This work brings to readers of English a comprehensive and engaging treatment of one of America’s greatest, if largely forgotten, film directors. Originally published in 1993, Dumont’s celebrated study has been translated from the French by Canadian Jonathan Kaplansky.
After an introduction that decries Borzage’s dismissal by later critics and historians and shows how his approach to moviemaking reflected his Masonic beliefs, 18 chapters present Borzage’s entire career—the man, the actors he worked with, the more than 100 films he made, and the effect of those films on movie audiences, especially between 1920 and 1940. This is indeed the definitive reevaluation of one of the giants of filmdom.
Lavishly illustrated with 116 photographs, this book will make the reader want to see as many of Borzage’s films as possible, as soon as possible. A complete filmography, a chronological bibliography, and an index will be helpful in searching them out.
