Starstruck

For four decades film historian Ira M. Resnick has been amassing a superb collection of 2,000 vintage movie posters and 1,500 stills, which has never before been published. Starstruck: Vintage Movie Posters from Classic Hollywood features the best of Resnicks collection, with vivid reproductions of 250 posters and forty stills from the golden age of Hollywood, 1912 to 1962. In a moving introduction, Resnick relates how his love of vintage movie art translated into a career as a collector and the founder of the Motion Picture Arts Gallery, the first gallery devoted exclusively to the art of the movies. Resnicks firsthand account offers entertaining anecdotes about how he managed to acquire such stellar film artwork, as well as historical information about the stars and films shown on the pieces he collected. Guiding the reader through the best posters and stills of his collection, Resnick provides a tour of cinematic history, starting in the silent film era and continuing up to Breakfast at Tiffanys (1961). By showcasing several posters for each performersuch as Lillian Gish, the Marx Brothers, Marilyn Monroe, John Barrymore, and Audrey HepburnResnick offers a unique method of charting the evolution of each movie stars career. Organizing his account both chronologically and thematically, in later chapters Resnick discusses some of Hollywoods legendary directors and films, and critiques fantastic graphic art from little-known films. Bonus material includes a list of Resnicks fifty favorite one-sheets, helpful tips for the collector, and a glossary of terms and poster sizes. A must-have book for every collector and film buff, Starstruck offers a beautifully illustrated, personal tour of a bygone age of the motion picture advertising industry.