The American Film Industry (revised edition)
Tino BalioPreface by Tino Balio:
This book, comprising original papers & previously published materials, is designed primarily as a collateral text for undergraduate courses dealing with the development of American film. My goal in bringing together these readings is to present a systematic survey of the history of the industry, allowing the individual materials to suggest to the reader ways in which the realities of economics, changing legal restraints, technological advances, studio organization & procedures, financing, distribution trade practices, & exhibitor preferences have influenced the form & content of the movies. No other American art form, including theater, dance, music, & fine arts, has been subjected to so many constraints, nor has any other art been influenced so heavily by the predilections of the business world. The organization of the book delineates the development of the industry in terms of its economic structure. It is divided into 4 parts, each of which is preceded by an introduction presenting an overview of the period as an aid to the reader in placing the readings in context.