Nollen, Scott Allen 1963-

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NOLLEN, Scott Allen 1963-

PERSONAL: Born April 2, 1963, in Harlan, IA; married; wife's name, Michelle. Education: University of Iowa, B.A., 1988, M.A., 1989. Hobbies and other interests: Cinema, literature, British history and culture, Celtic and jazz music.

ADDRESSES: Home—Iowa City, IA. Agent—c/o Author Mail, McFarland & Co., Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640. E-mail—snollen@hoover.nara.gov.

CAREER: Author, musician, and editor. Formerly producer and audiovisual archivist at presidential library of the National Archives and Records Administration; producer of musical soundtracks for film.

WRITINGS:

The Boys: The Cinematic World of Laurel and Hardy, foreword by John McCabe, McFarland & Co. (Jefferson, NC), 1989.

Boris Karloff: A Critical Account of His Screen, Stage, Radio, Television, and Recording Work, foreword by Ray Bradbury, McFarland & Co. (Jefferson, NC), 1991.

Robert Louis Stevenson: Life, Literature, and the Silver Screen, McFarland & Co. (Jefferson, NC), 1994.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle at the Cinema, foreword by Nicholas Meyer, McFarland & Co. (Jefferson, NC), 1996.

Robin Hood: A Cinematic History of the English Outlaw and His Scottish Counterparts, McFarland & Co. (Jefferson, NC), 1999.

Boris Karloff: A Gentlemen's Life: The Authorized Biography, foreword by Sarah Jane Karloff, Midnight Marquee Press (Baltimore, MD), 1999.

Jethro Tull: A History of the Band, 1968-2001, foreword by Ian Anderson, afterword by David Pegg, McFarland & Co. (Jefferson, NC), 2002.

SIDELIGHTS: Scott Allen Nollen worked for ten years at a presidential library, where he wrote, produced, and directed several video programs showcasing exhibits. His topics included the U.S. Civil War, the American frontier, U.S.-China relations, the 1950s, American women, and life in the White House.

On his Internet home page, Nollen says his interests are "nonfiction and cultural history, particularly Golden-Age Hollywood and British film, Victorian literature, Scottish history, and traditional and jazz music." Nollen also names his heroes, among them a number of people about whom he has written entire volumes.

In The Boys: The Cinematic World of Laurel and Hardy, Nollen studies the comedy duo who entertained audiences from the time of silent movies to the early 1950s. He points out that the pair had a close and complex relationship and that Stan, who appeared on screen as the more empty-headed of the two, was actually the one who wrote most of their skits. Nollen looks at their routines, camera techniques, and how their on-screen characters related to each other, as well as their individual work. Choice contributor T. Lindvall called The Boys "a solid albeit casual, prosaic, and conventional work." A reviewer for Films in Review said the filmography, "rated in a discerning, cult-be-damned attitude," was particularly enjoyable.

Boris Karloff: A Critical Account of His Screen, Stage, Radio, Television, and Recording Work contains facts about Karloff's career, his films, and his nonfilm work. Library Journal's Anne Sharpe wrote that "much of the 'critical' portion of this book involves Nollen's opinions about Hollywood filmmaking and the horror genre." Choice reviewer B. Grant noted that Nollen does not provide the dates of Karloff's recordings, but called the volume "useful for the production histories it does provide, and the bibliography and numerous appendixes are well done."

Robert Louis Stevenson: Life, Literature, and the Silver Screen commemorates the centennial anniversary of Stevenson's death and is a review of his life and work. Nollen studies film adaptations of the nineteenth-century British author's novels and short stories, including The Body Snatcher, Treasure Island, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Black Arrow, Kidnapped, The Master of Ballantrae, and The Wrong Box. Fourteen appendixes list all Stevenson-related materials, including films, television and radio adaptations, programs about the author, and sound recordings. Choice contributor J. Belton called the volume "a useful reference."

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle at the Cinema reviews film adaptations of the Doyle's work, including his Sherlock Holmes successes and others like The Lost World. Nollen's history spans 100 years and is a study of films back to the silents.

In Robin Hood: A Cinematic History of the English Outlaw and His Scottish Counterparts, Nollen provides a long introduction to the character of Robin Hood, plus those of Rob Roy and other English and Scottish bandits. He then studies the film version of the legendary robber from 1908. Anthony J. Adam noted in American Reference Books Annual that Nollen does not include television versions, of which there were at least five, nor does he discuss foreign films. "However," stated Adam, "Nollen does examine Sinatra's Robin and the Seven Hoods (1964), for an interesting take on the story."

Nollen, a Jethro Tull fan and friend, spent the ten years leading up to his completion of Jethro Tull: A History of the Band, 1968-2001 collecting interviews with former members and the British band's leader, flutist Ian Anderson, and documenting the band's career. Anderson wrote the foreword and members Glenn Cornick, Jeffery Hammond, Dave Pegg, Barrie Barlow, and others provide anecdotes going back to Tull's first public performance, when they shared the stage at the Sunbury Jazz and Blues Festival with Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker.

The book is divided into thirty-one chapters, one for each of Tull's albums. Nollen notes who the members were for each, how each album ranked on the charts, and he scores and provides a critical analyses for all. Library Journal's Lloyd Jansen wrote that Nollen "parlays his friendship with the band into an engaging biography." Booklist contributor Mike Tribby called the book "a welcome addition to comprehensive music collections." "If there was ever a question of their status, Jethro Tull has provided the proof that this was, and is, a band with versatility and staying power," wrote Kate Brown for Green Man Review online. Brown called the volume "a must for any serious collector or Tull fan."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

periodicals

American Reference Books Annual, 2000, Anthony J. Adam, review of Robin Hood: History of the English Outlaw and His Scottish Counterparts, p. 562.

Booklist, February 1, 2002, Mike Tribby, review of Jethro Tull: A History of the Band, 1968-2001, p. 915.

Choice, February, 1990, T. Lindvall, review of The Boys: The Cinematic World of Laurel and Hardy, p. 958; October, 1991, B. Grant, review of Boris Karloff: A Critical Account of His Screen, Stage, Radio, Televison, and Recording Work, p. 292; March, 1995, J. Belton, review of Robert Louis Stevenson: Life, Literature, and the Silver Screen, pp. 1086-1087.

Films in Review, March, 1990, review of The Boys, p. 185.

Library Journal, May 1, 1991, Anne Sharpe, review of Boris Karloff, p. 78; June 1, 2001, Michael Rogers, review of The Boys, p. 226; March 15, 2002, Lloyd Jansen, review of Jethro Tull, p. 84.

Reference & Research Book News, May, 1997, review of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle at the Cinema, p. 131.

Variety, February 7, 1990, review of The Boys, p. 186.