Hollywood Movie Stills

Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe... It is through the eye of the stills camera that we experience and recall some of the cinema's most memorable events and faces. Still images are so powerful that they can easily pass for actual scenes for the movies they represent - rather than separately posed, lighted and photographed shots that may not even find their way into the finished film.  

This book is the most detailed and perceptive survey ever devoted to this neglected aspect of film-making. It traces the origin of stills photography during the silent era and the early development of the star system, through to the rise of the giant studios in the 1930s and their eventual decline. Finler focuses on the photographers, on the stars they photographed, and on many key films and film-makers.

Hollywood Movie Stills is illustrated with hundreds of rare and unusual stills from the author's own collection, including not only portraits and scene stills but production shots, behind-the-scenes photos, poster art, calendar art, photo collages and trick shots. There are also photos showing the stars' private lives and special events in Hollywood. This lavishly presented new edition of Finler's classic work includes many new stills and much new insight and information into this fascinating aspect of the great film studios in their heyday."Of enlightening importance to film students, large collections, and universities." – Library Journal Review

" the book shines from cover to cover, and would make a great addition to the library or coffee table of any photography buff or cinephile." – Icrontic Joel W. Finler was the first film critic for Time Out. He is the author of numerous books on cinema, including Stroheim, Alfred Hitchcock - The Hollywood Years, The Movie Director's Story and the award-winning The Hollywood Story.