American Film History

Together, Cindy Lucia, Roy Grundmann, and Art Simon are the editors of the four volume reference work, The Wiley-Blackwell History of American Film (2012), of this volume and its companion, American Film History: Selected Readings, Origins to 1960 ( both 2016), all published by Wiley-Blackwell.Cynthia Lucia is Professor of English and Director of Film and Media Studies at Rider University. She is author of Framing Female Lawyers: Women on Trial in Film (2005) and writes for Cineaste film magazine, where she has served on the editorial board for more than two decades. Her most recent research includes essays that appear in A Companion to Woody Allen (Wiley, 2013), Modern British Drama on Screen (2014), and Law, Culture and Visual Studies (2014).Roy Grundmann is Associate Professor of Film Studies at Boston University. He is the author of Andy Warhol's Blow Job (2003) and the editor of A Companion to Michael Haneke (Wiley 2010). He is Contributing Editor of Cineaste and has published essays in a range of prestigious anthologies and journals, including GLQ, Cineaste, Continuum, The Velvet Light Trap, and Millennium Film Journal. He has curated retrospectives on Michael Haneke, Andy Warhol, and Matthias Müller.Art Simon is Professor of Film Studies at Montclair State University. He is the author of Dangerous Knowledge: The JFK Assassination in Art and Film (2nd edition, 2013). He has curated two film exhibitions for the Solomon Guggenheim Museum in New York City and his work has been published in the edited collection "Un-American" Hollywood: Politics and Film in the Blacklist Era (2007) and in the journal American Jewish History.

“Out of all the film books I've read this year - and there have been many judging from the sheer amount of book reviews I've posted here in 2015 alone - American Film History: Selected Readings, Origins to 1960 is the clear stand-out amongst them. It's an invaluable tool for those of us who strive to learn more and more about the film industry and classic film every day and I definitely won't be letting this book out of my site for a good long while (I may even stipulate being buried with it in my Last Will & Testament).”  (Stardustclassicfilmblog, 17 December 2015)

