Hollywood Movie Stills

More about the book

Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe...It is through the eye of the stills camera that we experience and recall some of the cinema's most memorable moments and faces. Still images are so powerful they can easily pass for actual scenes from the movies they represent--rather than separately posed, lighted and photographed shot that may not even find their way into the finished film.Joel Finler's Hollywood Movie Stills is the first book devoted to this neglected aspect of filmmaking. It traces the origin of stills photography during the silent era and first development of the star system, throughout the rise of the giant studios in the 1930s and their subsequent decline. It focuses on the photographers; on the stars they photographed; and on many key films and filmmakers.The book is illustrated by hundreds of rare and unusual still from the author's own collection, including not only portraits and scene still but production shots, behind-the-scenes photos, poster art, calendar art, leg art, photo collages and trick shots; there are, too, photos showing the stars' private lives and special events in Hollywood--all produced in vast numbers by the great studios in their heyday.