Silent Screen

There is a great deal of pleasure to be gained from the first thirty years of American movies_even without seeing the movies. The Silent Screen is dedicated to guiding readers through some of those pleasures. The book highlights the main events, the leading lights, and the films that mattered. It is a selective history for those who want to be informed without being overwhelmed, who would like to know enough about the silent era to feel at home there, respect its artists, and admire their work. Culled from the author's five previous anthologies, The First Tycoons, The First Film Makers, The Stars Appear, The Silent Comedians, and Films of the 1920s, The Silent Screen stands alone as an inclusive series of essays for general readers. An added value to the introductory text are eleven appendixes, which include information on silent film companies, early film executives, notable directors, and a listing of the titles and directors of films reviewed in the first five volumes.

A selective history for those who want to be informed without being overwhelmed, who would like to know enough about the silent era to feel at home there, respect its artists, and admire their work.

Silents Majority

Professor MacCann gives us more than a dry recitation. His well-researched writings are infusyed with a love and fascination for his subject. Selected essays provide an overview of the notable personalities and genres that evolved from the silent era...reading the book is...like approaching an interesting house with many windows. Peering in each window reveals its own secrets...it is important to encourage the publishing industry to provide new books, like Professor McCann's....

Richard Dyer MacCann is the author of well over forty published articles and twelve books. He has served as the Hollywood correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor and as editor of Cinema Journal. He has produced five works on film and two video series, which include half-hour lectures that coordinate with the books in this series.