Screen Deco: A Celebration of High Style in Hollywood

Howard Mandelbaum

ISBN 10: 0312705905 / ISBN 13: 9780312705909

Published by St. Martin's Press, 1985

Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0312705905I3N00

Synopsis:

Long sought-after in the out-of-print market, SCREEN DECO is a witty and detailed look at the fabulous Art Deco designs in the films of the Twenties and Thirties. Lavishly illustrated with stills from movies famous and obscure, SCREEN DECO appeals to the film historian as well as anyone interested in the rise of High Style Deco. Chapters cover, among other topics, the design of musicals, ocean liners, and futurist cinematic epics. The final chapter presents portraits of the stars who personified the Deco "look."

Reviews: Mandelbaum and Myers take the reader on an entertaining tour of the Hollywood of the 1920s through the '40s, examining the glamour of movie sets, where Art Deco flourished. Opulence in the celluloid fantasy world, they note, was popular with audiences because films created a refuge from the drudgery of their lives and the poverty of the Depression. Cedric Gibbons was the first Hollywood designer "to fully exploit the new Modernist decor" in Our Dancing Daughters (1928) and the trend continued through Busby Berkeley's extravaganzas, reaching its height in the Fred AstaireGinger Rogers collaborations of the '30s. The role of the art director is examined briefly, and mention is made of the influence of the Hollywood-style on society (many stars and directors, acting out public yearnings, lived in mansions modelled after their film dwellings). Mandelbaum is co-author of Flesh and Fantasy; Myers is a motion picture publicist. Photos. Nostalgia Book Club and Movie/Entertainment Book Club selections. December 9
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Screen Deco: A Celebration of High Style in ...
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: 1985
Binding: Paperback
Condition: Good
Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket