Larry Langman

Daniel Finn

Recent crime films such as Scarface, the Dirty Harry series, and The Godfather have captured the American imagination, but they owe a large debt to the early crime talkies such as The Public Enemy, Paul Muni's Scarface, and Little Caesar. More than 1,000 entries are featured in this volume, complete with the names of directors, screen writers, and major players offering a wealth of data supported by plot evaluations. For the serious student of crime films, this work provides a comprehensive treatment of the genre. It is the only one-volume work that includes all crime sub-genres (detective, mystery, cops and robbers, and courtroom dramas) in addition to gangster films. The period between the end of the silent film (1927) and the general acceptance of the sound film (1929) is often referred to as a transition period. The majority of theaters were not wired for sound, so many films were released in both silent and sound versions. Some added only sound effects or music to the sound track, while others offered only brief segments of sound. The early 1930s marked the end of this transition period and firmly established the sound era. This volume pays homage to these early, often crude melodramas. The authors aim to preserve the memories of these films for their own generation and to introduce these works to a new generation thirsty for entertainment and knowledge.

A Guide to American Crime Films of the Thirties

Ed Borg

Encyclopedia of American War Films

This comprehensive film guide lists the screen credits and provides synopses of more than 5,400 silent western features, documentaries, shorts and serials released from the 1890s through 1930. These westerns came from both the major and lesser known American film studios, many long defunct. Four appendices include a list of all the serials included in the book, a list of all the northern westerns, a list of the titles and stars of the major western series, and a list of the important western epics. The work is completed with an actor/director/screenwriter index.

A Guide to Silent Westerns

The immense popularity of movies has its roots in the silent films of the early 1900s, this being especially true of the crime genre. This extensive guide features the entire history of the crime genre during the silent era, including 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. For the serious student of crime films, this work provides a comprehensive treatment of genre, but, most importantly, it revives an almost forgotten genre for generations of students and movie fans both old and new.

A Guide to American Silent Crime Films

Paul Gold

Clever repartee, double entendres, punch lines and many other variations of humor have been a staple of movie dialogue since the advent of talkies. Collected here are over 4,000 of the best comedic lines from the movies. The compilers of this book have tried to bring together some of the funniest, wittiest and most outrageous snatches of dialogue on film over a sixty year time period. For each entry the authors set the quotation in context, provide the name of the actor or actress, the name of the movie and the year of release. The quotations are arranged by a broad range of categories, such as politics, food and eating, gambling, and many others. A title index and a name index follow the body of the book..

Over 4,000 Bits of Humorous Dialogue from All Film Genres, Topically Arranged and Indexed

Comedy Quotes from the Movies

The only comprehensive guide to the crime films of these decades. The focus is on the major events that shaped and molded the genre.

A Guide to American Crime Films of the Forties and Fifties

Over 600 American films, released between 1908 and the present, are arranged in chronological order in this work. A must for the film buff, each entry lists the title, year of release, the releasing company or distributor, the director, screenwriter and major cast credits.

A Guide to South Sea Island Films

Return to Paradise

During the first part of the twentieth century, Hollywood experienced an influx of European filmmakers seeking new lives in America. With them came unique perspectives and styles from their home countries that forever affected American film production. Well-known talents like Charlie Chaplin, Billy Wilder, and Alfred Hitchcock all made America their filmmaking base, as did other less known but equally influential filmmakers. This is the complete guide to directors, screenwriters, artistic directors, cinematographers, and composers of European birth who made at least one film in the United States. The book is arranged by country, and each chapter begins with that country's cinema history. Each filmmaker from that country is then given a separate entry, including biographical and professional highlights, and synopses and analyses of their better-known films. Photographs from films that featured European talent are included. An index of names and titles allows for easy reference, and a complete bibliography is also included.

The Influence of Europeans on American Filmmaking

Destination Hollywood

Cynical news hounds, grumbling editors, snooping television newscasters, inquisitive foreign correspondents, probing newsreel cameramen, and a host of others--all can be found in this reference work to Hollywood's version of journalism: from the early one-reelers to modern fare, over a thousand silent and sound films can be found. Each entry includes title, date of release, distributor, director, screenwriter, and major cast members. These credits are followed by a brief plot summary and analysis, cross-references and other information. The book is arranged alphabetically, and includes a preface, introduction, bibliography, a list of abbreviations, appendices, and an index of names. The detailed introduction covers an historical survey of the topic, with numerous film examples. The work also includes a selection of stills from various films.

A Catalog of American Journalism Films, 1900-1996

The Media in the Movies

Greenwood Press

David Ebner

Provides a comprehensive guide to films dealing with or taking place in the American South.

Larry Langman

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