American Silent Film: Discovering Marginalized Voices - Hardcover

Gregg Bachman (editor) & Thomas J. Slater (editor)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0809324016 ISBN 13: 9780809324019

Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press, 2002

Synopsis

This collection of 11 essays reveal the complexity of silent films and explore the era in which they were produced. Essentially, silent films conjure the names of Mary Pickford and a few white men, including Charlie Chaplin and D.W. Griffith. The writers of these essays, however, demonstrate that minorities and women other than Pickford responded to the times through film. The contributors deal with changing American society at a crucial time, examining our hopes and fears as a nation during the silent-film era. The book introduces us to people, films, issues and concepts that few of us have encountered. One example is screenwriter June Mathis, who wrote over 100 scripts, brought Rudolph Valentino to stardom and supervised all productions at the Goldwyn Studios in 1923. Equally intriguing is Nita Naldi, whose career and tragic life speak volumes about America's combined fascination with, and fear of, ethnic minorities. Other key players in the drama of silent films include John Randolph Bray (animated cartoons), Roscoe ""Fatty"" Arbuckle and female producer, writer and director Nell Shipman. The contributors are: Kay Armatage, Jean Chateauvert, Maureen Funiss, Mark Langer, Anne Morey, Diane Negra, George Potamianos, Joanna Rapf, Thomas J. Slater, Sam Stoloff and Judith Thissen.

About this title

Review:

Bachman and Slater offer an interesting collection of essays on unique, and in many ways, long-forgotten personalities and even 'phenomena' relating exclusively to silent film.-Gabriella Oldham, author of Keaton's Silent Shorts: Beyond the Laughter

About the Author:

Gregg Bachman is an associate professor in and chair of the Department of Communications at the University of Tampa. He has written on such diverse filmmakers as Woody Allen, Spike Lee, and Robert Altman. Thomas J. Slater is an associate professor of English and film studies at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of Milos Forman: A Bio-Bibliography and editor of Handbook of Soviet and East European Films and Filmmakers.

About this edition

• Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0809324016
• ISBN 13: 9780809324019
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 400