Written by: Scott Jordan Harris
Illustrations by: Charlie Marshall, David McMillan, Jayde Perkin
A British film critic who has written for publications as diverse as UK broadsheet The Guardian and US horror monthly Fangoria, Harris currently serves as the UK correspondent for rogerebert.com. While writing for The Big Picture magazine, he took over writing duties on a column dedicated to memorable objects from the movies, the inspiration for this latest publication. Some of the entries here are reworkings of that column but most are new and all are accompanied by illustrations from a trio of artists.
The roll call of objects begins with the clock that Harold Lloyd famously hung from in 1923's Safety Last and ends with George Clooney's backpack prop from 2009's Up in the Air. In between we get examinations of such noteworthy toys, clothing items and even body parts as Citizen Kane's Rosebud sled, Michael Myers's iconic Halloween mask and the prosthetic penis worn by Mark Wahlberg in Boogie Nights.
Many of the objects in question are immediately recognizable (the title prop from The Maltese Falcon, recently auctioned for a staggering $4,085,000) but a few (John Candy's Delirious typewriter, the BB gun from A Christmas Story) provide a welcome insight into the writer's personal taste.
What elevates Harris's book above coffee-table disposability is the original insights he provides. This could have been a by the numbers list like so many published by film magazines to fill space but there's a genuine passion for these items that comes through in the writing.
Rosebud Sleds & Horses' Heads can be purchased direct from the publisher at intellectbooks.co.uk
Eric Hillis