft bindery of Blissetts of London

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Life Through an Aperture https://thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/life-through-an-aperture/ Fri, 18 Jul 2025 04:02:11 +0000 https://thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/life-through-an-aperture/ Keith Hamshere started his entertainment career as a child actor after winning a junior TV talent competition, which in turn led to a nine-month stint working with Max Bygraves on Singing Down the Lane at the London Palladium. Alas, child actors do eventually grow up, and keen to add a second string to his employment […]

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Keith Hamshere started his entertainment career as a child actor after winning a junior TV talent competition, which in turn led to a nine-month stint working with Max Bygraves on Singing Down the Lane at the London Palladium.

Alas, child actors do eventually grow up, and keen to add a second string to his employment chances, Keith developed his interest in photography, which resulted in him becoming a society photographer at the heart of Swinging London, and in particular working for Baron Studios in the 1960s.

When In Search of the Castaways unit photographer Johnny Jay began working on a new film directed by Stanley Kubrick in the mid-1960s, he realised he had a mammoth assignment ahead and needed a reliable assistant. Recalling Keith’s fascination with photography and his growing popularity, he asked his young friend if he would be interested in helping out on 2001: A Space Odyssey. Keith did not need to think about his answer.

Following his stellar work on 2001, Keith went on to become an established stills photographer, and was in great demand on such titles as Battle of Britain, Barry Lyndon, Young Winston and Rosebud, before embarking on the first of eight James Bond assignments, The Spy Who Loved Me.

Along with his Bond films – three with Roger Moore, both of Timothy Dalton’s and all four of Pierce Brosnan’s adventures – Keith was also asked to work on other legendary franchises: with Steven Spielberg on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom; George Lucas on the three Stars Wars prequels, among many others.

Keith has helped create some of the most iconic images from some of the biggest movies ever made, and in Life Through an Aperture, he shares his fascinating tales of rubbing shoulders with the biggest names in Hollywood, alongside with his incredible images.

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The Search for Bond https://thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/the-search-for-bond/ Fri, 18 Jul 2025 04:02:44 +0000 https://thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/the-search-for-bond/ Only six men can lay claim to wearing the famous Savile Row tuxedo of James Bond; more people have stepped on the moon. Yet, hundreds more came within an inch of winning the coveted 007 role – the pinnacle for so many actors. For the very first time, The Search for Bond tells the often-extraordinary […]

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Only six men can lay claim to wearing the famous Savile Row tuxedo of James Bond; more people have stepped on the moon. Yet, hundreds more came within an inch of winning the coveted 007 role – the pinnacle for so many actors.

For the very first time, The Search for Bond tells the often-extraordinary story of how cinema’s most famous secret agent was cast, featuring exclusive interviews with many of the actors who were at one time either considered to play Bond, interviewed for the role, or went as far as to be screen tested. Their memories and stories are fascinating and give an ‘insiders’ glimpse into the process of how the Bond producers, Broccoli and Saltzman, came up with the right man to play their famous spy.

With Daniel Craig having vacated the role, the circus surrounding the announcement of his successor has created a tabloid frenzy, and the release of The Search for Bond ought to generate plenty of interest in the media.

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