• Volume I: Origins to 1960Acknowledgments xiiPreface xiiiPart I Origins to 19281 Setting the Stage: American Film History, Origins to 1928 3References 162 D. W. Griffith and the Development of American Narrative Cinema 18Charlie KeilNotes 34References 343 Women and the Silent Screen 36Shelley StampReferences 514 African-Americans and Silent Films 54Paula J. MassoodNotes 68References 685 Chaplin and Silent Film Comedy 70Charles J. MalandReferences 846 Erich von Stroheim and Cecil B. DeMille: Early Hollywood and the Discourse of Directorial “Genius” 85Gaylyn StudlarNotes 97References 977 The Star System 99Mark Lynn AndersonNotes 112References 1138 Synchronized Sound Comes to the Cinema 115Paul YoungNotes 128References 129Part II 1929–19459 Setting the Stage: American Film History, 1929–1945 133Note 151References 15110 Era of the Moguls: The Studio System 153Matthew H. BernsteinReferences 17311 “As Close to Real Life as Hollywood Ever Gets”: Headline Pictures, Topical Movies, Editorial Cinema, and Studio Realism in the 1930s 175Richard MaltbyNotes 194References 19812 Early American Avant-Garde Cinema 200Jan-Christopher HorakNotes 214References 21413 “Let ’Em Have It”: The Ironic Fate of the 1930s Hollywood Gangster 215Ruth VaseyNotes 230References 23014 Landscapes of Fantasy, Gardens of Deceit: The Adventure Film between Colonialism and Tourism 231Hans Jürgen WulffNotes 245References 24615 Cinema and the Modern Woman 248Veronica PravadelliNotes 262References 26216 Queering the (New) Deal 264David M. LugowskiNotes 280References 28017 There’s No Place Like Home: The Hollywood Folk Musical 282Desirée J. GarciaNotes 295References 29618 The Magician: Orson Welles and Film Style 297James NaremoreNotes 309References 31019 Classical Cel Animation, World War II, and Bambi 311Kirsten Moana ThompsonNotes 324References 32520 Mapping Whywefight: Frank Capra and the US Army Orientation Film in World War II 326Charles WolfeNotes 339References 33921 a Victory “uneasy with Its Contrasts”: the Hollywood Left Fights World War II 341Saverio GiovacchiniNotes 356References 35922 Hollywood as Historian, 1929–1945 361J. E. SmythNotes 377References 377Part III 1945–196023 Setting the Stage: American Film History, 1945–1960 383References 39724 Taking Stock at War’s End: Gender, Genre, and Hollywood Labor in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers 398Roy GrundmannNotes 419References 42125 Natalie Wood: Studio Stardom and Hollywood in Transition 423Cynthia LuciaNotes 444References 44626 The Politics of Force of Evil: An Analysis of Abraham Polonsky’s Preblacklist Film 448Christine Noll BrinckmannNotes 467References 46927 The Actors Studio in the Early Cold War 471Cynthia Baron & Beckett WarrenNotes 485References 48528 Authorship and Billy Wilder 486Robert SklarNotes 501References 50129 Cold War Thrillers 503R. Barton PalmerReferences 51930 American Underground Film 520Jared RapfogelNote 535References 535Index 537Also in the same seriesVolume II: 1960 to the PresentAcknowledgments xiiPreface xiiiPart I 1960–19751 Setting the Stage: American Film History, 1960–1975 3Notes 21References 222 Adults Only: Low-Budget Exploitation 23Eric SchaeferNote 35References 353 Black Representation in Independent Cinema: From Civil Rights to Black Power 37Alex LykidisNotes 52References 544 Cinema Direct and Indirect: American Documentary, 1960–1975 56Charles WarrenNotes 70References 705 Comedy and the Dismantling of the Hollywood Western 72Teresa PodlesneyNote 86References 866 The New Hollywood 87Derek NystromNotes 103References 1037 “One Big Lousy X”: The Cinema of Urban Crisis 105Art SimonReferences 1188 Nashville: Putting on the Show: Or, Paradoxes of the “Instant” and the “Moment” 120Thomas ElsaesserNotes 131References 1329 Cinema and the Age of Television, 1946–1975 134Michele HilmesNotes 146References 146Part II 1976–199010 Setting the Stage: American Film History, 1976–1990 151Notes 173References 17311 Seismic Shifts in the American Film Industry 175Thomas SchatzNotes 188References 18812 Independent Film: 1980s to the Present 190Geoff KingReferences 20413 Reclaiming the Black Family: Charles Burnett, Julie Dash, and the “L.A. Rebellion” 205Janet K. CutlerNotes 218References 22114 Feminism, Cinema, and Film Criticism 223Lucy FischerReferences 23815 American Avant-Garde Cinema from 1970 to the Present 241Scott MacDonaldNote 258References 25816 A Reintroduction to the American Horror Film 259Adam LowensteinNote 274References 27417 Back to the Future: Hollywood and Reagan’s America 275Susan JeffordsReferences 28518 “Stayin’ Alive”: The Post-Studio Hollywood Musical 286Karen BacksteinNotes 301References 302Part III 1991 to the Present19 Setting the Stage: American Film History, 1991 to the Present 307Notes 329References 32920 The Queer 1990s: The Challenge and Failure of Radical Change 330Michael BronskiNotes 344References 34621 24/7: Cable Television, Hollywood, and the Narrative Feature Film 347Barbara KlingerNotes 360References 36022 Plasmatics and Prisons: The Morph and the Spectacular Emergence of CGI 362Kristen WhisselReferences 37523 Mainstream Documentary since 1999 376Patricia AufderheideReferences 39124 Truthiness Is Stranger than Fictition: The “New Biopic” 393Michael SicinskiNotes 40725 “Asia” as Global Hollywood Commodity 408Kenneth ChanNotes 421References 42226 The Blockbuster Superhero 423Bart BeatyNotes 437References 43727 Limited Engagement: The Iraq War on Film 438Susan L. CarruthersNotes 453References 45328 The Biggest Independent Pictures Ever Made: Industrial Reflexivity Today 454J. D. ConnorNotes 468References 46929 Writing American Film History 471Robert SklarReferences 481Index 483