Output details
34 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
University of Wales Trinity Saint David (joint submission with Cardiff Metropolitan University and University of South Wales)
Stanley Baker: A Life in Film
This is the first published academic study of the leading Welsh film star and producer Stanley Baker. The book makes use of extensive primary research including interviews with his widow, family members and collaborators, as well as archives and historical documents to provide a detailed assessment of his life and work. Baker’s career arc, from impoverished childhood in the Welsh mining valleys to international success as star and producer of Zulu (1964), allows for an exploration of a range of issues relating to class, national identity and gender. These are explored through the specifics of his life and his representation of these themes on screen. The book also considers his role within film production in the 1960s and 1970s when he established his own independent company and was then involved in the takeover of British Lion. Baker’s public role within Welsh culture, including his involvement in the creation of HTV, is assessed. As well as examining the importance of his film work in its own right, the book considers Baker’s significance to the wider culture of Wales through his articulation of a particular form of Welsh masculinity.
