FILM CLASSICS AND VINTAGE MOVIES

"John Howard Reid's film books go from strength to strength. Ideal for the movie buff, DVD and film collectors, these books are crammed full of facts, with many excellent illustrations." -- Roy Salmons in International Movie Making.

HOLLYWOOD'S CLASSIC COMEDIES featuring Slapstick, Romance, Music, Glamour or Screwball Fun! 200 Films rated and reviewed by John Howard Reid. Yes, "Hold That Ghost" is one of the two hundred. So what do you expect in a typical entry? First, you'll find a comprehensive cast list, ranging from Bud Abbott (Chuck Murray) and Lou Costello (Ferdie Jones) through to Ronnie Rondell as the headwaiter (Ronnie was later an assistant director) and Harry Wilson (as Harry). Secondly, you get a comprehensive behind-the-camera listing from director Arthur Lubin through photographer Joseph Valentine (who was brought in to shoot the nightclub scenes) to producer Alex Gottlieb. Then we have a listing of the songs, starting with "Sleepy Serenade" rendered by the Andrews Sisters, and composed by Mort Greene and Lou Singer. Copyright and release details follow. New York premiere was held at the Capitol on 7 August 1941. Sydney opening was at the State on 14 May 1943. A brief synopsis and some background notes (the original ending was dumped in favor of a musical finale) lead into a review in which I claim that the whole movie is a constant delight. The vastly amusing script provides Abbott and Costello with an inexhaustible array of comic situations. The film has many memorable highpoints, the songs are great, direction and photography engrossingly imaginative, production values absolutely first-class. Finally, I provide some details of the DVD. Multiply this entry by 200 and you have the bulk of HOLLYWOOD'S CLASSIC COMEDIES. But there's more: An index of course, but also a listing of the book's comedians from Bud Abbott and Lou Costello through to Roland Young; plus my selection of "100 Highlights of Movie Comedy." What do I think is the funniest comedy ever made? It's in the book. Does "Hold That Ghost" figure on the list? It doesn't actually. Just misses out. However, there is one Abbott and Costello vehicle on the list. Number 69 actually. It's in the book!

SCIENCE-FICTION & FANTASY CINEMA. When movie lovers think of science-fiction, fantasy and horror, titles that inevitably come to mind include "Metropolis", "Forbidden Planet", "The Creature from the Black Lagoon", "Frankenstein", "Dracula", "The Mummy", "The Wolf Man", "The Invisible Man", "The Phantom of the Opera", "The Day the Earth Stood Still", "Destination Moon" and "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea". These movies, of course, are covered in detail in this large-format, 320-page book. But Fantasy Cinema is not only Frankenstein, Chanoc, Santo, Dr Mabuse and company. It's Cinderella and Francis, Peter Pan and Scrooge, Doctor X and Kong, Sindbad and Faust, "The Hound of the Baskervilles" and "Cobra Woman", "The Thief of Bagdad" and "The Picture of Dorian Gray", "The Terror" and "Peter Ibbetson", "Pinocchio" and "The Mysterious Dr Fu Manchu". It's "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Belle of New York", "Mr Peek-A-Boo" and "The Merry Widow", "Gorilla at Large" and "Star Wars", "The Time of Their Lives" and "The Horn Blows at Midnight." These films and many more are examined, with complete cast, credit and release details. Plus a listing of 130 Top Flights of Film Fantasy. Plus 25 reproductions of classic posters.

GREAT HOLLYWOOD WESTERNS: Classic Pictures, Must-See Movies & "B" Films. A round-up of favorite westerns from "Aces and Eights" to "River of No Return", from "Colorado Sundown" to "Under California Stars", from "Big Calibre" to "The Yodellin' Kid from Pine Ridge". Featured stars include Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Bill Boyd, Charles Starrett, Buck Jones, Hoot Gibson, Bob Steele, Rex Bell, Tex Ritter, Ken Maynard, Tim McCoy, Jack Perrin, Johnny Mack Brown, Robert Mitchum, Randolph Scott. 35 great illustrations plus TEN Marilyn Monroe posters from "River of No Return".

GREAT CINEMA DETECTIVES: Best Movies of Mystery, Suspense & Film Noir. Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor in "The Maltese Falcon" figure on the front cover; Alan Ladd, Gail Russell and William Bendix in "Calcutta" are on the back. Alan Ladd's reputation as a hardboiled private eye has not survived well, but when I was growing up, Ladd was regarded as number one by moviegoers everywhere. Bogart ran a distinct third to William Powell. This book also features many other detective tough guys including Robert Mitchum, Tyrone Power, Basil Rathbone, Richard Widmark, Spencer Tracy, Dick Powell, John Howard, Van Heflin, Tom Conway and George Sanders, and even Ronald Reagan. All the "Thin Man" movies are detailed, and all the Margaret Rutherford "Miss Marple" adventures. And, of course, Alfred Hitchcock is represented too.

