American Film of the 1920's and 1930's - A Subject Guide
Film's transition from silent movies to "speakies" has drawn a lot of critical and scholarly attention, both within the larger community of film studies and more specifically within Emerson's campus. In response to this heightened interest, Emerson has created several courses that focus specifically on this epoch in film studies. This subject guide is intended to assist, direct and complement students' research for these new classes. Please feel free to email a librarian for assistance in using this guide.
Before beginning subject-specific research students should consult these general subject guides which provide useful, broad resources for film studies.
- Emerson Film Studies Research Guide: http://www.emerson.edu/library/research/guides/film.cfm
- Finding Film Reviews at Emerson: http://www.emerson.edu/library/research/guides/How-to-Find-Film-Reviews.cfm
Print resources are divided into several sections: General and Period Film Reference (including Filmographies), Actors & Directors, and Musicals. The Emerson Library catalog and the Emerson Film Studies Research Guide (suggested above) are also excellent sources for print materials.
General and Period Film Reference
Cook, David A. (2004). A history of narrative film. Call number: PN1993.5.A1 C65 2004
A comprehensive resource in film history, extensive material about American film in the period of the 1920's and 1930's, organized by period/key movements. Hefty bibliography.
Grieveson, Lee. (2003). The silent cinema reader. Call Number: PN1995.75 .S547 2003
Koszarski, Richard. (1990). An evening’s entertainment: the age of the silent feature picture, 1915-1928. Call Number: PN1993.5 .U6 H55
McCaffrey, Donald W. (1999). Guide to the silent years of American cinema. Call Number: PN1995.75 .M33 1999
Pendergast, Tom and Sara Pendergast. (2000). International Dictionary of Films and Filmmmakers. 4 Volumes. Call Number: [X] PN1997.8.I58 2000
Filmographies
Neibaur, James L. (1994). RKO features: a complete filmography of the feature films released or produced by RKO Radio Pictures, 1929-1960. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. Call Number: [X] PN1999.R3 N45 1994 (Reference only)
An alphabetical listing of every feature film made by RKO. Casts, synopses, and annotations are included as well as information on independent producers who released films through the RKO studios.
Martin, Len. D. (1991). Columbia Checklist: The Feature Films, Serials, Cartoons and Short Subjects of Columbia Pictures Corporation, 1922-1988. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. Call number: [X] PN1999.C57 M37 1991 (Reference only)
A reference book documenting Columbia’s feature films, serials, cartoons and miscellaneous short subjects. Release dates, running times, major technical personnel, casts, and brief synopses are provided.
Actors and Directors
Koszarski, Richard. (1976) Hollywood directors, 1914-1940. Call Number: PN1995.9.P7 H64
Liebman, Roy. (1998). From silents to sound: a biographical encyclopedia of performers who made the transition to talking pictures. Call number: [X] PN1998.2 .L52 1998
Liebman, Roy. (1996). Silent film performers: an annotated bibliography published, unpublished and archival sources for actors and actresses. Call Number: PN1998.2 .L54 1996
Chaplin
Chaplin, Charles. (1964). My autobiography. Call Number: PN2287.C5 A32 1964
The "tramp's" story straight from his mouth. This autobiography contains an index and filmography to further research on Chaplin.
Lyons, Timothy J. (1979). Charles Chaplin: a guide to references and resources. Call Number: PN2287.C5 L9 1979
Mitchell, Glenn. (1997). The Chaplin encyclopedia. Call Number: PN2287.C5 M58 1997
Musicals
Altman, Rick. (1987). American film musical. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. Call Number: PN1995.9.M86 A48 1987
“This is the most significant and wide-ranging study of the musical as a narrative and cinematic form anyone has yet attempted. No other serious work on the musical comes close.” (www.amazon.com)
Barrios, Richard. (1995). Song in the dark: the birth of the musical film. New York: Oxford University Press. Call Number: PN1995.9.M86 B83 1995
An account of early musicals and their role in the history of film. The book examines the transition from the silent film to the “talkie”. Careers of stars, directors, and choreographers are discussed. It includes photographs, annotations and a discography.
