Monte Hellman

<p> I just did it and I probably made more mistakes than the average person who makes a first film. I didn't really have any help and I wouldn't take any help. I had to do it on my own. Once I made my first film I considered myself a film-maker. I lost all interest in the theater and never went back--Monte Hellman</p><p> In 1970 an <I>LA Times</I> headline described Monte Hellman as Hollywood's best kept secret. More than thirty years later Hellman and his work are still secrets his genius recognized only by a small but passionate group of admirers. This book is both a biography of Hellman and a critical study of his films which include <I>The Shooting Two-Lane Blacktop</I> and <I>Ride in the Whirlwind.</I> It also covers films to which Hellman has contributed as an editor actor and producer as well as those on which he has worked in various capacities without onscreen credit such as <I>Shatter</I> and <I>Robocop.</I> Attention is focused on the hallmarks of Hellman's work including his dominant themes and obsessive characters and all the films are subjected to close stylistic analysis.</p>