(no dust jacket, as issued) [good solid copy with intact binding (often not the case with these heavy volumes), but with some edgewear to covers (including exposure of the boards at several spots)]. (B&W photographs, advertisements) Biographies, directories, statistics, surveys, etc., focusing primarily on the American film industry but also devoting quite a bit of space to the international marketplace. Sections: Who's Who (brief biographies and credits of thousands of individuals, which takes up 772 of the book's 1,250 pages); Corporate Structure & Financial Statements: Motion Picture Production Organizations; Distribution; Exhibition; Managers' Round Table: British Film Market; Foreign Film Market; Production: List of Product (films arranged by producing company); Distribution; Exhibition; Operation (incorporating Managers Round Table); The British Film Market; The Foreign Film Market; Theatre Equipment; Sponsored Films (The Industrial & Advertising Picture Market); Radio; Pictures (brief credits, release dates and running times for features released in the 1936-37 and 1937-38 "seasons"); The Press; Motion Picture Societies. (I find the "Foreign Film Market" to be most interesting, with its assessments of the film industries in numerous countries (and the prospects for American films there), on the eve of World War II. There are one- or two-page analyses devoted to these industries/markets: Argentina, Australia, Austria, China, France, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Japan, and Mexico -- but, notably, not Germany, which gets only a couple of short paragraphs in a general survey section, and includes the cautionary notes that "American product is at the strict minimum necessary to supplement Germany's insufficient production" and that "films considered by the ministry to be 'detrimental to German prestige' are barred.") Interspersed throughout the volume are advertisements for both companies and individuals. ****NOTE that additional postage charges will be assessed for international shipping of this heavy book; if this concerns you, please contact us for a shipping quote before placing your order. As always at ReadInk, domestic Media Mail shipping is FREE.****
