Hollywood is synonymous with American cinema. Powerful moguls, beautiful stars, art and commerce, extremes of success and failure – all are encapsulated in the name of the small district northwest of Los Angeles that became the centre of the movie-making world.

In The Hollywood Story, Joel W. Finler explores the history of the American movie industry from the silent era up to the present day. In individual chapters that cover each of the major studios, the author considers the key actors, directors and frequently overlooked technicians who contributed to filmmaking history. The book includes a wealth of information on the development of colour, widescreen processes and the transition from silent cinema to sound. Additionally, Joel W. Finler has compiled an unrivalled amount of financial information which is presented in simple graphs and tables, making it clearer than ever just what, and who, are the big winners and losers in Hollywood.

The Hollywood Story won the British Film Institute award as the outstanding film book of 1989. This fully revised and updated edition brings the facts and figures into the new millennium and includes an entirely new chapter on the studio that emerged in the 1990s as one of the most powerful of all – Disney.

Joel W. Finler has worked as a writer and lecturer on cinema and as a film critic for Time Out. He is the author of numerous books about cinema including All Time Movie Greats (1975), The Movie Directors Story (1985) and several works on directors such as Alfred Hitchcock and Erich von Stroheim.

2003
452 pages
9788-1-903364-66-6    £18.99 (pbk)


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chapter sample
Introduction


reviews
‘Pride of place must go to Joel Finler’s The Hollywood Story which purports to be "everything you always wanted to know about the American movie business but didn’t know where to look" and actually delivers.’
Derek Malcolm, Guardian

'An absolute must for anyone interested in the studio system … Finler has written an absorbing aide memoire for buffs and fans alike.’
Clive Hirschorn, Sunday Express

‘The Hollywood Story is a must for the movie buff … Never has so much information been compiled into one, easy to read, accessible volume.’
Bob Dorian, American Movie Classics

‘A massive undertaking, this epic work leaves no stone unturned in its bid to provide as complete a study as possible … Despite the almost overwhelming amount of data the book is always accessible, thanks to its clear layout and unpretentious prose. It’s hard to imagine how this monolith of facts and figures could be bettered.’
Film Review

‘A book that more than lives up to its claims … For all those unable to store sixty years of Variety under the bed, Mr Finler has performed an invaluable service.’
The Economist

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The Star System: Hollywood’s Production of Popular Identities
Mise-en-Scène: Film Style and Interpretation
Early Cinema: From Factory Gate to Dream Factory
Reading Hollywood: Spaces and Meanings in American Films