Dunne, Michael. (2004). American film musical themes and forms. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. Call Number: PN1995.9.M86 D86 2004
This book examines subjects and themes of Hollywood musicals. Each film is analyzed in detail. Historical and political issues are explored, e.g. the Depression and race issues. The book also looks at choreography, geography, and the musical biopic.
Everett, William A. & Land, Paul R. (Eds.) (2002). The Cambridge companion to the musical. New York: Cambridge University Press. Call Number: ML2054 .C35 2002
A guide to the history and development of the musical. Part I is devoted to musicals before 1940. Both the United States and England are explored. The book includes a chronology and photos.
Green, Stanley. (1990). Hollywood musicals year by year. Milwaukee, WI: H. Leonard Publishing Corporation. Call Number: PN1995.9.M86 G74 1990
A chronology of the musical film starting with 1927 continuing to 1999. Contains numerous indexes with alphabetical listings of movies, composers/lyricists, screenwriters, directors, choreographers, and producers.
Larkin, Colin (Ed.). (2000) Encyclopedia of stage and film musicals. London: Virgin and Muze UK Ltd. Call Number: [X] ML102.M88 E53 2000 (Reference only) Contains over 1600 entries covering American and British musical history, its composers, lyricists, and shows.
Databases
Emerson College Nonprint Catalog
Catalog of non print media at Emerson, included VHS and DVD format materials. Resources include period films and excellent documentary material about this early period in film history.
Film Index International
A major film information resource with indexing of over 100,000 international films from 170 countries. Covers the silent era up to recent releases. Biographical information for over 40,000 personalities in the industry is included, starting with 1900 to the present day. Produced in collaboration with the British Film Institute.
International Index to the Performing Arts (IIPA)
Provides access to abstracts, citations, and selected full-text articles from key journals covering all subjects in the performing arts. Articles as far back as 1864 can be searched. Limited to one user at a time.
Project MUSE, Arts and Humanities Collection
Provides full text access to peer-reviewed articles from over 100 scholarly journals, including film and the performing arts. [Simmons Muse]
Readers' Guide Retrospective
Covering the years 1890 to 1982, this database provides an index of articles from the most popular periodicals published in the United States. [Simmons Guide via Wilson Select ]
Web sites
General and Period Film Reference
America in the 1930's: On Film http://xroads.virginia.edu/~1930s/FILM/filmfr.html
Includes timeline of the period and analysis of popular period genres and films. Content developed by University of Virginia American Culture students.
Edison Motion Pictures at the Library of Congress: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/edhtml/edmvhm.html
Material earlier than the 1920's, provides online access to hundreds of early silent film shorts created at Edison labs. The Library of Congress (Motion Picture & Television Reading Room) provides additional resources in early film. Only particular items are available online.
Film History of the 1920's at http://www.filmsite.org/20sintro.html and Film History of the 1930's http://www.filmsite.org/30sintro.html
Lists important films for each year, includes brief description for each film and longer analysis for many.
Media History Timeline Project (1920's) http://www.mediahistory.umn.edu/time/1920s.html
Timeline of significant events in media for each year (films, books, etc.) Links to other decades (1930's).
Actors and Directors
Busby Berkeley. Gold Diggers of 1933: http://www.classicmoviefavorites.com/berkeley/bio.html
Biography of director and choreographer, Busby Berkeley. Includes filmographies and animated production numbers.
Charlie Chaplin's FBI File: http://www.fadetoblack.com/foi/charliechaplin/
Musicals
Milestones in Classic Hollywood/American Films: http://www.filmsite.org/
With a page dedicated to musicals alone, this Web site is a comprehensive index for all American films. Contains film history by decade and information about directors, choreographers, and performers.
Musicals101.com: http://www.musicals101.com
A resource for the history of musical theatre, film and television covering material from 1700 to the present day. Gives profiles of composers, lyricists, actors and actresses who were so important to these productions.
The Great MGM Musicals Page: http://hometown.aol.com/Mgmfanatic/index.html
A list of all MGM musicals produced from 1929 to the present. Contains cast members, songs, plot summaries and photographs.
For more information about this page contact: Cathy Abraham, Christina Frederick, Paul Johns, or Sue Russell.
Updated May 9, 2006