Known as much today for its theme park, Universal City is also the largest and the longest continuously operating movie studio in "Hollywood." The Universal Film Manufacturing Company was formed by a dozen independent producers in 1912, and Universal City was designed to provide a single facility in which to make their films. Since its official opening on March 15, 1915, Universal City has served as a training ground for great directors such as John Ford, William Wyler, and James Whale and as home to stars like Hoot Gibson, Deanna Durbin, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Sr. and Jr., and Tom Mix. This evocative volume explores the studio that brought The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), The Phantom of the Opera (1925), All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Dracula (1930), Frankenstein (1931), and 100 Men and a Girl (1936) to the screen.

Early Universal City (Images of America)

History

Birchard, Robert S.

Americas

Arcadia Publishing

" ""Far and away the best film book published so far this year.""―National Board of Review Cecil B. DeMille was the most successful filmmaker in early Hollywood history. Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood is a detailed and definitive chronicle of the screen work that changed the course of film history and a fascinating look at how movies were actually made in Hollywood's Golden Age. Drawing extensively on DeMille's personal archives and other primary sources, Robert S. Birchard offers a revealing portrait of DeMille the filmmaker that goes behind studio gates and beyond DeMille's legendary persona. In his forty-five-year career DeMille's box-office record was unsurpassed, and his swaggering style established the public image for movie directors. DeMille had a profound impact on the way movies tell stories and brought greater attention to the elements of decor, lighting, and cinematography. Best remembered today for screen spectacles such as The Ten Commandments and Samson and Delilah , DeMille also created Westerns, realistic "chamber dramas," and a series of daring and highly influential social comedies. He set the standard for Hollywood filmmakers and demanded absolute devotion to his creative vision from his writers, artists, actors, and technicians.

Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

University Press of Kentucky

The University Press of Kentucky

In Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood, Robert S. Birchard offers a detailed and definitive chronicle of the most successful filmmaker in early Hollywood history, going behind studio gates and beyond DeMille's legendary persona. In his forty-five-year career, DeMille's box-office record was unsurpassed, and his swaggering style established the public image for movie directors. DeMille had a profound impact on the way movies tell stories and brought greater attention to the elements of decor, lighting, and cinematography. Best remembered today for screen spectacles such as The Ten Commandments and Samson and Delilah, DeMille also created Westerns, realistic "chamber dramas," and a series of daring and highly influential social comedies. He set the standard for Hollywood filmmakers and demanded absolute devotion to his creative vision from his writers, artists, actors, and technicians.\nDrawing extensively on DeMille's personal archives and other primary sources, this biography provides a comprehensive and compelling portrait of how Cecil B. DeMille's work changed the course of film history, and a fascinating look at how movies were actually made in Hollywood's Golden Age.

POP TWENTY #1 is the first in a series of books devoted to 20th Century popular culture, and it offers much more than nostalgia "once over lightly." Reported by top-flight writers who are experts at exploring our shared memories of classic movies, early TV, old time radio, and pop music, POP TWENTY #1 is also richly illustrated with over 140 rare, often never-before-published, photos that bring the stories to life. In its inaugural edition, POP TWENTY includes pieces about the unforgettable 1933 film musical FOOTLIGHT PARADE starring James Cagney, Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell with dance numbers staged by the legendary Busby Berkeley (Did you know that Berkeley did not direct all the film's musical ensembles?); the chaotic behind-the-mike story of the founding of the CBS Radio Network (Despite the legend, William S. Paley had nothing to do with it!); a speculation on how James Dean became an icon of rock 'n' roll even though he probably never heard a genuine rock record (The forgotten story of Dean's brief encounter with "Crazy, Man, Crazy" by Buddy Holly); a behind the scenes look at the popular 1950s TV series, I MARRIED JOAN (In which Joan Davis went head-to-head with Lucille Ball and I LOVE LUCY); and an inside the park tour of Old Tucson, the famed Arizona movie ranch (Well-captured on film, but laid waste by an unknown arsonist). Also inside the pages of POP TWENTY #1 are profiles of several well-known early movie memorabilia collectors, an investigation of the strange case of comedian Charley Chase, and contract summaries of top Hollywood stars and directors like Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson, Allan Dwan and Ernst Lubitsch. If you're a fan of the golden age of Show Business, POP TWENTY is for you.

Pop Twenty: 20th Century Pop Culture

Arts & Photography

Dawson, Jim

McLeod, Elizabeth

Bifulco, Michael J.

Maria, Nick Santa

Performing Arts

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Monty Banks may not be as well remembered as Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd or Buster Keaton, but he was one of the bread and butter comics who made audiences roar in the Golden Age of Comedy. Here for the first time is a comprehensive filmography of Monty Banks' 1920-1924 starring two reelers, well illustrated with stills from the films and behind-the-scenes photos that bring the comedian and his times to life.

Monty Banks 1920-1924 Filmography

Between 1910 and 1921, the American Film Company was one of the fledgling movie industry's most successful studios, with production facilities in Santa Barbara and business offices in Chicago. Nicknamed for its distinctive winged "A" logo, the "Flying A" produced nearly 1,200 films, starring such favorites of the day as Mary Miles Minter, J. Warren Kerrigan, Wallace Reid, and King Baggot. The company's rather patriotic motto invited patrons to "See Americans first." The studio's films also documented the picturesque and developing Pacific seaside community of Santa Barbara and served as a training ground for some of Hollywood's greatest directors, including Allan Dwan, Henry King, Victor Fleming, Frank Borzage, George Marshall, William Desmond Taylor, and Marshall Neilan.

Silent-Era Filmmaking in Santa Barbara

Humor & Entertainment

Movies

Arcadia Publishing Library Editions

Known as much today for its theme park, Universal City is also the largest and the longest continuously operating movie studio in "Hollywood." The Universal Film Manufacturing Company was formed by a dozen independent producers in 1912, and Universal City was designed to provide a single facility in which to make their films. Since its official opening on March 15, 1915, Universal City has served as a training ground for great directors such as John Ford, William Wyler, and James Whale and as home to stars like Hoot Gibson, Deanna Durbin, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Sr. and Jr., and Tom Mix. This evocative volume explores the studio that brought The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), The Phantom of the Opera (1925), All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Dracula (1930), Frankenstein (1931), and 100 Men and a Girl (1936) to the screen.

Early Universal City

Gun Crazy: A Conversation with Joseph H. Lewis

Nevins, Francis M. Jr.

Riverwood Press

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