Traces the movie industry through the momentous decade of the 1940s. The text discusses changes in the structure of the studio system - including the shift to independent production - and the dominant stars, genres, and production trends through the period.

The advent of colour, big musicals, the studio system and the beginnings of institutionalized censorship made the `30s the defining decade for Hollywood. This book examines every aspect of the filmmaking and film exhibition system as it matured during the Depression.

Documenting the distinctive history of early American cinema, this study describes how motion pictures were developed and represented. It covers the creation and growth of the first US film companies, and the development of different styles of film production and distribution.

An examination of Sergei Eisenstein's distictive contributions to filmmaking and film theory. It provides the only comprehensive guide in English to the range of Eisenstein's achievements in cinema.

Ideal for Introduction to American Cinema courses, American Film History courses, and Introductory Film Appreciation courses focused on American Film, this text offers a cultural examination of the American movie-making industry, with particular attention paid to the economic and aesthetic institution of Hollywood.