Preface Introduction Modernity and the Classic Gangster Film The Post-Code Gangster: Ideology and Social Conscience The End of the Big Shot: The Gangster in the 1940's Outside Society, Outside the Gang: The Alienated Noir Gangster Order and Chaos, Syndicates and Heists Nostalgia and Renewal in the Post-Classical Gangster Film Notes A Chronology of the Gangster Film Bibliography

Much analysis of gangster movies has been based upon a study of the gangster as a malign figuration of the American Dream, originally set in the era of the Depression. This text extends previous analysis of the genre by examining the evolution of gangster movies from the 1930s to the contemporary period and by placing them in the context of cultural and cinematic issues such as masculinity, consumerism and technology. With a close examination of many films from Scarface and Public Enemy to Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction , this book provides a fascinating insight into a topical and popular subject.

FRAN MASON is a Lecturer in Film and Cultural Studies at King Alfred's College where he has taught since 1991. He heads the BA programme in Film and American Culture and the MA in Contemporary Popular Knowledges. He teaches and researches in the study of film and culture and has published on a range of areas, including conspiracy and cyberculture and American Literature and Culture.