Phil Powrie is Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences at the University of Surrey. Éric Rebillard is a member of the Association Française de Recherche sur l'Histoire du Cinéma.

Phil Powrie and Eric Rebillard's examination of the actor Pierre Batcheff opens up unique pathways into terrains embracing both the woefully overlooked - stars in the silent and early sound era of French cinema - and the justifiably well worn - the surrealist cinematic landmark Un chien andalou (1929)… Powrie and Rebillard have done important groundwork in establishing key issues with regard to stars, performance, and masculinity in the silent/early sound era, and their efforts should serve to provoke further explorations in this area.

• Preface; 1. A short life; 1.1 Origins and childhood (1907-1922); 1.2 The rise of the star (1923-1926); 1.3 From the mainstream to the avant-garde (1927-1929); 1.4 The lacoudems (1930-1932); 1.5 An early death (1932); 2. Stardom in the 1920s; 2.1 Batcheff, the jeune premier, and the past; 2.2 Batcheff and transitional masculinity; 2.3 Batcheff and fan culture: the unwilling star; 2.4 Batcheff, Valentino and 'otherness'; 2.5 Batcheff as pin-up; 2.6 Batcheff as a surrealist star; 3. Beginnings; 3.1 Claudine et le poussin, ou Le Temps d'aimer (January 1924); 3.2 Le Double amour (June 1925); 3.3 Feu Mathias Pascal (July 1925); 4. Historical reconstructions; 4.1 Destinée (December 1925); 4.2 Napoléon vu par Abel Gance (April 1927); 4.3 Le Joueur d'échecs (July 1927); 4.4 Monte-Cristo (May 1929); 5. The Lover; 5.1 Le Secret d'une mère (July 1926); 5.2 Éducation de prince (June 1927); 5.3 Le Bonheur du jour (July 1927); 5.4 La Sirène des tropiques (December 1927); 5.5 L'Île d'amour (February 1928) ; 5.6 Vivre (July 1928); 5.7 Le Perroquet vert (October 1928); 6. Comedy: Les Deux timides (December 1928); 6.1 Contemporary reception; 6.2 Adaptation and structure; 6.3 The trial; 6.4 Courtship; 6.5 The battle; 7. The Avant-garde: Un chien andalou (June 1929); 7.1 Contemporary reception; 7.2 Later academic commentary; 7.3 Parody of previous films; 7.4 Simonne Mareuil; 8. Un chien andalou: Parodying stardom; 8.1 The slit eye; 8.2 Dismemberment of the star: seeing behind the surface; 8.3 Hysteria, ethnicity, costume; 8.4 The gaze of the woman and masochism; 8.5 Anamorphosis; 9. Looking back; 9.1 Illusions (January 1930); 9.2 Le Roi de Paris (August 1930) ; 9.3 Les Amours de minuit (January 1931)/Mitternachtsliebe (September 1931); 9.4 Le Rebelle (August 1931); 9.5 Baroud (English version September 1932/French version February 1933); 10. Conclusion: uncanny bodies; 10.1 The lost object; 10.2 The automaton, the mannequin and the doll; 10.3 'Explosante-fixe'; Appendices; Summary biography ; Interviews and star portraits; Filmscript (unfinished) from Knut Hamsun's Sult; Filmography; Bibliography.

Phil Powrie is Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences at the University of Surrey. Éric Rebillard is a member of the Association Française de Recherche sur l'Histoire du Cinéma.

Phil Powrie and Eric Rebillard's examination of the actor Pierre Batcheff opens up unique pathways into terrains embracing both the woefully overlooked - stars in the silent and early sound era of French cinema - and the justifiably well worn - the surrealist cinematic landmark Un chien andalou (1929)… Powrie and Rebillard have done important groundwork in establishing key issues with regard to stars, performance, and masculinity in the silent/early sound era, and their efforts should serve to provoke further explorations in this area.

• Preface; 1. A short life; 1.1 Origins and childhood (1907-1922); 1.2 The rise of the star (1923-1926); 1.3 From the mainstream to the avant-garde (1927-1929); 1.4 The lacoudems (1930-1932); 1.5 An early death (1932); 2. Stardom in the 1920s; 2.1 Batcheff, the jeune premier, and the past; 2.2 Batcheff and transitional masculinity; 2.3 Batcheff and fan culture: the unwilling star; 2.4 Batcheff, Valentino and 'otherness'; 2.5 Batcheff as pin-up; 2.6 Batcheff as a surrealist star; 3. Beginnings; 3.1 Claudine et le poussin, ou Le Temps d'aimer (January 1924); 3.2 Le Double amour (June 1925); 3.3 Feu Mathias Pascal (July 1925); 4. Historical reconstructions; 4.1 Destinée (December 1925); 4.2 Napoléon vu par Abel Gance (April 1927); 4.3 Le Joueur d'échecs (July 1927); 4.4 Monte-Cristo (May 1929); 5. The Lover; 5.1 Le Secret d'une mère (July 1926); 5.2 Éducation de prince (June 1927); 5.3 Le Bonheur du jour (July 1927); 5.4 La Sirène des tropiques (December 1927); 5.5 L'Île d'amour (February 1928) ; 5.6 Vivre (July 1928); 5.7 Le Perroquet vert (October 1928); 6. Comedy: Les Deux timides (December 1928); 6.1 Contemporary reception; 6.2 Adaptation and structure; 6.3 The trial; 6.4 Courtship; 6.5 The battle; 7. The Avant-garde: Un chien andalou (June 1929); 7.1 Contemporary reception; 7.2 Later academic commentary; 7.3 Parody of previous films; 7.4 Simonne Mareuil; 8. Un chien andalou: Parodying stardom; 8.1 The slit eye; 8.2 Dismemberment of the star: seeing behind the surface; 8.3 Hysteria, ethnicity, costume; 8.4 The gaze of the woman and masochism; 8.5 Anamorphosis; 9. Looking back; 9.1 Illusions (January 1930); 9.2 Le Roi de Paris (August 1930) ; 9.3 Les Amours de minuit (January 1931)/Mitternachtsliebe (September 1931); 9.4 Le Rebelle (August 1931); 9.5 Baroud (English version September 1932/French version February 1933); 10. Conclusion: uncanny bodies; 10.1 The lost object; 10.2 The automaton, the mannequin and the doll; 10.3 'Explosante-fixe'; Appendices; Summary biography ; Interviews and star portraits; Filmscript (unfinished) from Knut Hamsun's Sult; Filmography; Bibliography.