How has America censored British films? In this original, fascinating book, Anthony Slide answers this question, making full use for the first time of the recently opened US Production Code Administration files. Film by film from the 1930s through to the 1960s, he tells the inside story of the ongoing dialogue between the British film making industry and the American censors. The book shows graphically how the Production Code system operated, revealing how the censors viewed moral issues, violence, bad language and matters of decorum as well as revealing acute national differences, such as American concern over the British preoccupation with toilets. It also dispels myths, depicting chief censor Joseph Breen and his staff as knowledgeable people who sympathized with and admired the British film industry.

Americans have been watching and enjoying British television programming since the mid-1950s, but the information on the personalities involved is difficult, if not impossible, to find in the United States. This guide provides biographical essays, complete with bibliographies, on 100 of the best known and loved actors and actresses from Richard Greene (Robin Hood) and William Russell (Sir Lancelot) in the 1950s through stars of Masterpiece Theatre, including Robin Ellis and Jean Marsh, to the new generation of British comedy performers such as Alexei Sayle and Jennifer Saunders. Not only are serious dramatic actors and actresses, such as Joan Hickson and Roy Marsden to be found here, but also the great comedy stars, including Benny Hill and John Inman. Among the many shows discussed in the text are Absolutely Fabulous; Are You Being Served?; Dad's Army; Doctor Who; EastEnders; Fawlty Towers; The Good Life; The Jewel in the Crown; Poldark; Rumpole of the Bailey; Upstairs, Downstairs; and Yes, Minister. The guide offers not only factual information but also samplings of contemporary critical commentary and in-depth interviews with Terence Alexander, Richard Briers, Benny Hill, Wendy Richard, Prunella Scales, and Moray Watson. This is a reference source that also serves as a fascinating entree into the wonderful world of British television, one that is as fun to browse as it is to use for factual documentation.

"[Slide's] blockbuster effort fills a gap in this area and is essential for all libraries supporting popular culture or film studies." Library Journal

The video revolution in the 1980s affected all areas of the American entertainment industry; its impact was most dramatic--ultimately devastating--to the non-theatrical film field. "Non-theatrical film" is the term used to describe motion pictures which are not shown in movie theaters, but are produced and/or distributed to markets that include the educational community, home, and business and industry. The author covers the early Hollywood-produced features and short subjects in a format other than 35mm for homes, hospitals and correctional institutions, as well as industrial films. This is also the history of two major non-theatrical libraries, Bell and Howell and Kodascope, both of which were founded to service the needs of purchasers of the then-newly introduced 16mm projectors. The book documents how the advent of the 16mm projector made possible the introduction of audio-visual aids in classrooms and offices. A number of production companies were established, primarily in Chicago, to produce films for this new outlet. In addition, Hollywood saw a new market and began licensing distribution of the films. Complete with appendices providing distributors from the 1920s-1940s and current names and addresses of non-theatrical film sources, this book-length study of the history of this film genre is both important and much needed.

As the title implies, the business of television rather than its programming is the focus of this historical dictionary. Its entries briefly relate the histories of production companies, networks, cable stations, industry associations, and public interest pressure groups. The focus is on the American television industry from its origins through early 1991, but it also selctively covers the industry worldwide. . . . Because entries relate only essential facts, many are amplified by brief bibliographies of books and articles, many of the latter from trade magazines. An appendix profiling Goldenson, Paley, and Sarnoff, the guiding spirits of ABC, CBS, and NBC, respectively, precedes a brief bibliography and the names index. Slide has produced another hit, another basic source on one of America's basic industries. "Wilson Library Bulletin

"

This unique dictionary is the first what's what of television. Its more than 1,000 entries provide succinct factual data on production companies, distributors, organizations, genres, historical and technical terms, and much more. All areas of the industry, including free, public, and cable television, are covered. While the majority of the entries relate to the American television industry, the book is international in scope. Following many of the entries is an address, if the company or organization is still active, and, where appropriate, a bibliography. An asterisk following a name indicates that there is a separate entry for that subject. Headings are based on the best-known name of the company or technical innovation and are not necessarily the final names by which the subjects are known. However, all such alternative names are included in the index. Wherever feasible, birth and death years are noted for key figures. A general bibliography of reference books on television appears at the end of the volume. The index provides immediate access to all the entries and to the personalities discussed in each entry. In addition, there is a program index, providing the reader with speedy information as to which company or distributor is responsible for which series.

"The Television Industry" will serve as an essential reference tool for any scholar, student, or librarian involved in the study of the television industry. It will also prove enlightening and interesting for the casual reader.

