Auteur Theory and My Son John

<p>The newest volume in the Film Theory in Practice Series <i>Auteur Theory and My Son John </i>offers a concise introduction to authorship and auteur theory in jargon-free language. The book goes on to show this theory can be deployed to interpret Leo McCarey's notorious but undervalued film <i>My Son John</i> which critics deemed a clear-cut failure and the auteurists declared a masterpiece. <p/>James Morrison traces the development of auteur theory through its emergence in the pages of the French film journal <i>Cahiers du cinéma</i> and the complex permutations it undergoes subsequently. This history will help students and scholars who are eager to learn more about this important area of film theory. The analysis of <i>My Son John</i> shows how auteur theory enables modes of interpretation and discovers levels of meaning otherwise unavailable.</p>