This book began its life as a doctoral thesis in the Department of Screen and Media at Flinders University. My principal supervisor, Richard Maltby, was extremely generous with his time and knowledge, always on hand to offer an erudite turn of phrase and lead me down avenues I would not otherwise have considered. I began the project emboldened by the encouragement and enthusiasm of my secondary supervisor, Ruth Vasey, and without her pugilistic vigor and attention to detail at the eleventh hour, I might not have finished it. Peter Stanfield cast a tremendous vote of confidence in support of its transformation into book form, and Leslie Mitchner provided careful editorial guidance throughout this process. Tom Stempel and J.E. Smyth helped me track down some elusive sources. Zoë Wallin patiently turned an eagle eye to the proofreading, and Sharon Langworthy, Nicholle Robertson, Jennifer Blanc-Tal, and Lisa Banning helped me prepare the manuscript for publication. Derek Nystrom, David A. Cook, Lenin Simos, Louise Berlecky, and Alice Godfrey all made important contributions at different stages of this book’s gestation. My mother, Julia Godfrey, never faltered in her support throughout the duration of its writing.
Most significantly, much of the work of this book was forged in the lengthy discussions I had with my late father, Stephen Godfrey, standing with him by the back door of his house as he smoked relentlessly and talked about movies with me. Above all, this book is indebted him.