Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, CCLIV (November, 1947). This issue is devoted to a consideration of the motion picture from the viewpoint of the producer, the exhibitor, the clergyman, the economist, the sociologist, the educator, the anthropologist, and others, each of whom discusses the medium in a different light. Taken together, these opinions form a useful and interesting composite picture of film as a mass medium.
2.
ChartersW. W.Motion Pictures and Youth.New York: Macmillan Co., 1935. This small book summarizes a series of twelve important studies of the influence of motion pictures upon children made by the Committee on Educational Research of the Payne Fund.
3.
ForsythHardy, (Editor). Grierson on Documentary.New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1947. John Grierson's writings, as compiled in this book, reflect a new trend, a new kind of thinking about film, dealing with the documentary film but also taking into account such topics as “How Hollywood Looks at Life,” “The Course of Realism,” and “The Nature of Propaganda.” To understand the role of film in our present day, one should read the thoughts of one of the more important motion-picture producers of our time, John Grierson.
4.
InglisRuth A.Freedom of the Movies: A Report on Self-Regulation from the Commission on Freedom of the Press. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1947. This is a companion work to another report by the same commission on Freedom of the Press. The author sketches the social role of the film, examines the provisions of the social role of the film, examines the provisions of the Production Code, and discusses the many pressures—economic, social, and legal—which attend the process of making motion pictures.
5.
JacobsLewisThe Rise of the American Film.New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1939. A thorough, historical coverage of the development of the motion-picture industry up to 1939. A standard work for those interested in the background of the American film.
6.
RostenLeo C.Hollywood, the Movie Colony, the Movie Makers.New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1941. The result of a three-year observation of Hollywood by social scientists, this book deals with the manners and mores of Hollywood. The second half of the work discusses movie producers, actors, directors, and writers. Interesting and useful statistical data are included in the appendix.
7.
RothaPaulThe Film ‘till Now.New York: Peter Smith, 1931. The author, one of the best-known documentary-film producers in the world, in this extensive history of the motion picture both in America and abroad, gives a well-illustrated and carefully documented picture of the film from its beginnings to the date of publication.
8.
ScharyDoreCase History of a Movie. New York: Random House, 1950. This is the story of how a film was made. The film is The Next Voice You Hear. The author is executive producer for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. A useful book, written from the point of view of a socially sensitive Hollywood movie-maker of note. Seldes, Gilbert. The Great Audience. New York: Viking Press, 1950. A well-written, easy-reading book which deals with the mass media and which places the motion picture in its perspective in relation to the radio and press.
