Overview
Slow Fade to Black completes Richard B. Jewells richly detailed two-part history of the RKO film studio, which began with RKO Radio Pictures: A Titan Is Born, published in 2012. This second volume charts the studios fortunes, which peaked during World War II, declined in the postwar period, and finally collapsed in the 1950s. Drawing on hard-to-access archival materials, Jewell chronicles the period from 1942 to the companys demise in 1957. Towering figures associated with the studio included Howard Hughes, Orson Welles, Charles Koerner, Val Lewton, Jane Russell, and Robert Mitchum. In addition to featuring an extraordinary cast of characters, the RKO story describes key aspects of entertainment history: Hollywoods collaboration with Washington, film noir, censorship, HUAC, the rise of independent film production, and the impact of television on film. Taken as a whole, Jewells two-volume study represents the most substantial and insightful exploration of the Hollywood studio system to date.
- | Author: Richard B. Jewell
- | Publisher: University Of California Press
- | Publication Date: Mar 22, 2016
- | Number of Pages: 288 pages
- | Language: English
- | Binding: Paperback
- | ISBN-10: 0520289676
- | ISBN-13: 9780520289673
