A shop girl wins a newspaper competition and is transformed
overnight into a transatlantic celebrity. An aristocrat swaps high
society for the film studio when she 'consents' to perform in a
series of films, thus legitimising acting for what some might have
considered a 'low' art. Stories like these were the stuff of
newspaper headlines in 1920s and reflected a 'craze' for the
cinema. They also demonstrated radical changes in attitudes and
values within society in the wake of World War I. Chris O'Rourke
investigates the myths and material practices that grew up around
film actors during the silent era. The book sheds light on issues
such as the social and cultural reception of cinema, the
participatory film culture expressed through fan magazines,
instructional booklets and movie star competitions, and the working
conditions encountered by actors behind-the-scenes of silent films.
Drawing on extensive research and a wealth of archival materials,
O'Rourke examines how dreams of stardom were fuelled and exploited
in the interwar period, and reconstructs the personal narratives
and experiences of the first generation to imagine making a living
on screen.In doing so, he reveals a missing - and much sought after
- piece of cinematic history to bring to life the developing
industries, social attitudes and norms of a period of enormous
change.
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