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A
gorgeous, lush entry in the Mark Vieira pantheon of fine film books. This
lavish, big book traces the fabulous pre-code films of the early 1930s,
its intelligent text accompanied by tons of beautiful photographic
reproductions. Informative and highly entertaining, it's a must addition
to any film lover's library. Hailing back to a cinematic era when women
were either molls, mothers, or murderous-- with no apologies-- Vieira
takes you on a cinematic journey through the gritty first years of the
Depression.
NORMA WATCH:
A good handful of photographs, including a haunting full-page still
from The Divorcee. Numerous references to Shearer, who stands
re-discovered and lauded these latter days as a pre-code groundbreaker.
It's tomes like Vieira's that point up and reinforce Norma as the star she
inherently was, and the even bigger star she would become.
FROM THE BOOK:
"Dante's
Inferno featured a loving recreation of the famous Gustave Dore
engravings. The anatomy of hundreds of glistening sinners was obscured by
airbrushed steam only in the still photographs." |
