Few people would argue with the films selected for detailed notices and reviews in this book. Many of the movies are award-winners, and most chalked up impressive figures at the box-office. Who would dispute the inclusion of Citizen Kane or Rebecca or The Best Years of Our Lives? However, along with The Yearling and Reap the Wild Wind and Hello, Frisco, Hello, I've also included a few surprises. A magnificent publication. -- Rodney Bourke in International Movie Making (April 2006).

When most people think of movie musicals, films like "Singin' in the Rain", "Sound of Music", "The Red Shoes", "On the Town", "White Christmas", "Ziegfeld Follies", "Top Hat", "Funny Face" and "Funny Girl" immediately come to mind. Such films are included in this book, as are many of the works of major stars, including Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby, Gene Kelly, Betty Grable, Shirley Temple, Julie Andrews, Elvis Presley, Lucille Ball, Alice Faye, Jeanette MacDonald, Maurice Chevalier, Nelson Eddy, Doris Day, Dick Powell, Betty Hutton, Eleanor Powell, and Al Jolson. But attention is also drawn to less lavishly produced but very pleasant musical offerings from both major and minor studios (including perhaps the finest "B" musical ever made). In all, 125 pictures are reviewed and detailed with full cast and technical credits, plus songs and musical numbers, awards, release dates and other essential background information.

Hollywood has had an off and on romance with the Bible -- thanks largely to Cecil B. DeMille whose ground-breaking silent picture "The King of Kings" has rarely been equalled for its faithfulness and fidelity, and certainly not in its dreadful re-make by producer Sam Bronston and director Nicholas Ray. This book examines both the hits and misses in the Bible stakes, as well as many other movies in which religion plays a major role, such as "The Garden of Allah", "Samson and Delilah", "The Silence of Dean Maitland", "Stars in My Crown", "Mary of Scotland" and "The Ten Commandments".

Famous features such as "Sherlock Holmes Faces Death," "Johnny Allegro," "My Forbidden Past," "His Kind of Woman," "The Big Carnival," and "After the Thin Man" are examined, plus the "Bulldog Drummond" series, and a number of serials including "The Clutching Hand," "Chick Carter, Detective," "Panther Girl of the Congo," "Holt of the Secret Service" and "The Last of the Mohicans." Two bonus features are monographs on Robert Siodmak (of "Cobra Woman," "The Phantom Lady," "The Spiral Staircase," etc.) and Otto Preminger, who made "Laura," "Fallen Angel," "Whirlpool," "Where the Sidewalk Ends," "The 13th Letter" and "Angel Face."

What is a mixed movie? A film to which artists of various nationalities contribute. Popular examples are "Land of the Pharaohs," "The Bridge on the River Kwai," "Casino Royale" and "The Sundowners." British players like Errol Flynn, Stewart Granger, Rex Harrison and James Mason have always been welcome in Hollywood. Not so well known are the numerous examples of American actors who lent their talents to British films, such as Robert Ayres, Phyllis Kirk, Mona Freeman, Frank Sinatra, Carol Lynley, William Bendix, Russ Tamblyn, William Holden, Raquel Welch, Joan Crawford, Gene Tierney, Van Johnson, Vincent Price, Tab Hunter, Alex Nicol, Zachary Scott, and Wayne Morris, to mention but a few such appearances that are detailed in this book.

Almost all the CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD MOVIES discussed in this book are currently available on DVD. Many are sold by specialist stores such as Oldies. And now that vintage titles are being pressed on demand, theoretically they will never go out of print! However, an attempt has been made to include some of the classics that are not so well-known, as well as those that are more frequently aired on TV or are prominently featured in retail and mail order stores. Here, for example, are a few of the movie titles that begin with the letter "S" Seven Keys to Baldpate (1917), Seven Keys to Baldpate (1947), She Goes To War (1929), the Shining Adventure (1925), the Ship of Lost Men (1929), Show-Off (1926), Silent Enemy (1930), Sky Bride (1932), Sky High (1922), Slums of New York (1932), the Smart Set (1928), Son of the Gods (1930), Speedway (1929), Spite Marriage (1929), the Squall (1929), Square Shoulders (1929), Stranger in Town (1932), Strictly Unconventional (1930), Sunset Trail (1932), Svengali (1931).

Movies detailed in this book include both films that are well-known and those that are somewhat obscure, although nearly all are now available on DVD. Titles include The Bat Whispers, The Bishop Misbehaves, Black Midnight, Caesar and Cleopatra, Chisum, City Beneath the Sea, Comedy of Terrors, Corsair, The Count of Monte Cristo, Cromwell, The Egyptian, The Glass Web, How To Marry a Millionaire, The Jack-Knife Man, Key to the City, Kiss Me Deadly, Ladies Love Danger, Midnight, Our Hospitality, The Road to Reno, So This Is New York, Stella Dallas, Stormy Weather, The Thirteenth Guest, Tickle Me, Titanic, Tower of London, Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round, The Valley of Decision, Viva Zapata!, You Can't Cheat an Honest Man.

Many of your favorite movie musicals are sure to be represented in this book. Classics like "Rose Marie" and "Calamity Jane" rub shoulders with "Artists and Models," "Babes on Broadway," "The Bohemian Girl," "The Inspector General" and "The Kid from Brooklyn." Bing and Bob are off on "The Road to Singapore," Eddie Cantor is involved in "Roman Scandals," while Mitzi Gaynor enjoys her stay in "South Pacific." Will Rogers, Jeanne Crain and Alice Faye all have a go in the various versions of "State Fair" and we catch Deanna Durbin in "Three Smart Girls," "Three Smart Girls Grow Up," "It Started with Eve" and "Something in the Wind." And that's just a small sampling of the wonders in store in "More Movie Musicals."

This third collection of widescreen wonders photographed in CinemaScope, focuses on such popular movies as "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing," "Cleopatra," "Three Coins in the Fountain," "Bus Stop," "There's No Business Like Show Business," "The Seven Year Itch," "Let's Make Love," "Peyton Place," "North to Alaska," "The Longest Day," "The Eddy Duchin Story," "Far from the Madding Crowd," "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit," "The Helen Morgan Story," "A Star Is Born" and "2001: A Space Odyssey."

This grab-bag of movie westerns ranges from the best to the worst; from lavish, no-expense-spared Cecil B. DeMille epics to Poverty Row double bills; from big-budget John Wayne vehicles like "In Old Oklahoma," "The War Wagon" and "The Fighting Kentuckian" to the sort of bottom-drawer product delivered by Sherman Scott and Monogram; from prestige, star-studded westerns like "My Darling Clementine" and "How the West Was Won" to the depths of "The Toughest Man in Arizona"; from the expertly crafted, super-popular "B" stables of Gene Autry, William Boyd, Roy Rogers, Charles Starrett and company to the fly-by-night efforts of long-forgotten brands like "The Range Busters." All reviews carry detailed credits. The book is rounded out with a Hopalong Cassidy filmography and many reproductions of original film posters.