In the official tie-in with the acclaimed 10-part series show on Turner Broadcasting, Norman traces the evolution of the studios from the advent of sound to the present. 225 photos including 75 in full-color.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
A tie-in with Norman's BBC-TV series, this book should be titled "a story," rather than "the story" of Hollywood. As the British author mentions, his re-creation is not intended as a comprehensive history but, rather, an extension of the broadcast programs, which grew out of interviews with film veterans and neophytes. Lavishly illustrated, the volume is highlighted by Norman's witty, appealing delivery of information. He describes enormous changes in the movies from 1927 on, when the talkies killed many glittering careers and created new stars whose voices passed muster. The fall of one such performer, John Gilbert, is cited, against recent studies that argue that the actor was actually doomed because he ran afoul of Louis B. Mayer, MGM's draconian head. Mayer also reputedly blackballed actresses who spurned his passes. He frequently pursued celebrities outside the "industry," and a photo here shows him greeting a supposedly famed couple, certainly not President and Mrs. Hoover, as the caption claims. Norman at his most interesting describes the differing responses to Hollywood movies in America and in England, according to such classifications as treatments of sex, crime, politics, etc., and closes with examples of filmmaking since the demise of the all-powerful studios.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
A TV tie-in, this breezy history of Hollywood since the introduction of sound is divided into ten chapters. Each attempts to cover subjects that have occupied entire volumes: Hollywood and sex, the B movie, Hollywood and crime, and so on. The author is no scholar, but he has done his homework, including scores of interviews (not all of them useful). The book's a mixed bag, with some chapters, notably the one on the Red Scare, stronger than others. Photos are carefully chosen and marvelously reproduced. A supplemental work, hardly definitive or seminal. Thomas Wiener, formerly with "American Film," Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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