One of the most popular actors of the Classical Hollywood period, Tyrone Power’s appeal was initially based around his outstanding beauty, his looks remaining key to his star persona throughout his 25-year career and almost 50 films, most of which were made at Twentieth Century-Fox, before his untimely death in 1958 at the age of 44. Although Power was one of Classical Hollywood’s major stars of the pre- and post-war years, he remains academically neglected. This book presents the first substantial academic study of Power and employs a range of approaches, including stardom and genre theory, to reappraise his career from various angles including gender, genre and image. Textual analysis coincides with discussions of Power’s multi-layered performances in a variety of genres while engaging with industry systems, specifically Twentieth Century-Fox, his home studio for almost two decades, and situates Power’s performances within the contexts of industry regulations, such as the Production Code, and industry technological advances, such as CinemaScope. A key historical figure of American cinema, Power’s significant career trajectory from pretty boy ‘pin-up’ in the 1930s to mature, virile action-adventure star at the close of his career demonstrates the natural progression of a ‘normal’ life and his ability to remain relevant across the decades. This book is part of a welcome new wave of scholarly studies on overlooked stars, such as Power, whose careers were initially based around their looks but who maintained a career as they aged.
