Movies in the Age of Innocence, 3d ed.

Edward Wagenknecht (1900–2004) was the author of well over 60 titles, covering a wide variety of subjects, most notably British and American literary biography and criticism. In addition to his work on the early film, he wrote of still earlier actors and actresses from the legitimate stage, and of the history of New England and Chicago.

• Table of ContentsForeword by Anthony Slide 1Preface to the Third Edition by Walter Wagenknecht 7The 1962 and 1971 Prefaces by Edward Wagenknecht 13Introduction: Of Film and I, and How This Book Unwittingly Got Itself Started 15I. “Came the Dawn” 31II. “D. W. Griffith Presents…” 58III. “America’s Sweetheart” 97IV. “Famous Players in Famous Plays” 123V. “The Ladies—God Bless Them!” 156Appendix: Lillian Gish: An Interpretation 177Other Books by Edward Wagenknecht 185Chapter Notes 187Index of Names 205Index of Titles 211

Reviews of previous editions: “We have never had first-hand audience-eye testimony on the achievements of this period before and here, at last, it is”—Richard Griffith, [late] Curator of Films, The Museum of Modern Art, New York City; “Mr. Wagenknecht has striven to give a portrayal faithful to the truth and has superbly achieved this goal in The Movies in the Age of Innocence”—Mary Pickford; “it is the best book on films I have ever read”—Lillian Gish; “as vivid and readable as a fan magazine...packed with information, a lot of it difficult or impossible to come by elsewhere.”—Times Literary Supplement.