‘Twelve thrills for the screen’ or a ‘ludicrous travesty’? Harry A. Berg’s Cosmopolitan Productions Limited and Haunted Houses and Castles of Great Britain (1926)

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Chapman, Llewella (2024) ‘Twelve thrills for the screen’ or a ‘ludicrous travesty’? Harry A. Berg’s Cosmopolitan Productions Limited and Haunted Houses and Castles of Great Britain (1926). Early Popular Visual Culture, 22 (1). pp. 42-56. ISSN 1746-0654

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Abstract

The British film production company, Cosmopolitan Productions Limited, was founded in October 1924 by Americans Harry A. Berg and Ivor M. Rosenbaum. In its short life, the company produced a series of 12 two-reel films under the umbrella title Haunted Houses and Castles of Great Britain. Berg employed George A. Banfield as scriptwriter and producer, as well as well-known film directors including Bert Cann, Maurice Elvey and Fred Paul. The series was trade shown in January 1926, with a general release in September. However, due to various financial problems, Cosmopolitan Productions filed for bankruptcy in February 1926. Using a variety of archival sources, this article will trace the rise and fall of Cosmopolitan Productions within the context of the turbulent British film industry of the mid-1920s. Furthermore, it will offer analysis of the surviving short films from the series including Hampton Court Palace, Kenilworth Castle and Amy Robstart and Warwick Castle in Feudal Days.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	1920s,british cinema,cosmopolitan productions limited,george banfield,harry a. berg,location shooting,production,short film,cultural studies,visual arts and performing arts,history ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/3300/3316
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of History
Related URLs:	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	18 Jul 2024 14:30
Last Modified:	07 Aug 2024 01:27
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/95953
DOI:	10.1080/17460654.2024.2305491

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