Sarah Bernhardt in the Theatre of Films and Sound Recordings [Hardcover]

David W. Menefee (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 078641636X | ISBN-13: 978-0786416363 | Publication Date: October 15, 2003 | Edition: annotated edition

Exhaustive research in every major archive of the world has created this compilation of information and images focusing on Bernhardt's films and twenty early wax-cylinder and disc recordings. Detailed analyses of the motion pictures include plot synopses, casts, production notes, and contemporary reviews. Complete records of Bernhardt's work on stage, in films, and recordings are annotated and indexed.

The book includes such rare items as dramatic readings by Bernhardt on early wax cylinders and 78rpm (transcribed in the original French and translated into English for the first time), as well as stills from a previously unknown film (depicting the death scene from the 1921 Daniel).

Editorial Reviews

Review

A worthy effort...highly recommended. --In the Groove Magazine

An interesting study...important record of a key early figure. --Communication Booknotes Quarterly

Well researched...valuable...a very good job of documenting the recorded works of Sarah Bernhardt...this book is of demonstrable value for both the academic and casual reader. --Silent Era

From the Author

This book has been discontinued by McFarland Publishing and is no longer in print.

Please refer to the new, greatly expanded and revised edition, SARAH BERNHARDT, HER FILMS, HER RECORDINGS, on Amazon.com. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 168 pages
• Publisher: McFarland; annotated edition edition (October 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078641636X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786416363
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 6.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,299,338 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David W. Menefee is an American author. His writing career began as a writer and marketing representative for the Dallas Times Herald and the Dallas Morning News. David struck out on his own as a freelance writer, succeeding immediately with the groundbreaking Sarah Bernhardt: In the Theater, Film and Sound Recordings, The First Female Stars: Women of the Silent Era, and The First Male Stars: Men of the Silent Era, and everyone's favorite, George O'Brien: A Man's Man in Hollywood.

As an esteemed film historian, his Richard Barthelmess: A Life in Pictures was named one of the Top 10 Books of the Year by the San Francisco Examiner. In 2010, his "Otay!" The Billy "Buckwheat" Thomas Story thrilled worldwide fans of the Our Gang/Little Rascals films. In 2011, his Wally: The True Wallace Reid Story was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

David's recent popular successes include the thrilling wartime romantic adventure The Remarkable Mr. Messing, the heartwrenching Civil War epic Brothers of the Storm, the unforgettable Charlie O'Doone's Second Chance, the shocking biography The Rise and Fall of Lou-Tellegen, the spine-tingling Margot Cranston mystery series, the unusually revealing Falling Stars: 10 Who Tried to be a Movie Star, and the monumental Sarah Bernhardt, Her Films, Her Recordings.

David also works as a ghost writer, screenwriter, and book editor. He lives in Dallas, Texas, USA.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book with delightful details of her career., December 26, 2007

By 

Randy L. Jones (Round Rock, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sarah Bernhardt in the Theatre of Films and Sound Recordings (Hardcover)

Author David W. Menefee obviously has taken tremendous care with this finely-crafted book. I am so grateful that McFarland decided to publish it. Each chapter is filled with intriguing information about Sarah Bernhardt's motion pictures and sound recordings, and it also includes a biographical treatment that is short, informative, and accurate. This beginning to the book explains why Sarah was such an important figure in our theater history, and why her work in the new mediums of motion pictures and sound recordings served as a catalyst to galvanize the growth of these new industries. In this book, there are hundreds of rare photographs, including many from her motion pictures that I could never have afforded to buy even if they could be located. I particularly loved the touching account of Sarah's final work on a film that was made while she was literally dying. Her story is genuinely inspiring. To have all this included in one book makes it a delightful compilation of information and images that I treasure.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Book about Bernhardt Films and Recordings, March 11, 2011

By 

A. Rubi - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sarah Bernhardt in the Theatre of Films and Sound Recordings (Paperback)

This book shows great research. I greatly enjoyed reading the biographical part at the beginning, and I found the filmography most informative. The section on Bernhardt's recordings was unique, and the translations of those recordings are wonderful, poetic, and moving. As if all this wasn't enough, the book nearly bursts with hundreds of rare photographs and illustrations, obviously the result of a great deal of time spent on research. My hat's off to the author for an excellent work that adds much to the body of knowledge about Sarah Bernhardt.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Sarah Berhardt, December 11, 2007

By 

Susan D. Spicer - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sarah Bernhardt in the Theatre of Films and Sound Recordings (Hardcover)

I love this book. David Menefee's research is incredible. All of Sarah Bernhardt's biographers only touched on her films and sound recordings, if they mention them at all, and so this book fills a much-needed niche about the work of this great artist. Not only has he drawn from hundreds of rare sources for information, but his discovery of Daniel, one of Sarah's previously unknown films, is nothing short of a miracle. That film is profiled with never-before-seen screen shots and a detailed synopsis. All of her other films are richly researched and include fascinating production notes, plot synopses, rare photographs, and reviews from every film magazine that is known to have survived. The touching account of the making of Sarah's final performance in a film is quite moving. The information in the chapters on her sound recordings came from many rare sources, including the Thomas Edison Museum. The book even includes the first-ever French/English translations of all of her existing recorded dramatic recitations, which were done by Professor Alissa Webel from Georgetown University. The rest of the book is overfilled with hundreds of rare photographs, many of which have not been in circulation for more than eighty years. The pictures alone are enough of a reason to get this book, but there is so much more in it that I found it to be a magnificent compilation that reveals everything about Sarah Bernhardt's work in films and on sound recordings. I highly recommend it.