Searching for an introduction to the shadowy, intriguing world of early 20th century gay-themed fiction? In Lost Gay Novels, respected pop culture historian Anthony Slide resurrects fifty early 20th century American novels with gay themes or characters and discusses them in carefully researched, engaging prose. Each entry offers you a detailed discussion of plot and characters, a summary of contemporary critical reception, and biographical information on the often-obscure writer. In Lost Gay Novels, another aspect of gay life and society is, in the words the author, uncloseted, providing you with an absorbing glimpse into the world of these nearly forgotten books. Lost Gay Novels gives you an introduction to: authors who aren't usually associated with homosexuality, including John Buchan, James M. Cain, and Rex Stout the history of gay publishing in the US and abroad gay themes in novels published between 1917 and 1950with entries from nearly every year! the ways in which the popular culture of the time shaped the authors' attitudes toward homosexuality the difficulty of finding detailed biographical information on little-known authors If you're interested in gay studies or history, or even if you're just looking for a comprehensive guide to titles you've probably never heard of before, Lost Gay Novels will be a welcome addition to your collection. The introduction from author Slidecalled by the Los Angeles Times a one-man publishing phenomenonprovides you with an overview to the basics of this landmark collection. Themes found in many of the titles include death, secrecy, and living a double life, and in reading the entries you will discover just why these themes are so common. As Slide says in his introduction: The approach of the novelist toward homosexuality may not always be a positive one but the works are important to an understanding of contemporary attitudes toward gay men and gay society. Lost Gay Novels will help you further your own understanding of the dynamic relationship between literature and culture, and you will finish the book with a greater appreciation of modern American gay fiction.

Featuring more than 6,500 articles, including over 350 new entries, this fifth edition of The Encyclopedia of British Film is an invaluable reference guide to the British film industry. It is the most authoritative volume yet, stretching from the inception of the industry to the present day, with detailed listings of the producers, directors, actors and studios behind a century or so of great British cinema. Brian McFarlane's meticulously researched guide is the definitive companion for anyone interested in the world of film. Previous editions have sold many thousands of copies, and this fifth instalment will be an essential work of reference for universities, libraries and enthusiasts of British cinema. -- .

Alexander Knox (1907-1995) was a distinguished stage and screen actor, who is best remembered today for his title performance in the 1944 production of Wilson. He was active both in London's West End and on Broadway, and began his Hollywood career in 1941 with The Sea Wolf. Because of his liberal activities in the film community, including co-founding of the Committee for the First Amendment, Knox was "grey-listed," and forced to settle permanently in the United Kingdom, where he became a familiar figure both in films and on television. On Actors and Acting collects together Knox's writings, published and unpublished, on various performers with whom he worked or was familiar, and on the art and craft of acting. Knox writes on Laurence Olivier, a close personal friend with whom he appeared in the memorable 1940 production of Romeo and Juliet. He discusses his performance as Wilson. Other actors and actresses about whom Knox has many original things to say include Sara Allgood, Dana Andrews, George Arliss, and Walter Huston. Anthony Slide, a film historian and a personal friend of Alexander Knox and his wife, actress Doris Nolan, edited On Actors and Acting. Slide contributes a lengthy career overview and has also compiled a complete filmography, documenting Knox's screen career from his first film, The Gaunt Stranger in 1938, through his last, Joshua Then and Now in 1985.

The anti-Communist hysteria that began in the 1930s was further empowered in 1938 when the House of Representatives established the House Committee on UnAmerican Activities. Soon thereafter, the creation of the blacklist in the late 1940s brought the Hollywood film and television community into the fold. Provocatively capturing the controversy and sentiments surrounding this period of political imbalance, Actors on Red Alert explores the repercussions of the blacklist through career interviews with five prominent actors and actresses.

This is a completely new, revised, and expanded version of the book first published by Scarecrow in 1976. It documents the work of America's first major film company, Vitagraph, from its beginnings in the 1890s through its sale to Warner Bros. in 1925.

Now in Paperback! The New Historical Dictionary of the American Film Industry is a unique reference work, a 'what's what' of the history of filmmaking not only in Hollywood but throughout the United States. More than 750 entries document the history of studios, production companies and distributors, and provide complete information on technical innovations, genres, industry terms, and organizations. Included are entries on more than 100 film companies active in the 'teens, as well as all major Hollywood studios, and major technical innovations such as CinemaScope and Dolby Sound. General entries range from 'The Cold War' to 'Westerns' and include film series such as 'Andy Hardy' and 'The Thin Man.' Extensive cross referencing and an index help the reader locate information throughout the text. A completely revised and updated edition of The American Film Industry, this new edition furnishes an informed, experienced look behind the scenes of filmmaking and an invaluable reference source. Paperback edition available 2001.

This study looks at the preservation process: newsreel, television, and color preservation; the often controversial issue of colorization; and commercial film archives. It provides detailed histories of the major players in the preservation battle including the International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House, the American Film Institute, the Museum of Modern Art, the UCLA Film and Television Archive, and the Library of Congress. This first historical overview of film preservation in the United States is also highly controversial in its exposure and criticism of the politicization of film preservation in recent years, and the rising bureaucracy which has often lost sight of preservation and restoration as the ultimate purpose of film archives.

