"This is the definitive history of New York filmmaking in the first half of the twentieth century-and this is no small story or accomplishment." - Steven J. Ross (author of Working-Class Hollywood: Silent Film and the Shaping of Class in Amer) "A perfect blend of Hollywood history, film analysis, and New York cultural history. Richard Koszarski is oneof the preemnient film historians of our time." - Jeanine Basinger (chair of film studies, Wesleyan University) "Koszarski's book is both industrial saga and film-buff opium den: Not only does he include all aspects of film production in New York, but also television. The author also writes with such fire and detail about all these films that you quickly forget most of them are either lost, incomplete, or difficult to see at best" - Philippe Garnier (LA Weekly) "This huge, richly detailed revisionist history of the relationship between Hollywood and New York City from the turn of the 20th century until WWII is an enormously important, ceaselessly eye-opening work of Gotham-based cultural anthropology and archaeology. This book gives back to New York a continuous history of invention and creativity that, without Koszarski's Herculean labors, might have disappeared forever. Marvelous, invaluable, breathtaking film history." (Directors Guild Quarterly) "Meticulously researched and richly detailed, this superb book documents film and, later, television production in the New York City area during the first half of the twentieth century. Koszarski covers every imaginable aspect of moving-image production of the East Coast during this period. The depth of the research is astounding. Koszarski brings to life a period when much of television, and even theatrical films, were centered in Manhattan to take advantage of the proximity of Broadway. A remarkable accomplishment and an indispensable, accessible guide to the period. Essential." (Choice) "Koszarski offers a massive and intensely detailed study of New York-based filmmaking in the years between the world wars. Koszarski shows how New York-area filmmakers drew on a region chockablock with actors, directors, writers, artists, costumers, and other creative types." (Chronicle of Higher Education)
