Behind the Scenes: The Making of...

Hollywood/NY/London/Toronto: Samuel French. Near Fine. 1990 (c.1982). 1st printing thus. Softcover. [slight bumping to bottom right corner, with resulting minor bending at lower corners of the first half of the book, plus a short diagonal crease at the bottom corner of the front cover; otherwise nice and clean and virtually as new]. Trade PB (B&W photographs) Deeply-researched, erudite, and heartfelt "making of" essays about fifteen great American films -- not necessarily "the best," as the author admits, but just a selection of "the audience's most cherished American sound feature films released between late 1931 and 1952" -- and, he's not shy about admitting, his own personal favorites as well. Rudy Behlmer was one of our great film historians, and his introduction tells us why: in addition to going into some detail about his own methods of research and writing, he puts forth a comprehensive and impassioned account about the importance of seeking out primary documentation -- in repositories both private (the studios themselves) and public (various libraries and archives). And although much of his reputation rests on his brilliant compilation and editing of such documents -- most notably for his books "Memo from David O. Selznick" (1982) and "Inside Warner Bros. (1935-1951)" (1985) -- he unabashedly confesses that it was the research and writing of this book that brought him "an extra quota of gratification." And talk about a great lineup of movies! Here are the inside stories of the making of: THE MALTESE FALCON; SINGIN' IN THE RAIN; SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS; STAGECOACH; A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE; TARZAN AND HIS MATE; THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD; THE AFRICAN QUEEN; ALL ABOUT EVE; CASABLANCA; FRANKENSTEIN; THE GRAPES OF WRATH; GUNGA DIN; HIGH NOON; LAURA; and LOST HORIZON. Plunge in, and enjoy! (Originally published under the title "America's Greatest Movies: Behind the Scenes.") (xx) .