In 1914, a young midwesterner quit his railroad job to crack the Hollywood motion picture boom. Impressed by his energy and honesty in his role as Lincoln, D.W. Griffith made him his assistant for Intolerance. Griffith then made Joe a director. He swiftly progressed to a preeminent position in the industry, directing some of the biggest Hollywood stars of the 1920's including Douglas Fairbanks, Fatty Arbuckle, and Rudolph Valentino. Versatility played an important role in Joe's rich creative life inside the studios. His understanding of the mechanics of motion-picture film led him to develop and be granted a patent for teaching speech to the deaf by visualizing sound. He pioneered sound short-subjects for the Vitaphone Studios in Brooklyn and later directed WWII training films for the Army Signal Corps in Astoria. Henabery contributed, not only as a director, but also as a researcher, writer, make-up artist/actor, architect, scenic designer, and special-effects innovator. His autobiography, Before, In and After Hollywood was completed in 1975 shortly before his death. Contains 24 black and white photographs.

Golden Age Hollywood screenwriter Charles Brackett was an extremely observant and perceptive chronicler of the entertainment industry during its most exciting years. He is best remembered as the writing partner of director Billy Wilder, who once referred to the pair as "the happiest couple in Hollywood," collaborating on such classics as "The Lost Weekend" (1945) and "Sunset Blvd" (1950).

In this annotated collection of writings taken from dozens of Brackett's unpublished diaries, leading film historian Anthony Slide clarifies Brackett's critical contribution to Wilder's films and Hollywood history while enriching our knowledge of Wilder's achievements in writing, direction, and style. Brackett's diaries re-create the initial meetings of the talent responsible for "Ninotchka" (1939), "Hold Back the Dawn" (1941), "Ball of Fire" (1941), "The Major and the Minor" (1942), "Five Graves to Cairo" (1943), "The Lost Weekend," and "Sunset Blvd," recounting the breakthrough and breakdowns that ultimately forced these collaborators to part ways. Brackett was also a producer, served as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Screen Writers Guild, was a drama critic for the " New Yorker," and became a member of the exclusive literary club, the Algonquin Round Table. Slide gives readers a rare, front row seat to the Golden Age dealings of Paramount, Universal, MGM, and RKO and the innovations of legendary theater and literary figures, such as Alfred Lunt, Lynn Fontanne, Edna Ferber, and Dorothy Parker. Through Brackett's witty, keen perspective, the political and creative intrigue at the heart of Hollywood's most significant films come alive, and readers will recognize their reach in the Hollywood industry today.

D. W. Griffith (1875-1948) is one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture. As director of The Birth of a Nation, he is also one of the most controversial. He raised the cinema to a new level of art, entertainment, and innovation, and at the same time he illustrated, for the first time, its potential to influence an audience and propagandize a cause.

Collected together here are virtually all of the "interviews" given by D. W. Griffith from the first in 1914 to the last in 1948. Some of the interviews concentrate on specific films, including The Birth of a Nation, Intolerance, and, most substantially, Hearts of the World, while others provide the director with an opportunity to expound on topics of personal interest, including the importance of proper exhibition of his and other's films, and his search for truth and beauty on screen.

The interviews are taken from many sources, including leading newspapers, trade papers, and fan magazines. They are often marked by humor and by a desire to please the interviewer and thus the reader. Griffith may not have been particularly enthusiastic about giving interviews, but he seems always determined to put on a good show.

Ultimately, D. W. Griffith: Interviews provides the reader with a unique insight into the mind and filmmaking techniques of a director whose work and philosophy is as relevant today as it was when he was at the height of his fame in the 1910s and 1920s.

Thorne Smith is a unique figure in American literature, one who thrived during prohibition, creating comic novels that ridiculed the morality of the times and involved extensive drinking, nudity, frivolity, and general debauchery. A Man Named Smith: The Novels and Screen Legacy of Thorne Smith is the first book-length study of Thorne Smith's work. It provides background information on his life and early death, discusses all of his novels in detail and also provides extensive new documentation on their screen adaptations, including Topper, Night Life of the Gods and Turnabout. Also discussed is Thorne Smith's brief time in Hollywood at MGM in 1933, and the influence that his books have had on late films and television productions. As an added bonus, reprinted here in its entirety is the 1934 promotional monograph, Thorne Smith: His Life and Times with a Note on His Books & a Complete Bibliography.

Frank Lloyd: Master of Screen Melodrama is the first book-length study of one of the most prominent of studio directors from Hollywood's "golden age," whose career spanned the years from 1913 through 1955. Among the director's greatest works are Oliver Twist with Jackie Coogan, The Sea Hawk with Milton Sills, The Divine Lady with Corinne Grifffith, and two Academy Award winners for Best Picture, Cavalcade and Mutiny on the Bounty. They are all discussed in detail here, along with other prominent Frank Lloyd productions, including East Lynne, Berkeley Square, Wells Fargo, and The Howards of Virginia. Frank Lloyd himself won two Academy Awards, and yet he has failed up to now to receive the attention he deserves together with recognition of his masterly creation of screen melodrama. With his latest book, which includes a complete filmography and a sampling of writings by Frank Lloyd, award-winning historian Anthony Slide sets the record straight and honors one of Hollywood's best.