A Guide to American Silent Crime Films

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By Larry Langman and Daniel Finn

ISBN: 0-313-28858-5

ISBN-13: 978-0-313-28858-6

DOI:

384 pages

Greenwood Press

Publication: 1/30/1994

List Price: $117.95 (UK Sterling Price: £65.00)

Availability:

Media Type: Hardcover

Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4

Subjects:

Popular Culture » Film Studies

Series Title: Bibliographies and Indexes in the Performing Arts

Series Number: 15

Reviews:

...The authors have meticulously compiled screen credits for more than 2,000 silent features, documentaries, shorts, and serials relating to crime produced in America from the 1890s to 1930. The sheer volume of titles, many culled from the paper print collection of the Library of Congress, demonstrates the enduring appeal crime films have enjoyed in American cinema. Of particular interest is the authors' inclusion of historically important crime-related newsreels and documentaries. Recommended for academic and special libraries supporting strong film studies programs.
—Choice

Description: The immense popularity of movies has its roots in the silent films of the early 1900s, this being especially true of the crime genre. The authors of this Guide have compiled for the first time in one volume an entire history of the crime genre during the silent era, preserving the memories of these films for their own generation and introducing these works to a new generation thirsty for entertainment and knowledge. This Guide includes more than 2,000 film entries, complete with names of directors, screenwriters, and major players and offers a wealth of data supported by plot evaluations and occasional thematic commentaries. This is the only work that includes one- and two-reelers and serials along with full-length crime features. Each entry covers title, date of release, distributor or studio, director, screenwriter, major cast members, plot description, and thematic commentary, reviving this almost forgotten genre for generations of students and movie fans both old and new. The Guide pays tribute to the glory of cinema pioneers as diverse as D. W. Griffith and Lon Chaney who have given the world a wide variety of stories and experiences both thought-provoking and startling. Although men tended to dominate the silent years in Hollywood, women managed to contribute dramatically. Among them were director Lois Weber and film personalities Mabel Normand, Pearl White, Mary Pickford, and Ruth Roland. These creative men and women and their often neglected works deserve a second look. The likes of Pacino, Eastwood, and Brando can look to the past where the ground for their work was carefully prepared in such earlier silent films as Griffith's The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912) and von Sternberg's Underworld (1927).

Table of Contents:

Preface
Introduction
Abbreviations
Distributors
The Guide
Appendix A: Cycles
Appendix B: Series
Bibliography
Index

LC Card Number: 93-41436

LCC Class: PN1995

Dewey Class: 016.79143


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