BEST WESTERN MOVIES: Winning Pictures, Favorite Films and Hollywood "B" entries. 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. The price: $19.95. Now available in the shops. Copies can also be purchased direct from Lulu at http://www.lulu.com/filmindex

SUCCESS IN THE CINEMA: Money-Making Movies and Critics' Choices. This book examines over one hundred movies that have achieved success in the cinema. Each film is accompanied by detailed credits and release information. Basically, there are three measures of success. First off are pictures like "The Crowd" and "Applause" that achieve rave reviews from the critics and even go on to win awards, but fail to recover their negative costs. Then there are the movies the critics hate, but the public take to their hearts. All three versions of "Back Street", for instance. Finally come the pictures everyone likes, perhaps for different reasons, but that does not matter. A picture that sets the whole nation cheering, like "From Here To Eternity" or "Sunset Boulevard", is the dream of every producer. And when you think of success in the Hollywood Golden Age, one name stands out above all others: Cecil B. DeMille. Pictures reviewed from this justly famous producer-director include "The Crusades", "Sign of the Cross", "The Story of Dr Wassell", "Union Pacific" and both versions of "The Buccaneer". However, the book also notes a "B" movie produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille, a movie that cost a fair amount of money but that proved so unpopular it was released in some territories as a support. The book also covers some other disastrous major studio failures, including the M-G-M movie that cost over $4 million to make and returned almost nothing. The book's price: $19.95. Now available in the shops. Copies can also be purchased direct from Lulu at http://www.lulu.com/filmindex

MORE MOVIE MUSICALS. 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".

HOLLYWOOD CLASSICS INDEX BOOKS 1-16: A-Z. This is not only a vital reference source, providing classic cinema fans with a comprehensive Index to all the movies detailed in the previous books (with all title changes meticulously cross-referenced, plus year of production), it also supplies a visual feast for admirers and collectors of vintage movie posters. Over 200 of these wonderfully striking works of art are reproduced in this large-format book.

16. MOVIE MUSICALS by John Howard Reid. 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.

As the name implies, this beautifully presented, large format, 270-page book, covers movie musicals, providing cast, credit and background details for such classics as "Annie Get Your Gun", "Blue Skies", "Dixie", "Duffy's Tavern", "The Firefly", "Flying Down To Rio", "Funny Girl", "Funny Face", "Go Into Your Dance", "Gold Diggers of 1933", "Gold Diggers of 1937", "Hips, Hips, Hooray", "I'm No Angel", "Kiss Me Kate", "Love Me Tonight", "Maytime", "Moulin Rouge", "My Wild Irish Rose", "One Hour With You", "On Moonlight Bay", "On the Avenue", "On the Town", "Poor Little Rich Girl", "The Red Shoes", "Road to Bali", "Road to Morocco", "Road to Rio", "Rose of Washington Square", "Roberta", "Shall We Dance", "Singin' in the Rain", "Sound of Music", "Stowaway", "Thoroughly Modern Millie", "Top Hat", "Where Do We Go From Here?", "White Christmas", and "Ziegfeld Follies". Here's a question for you: "Funny Girl" starring Barbra Streisand as Fanny Brice is a re-make of what other famous musical in the above list? Hint: the original movie starred Alice Faye as the Fanny Brice character and Tyrone Power (one of his performances ever!) as Bart Clinton/Nicky Arnstein. Of course, the above list is a mere sampling. You'll also find the best "B" musical ever made (it starts with "M". You'll see it right after "The Mikado" and just before "Miss Sadie Thompson") and even one of the worst movies ever to come out of Hollywood: "Sensations of 1945". What a cast! What a disappointment! Around 125 movies all told are included in this book, plus some nice reproductions of original film posters. At $19.95, this lavish book represents a real bargain.

You can also order for $19.95, direct from the publisher. Please use this link:

http://www.lulu.com/filmindex

15. FILMS FAMOUS, FANCIFUL, FROLICSOME & FANTASTIC by John Howard Reid. Remember Humpy, the Talking Camel? It's amazing how many people do, even though he made only the one movie. Trouble is, few of us remember the name of that movie. It wasn't "Humpy!" Or "Humpy and the Slave Girl". Anyway, Humpy proved so popular and made so much money for Universal, the studio embarked on its low-budget Francis, the Talking Mule, series just two years later. But Humpy's initial (and only) picture was this big, "A", Technicolor opus. Well, that's just one of the movies covered in FILMS, FAMOUS, FANCIFUL, FROLICSOME & FANTASTIC. Other pictures that qualify on all four counts include "The 5,000 Fingers of Dr T", "Monsoon", "Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island", "The Return of Chandu", "Aloma of the South Seas", "Alice in Wonderland", "Arabian Nights", "The Band Wagon", "The Bribe", "Elephant Walk", "Fort Algiers", "Gulliver's Travels", "Jungle Jim", "Steamboat Bill, Junior", "Underwater!" and so on. Plus the movie that director John Farrow told me was his best picture! (Hint, it stars his favorite actor, Ray Milland). Three counts out of four movies are plentiful too: "A Foreign Affair", "Babes on Broadway", "The Barkleys of Broadway", "The Smallest Show On Earth", "Speak Easily", "Old Wives for New", "Miss Lulu Bett", "Beauty and the Boss", "The Fifth Chair", "Fun in Acapulco", etc. In fact, over 160 movies are detailed and reviewed in this 256-page book. Plus a monograph on director of Fred Zinnemann. 35 pages of illustrations, plus full-color covers. Only $19.95 from Amazon (please use link below) or Lulu: http://www.lulu.com/filmindex

9. HOLLYWOOD GOLD: Films of the Forties and Fifties. Some marvelous movies are detailed in these 258 pages, including "The Thin Man Goes Home", "13 Rue Madeleine", "You'll Never Get Rich", "You Were Never Lovelier", "We're Not Married", "Where the Sidewalk Ends", "Second Chorus", "The Sky's the Limit", "The Sea Wolf", "Letter from an Unknown Woman", "The Adventures of Mark Twain", "The Postman Always Rings Twice". And of course "Valley of the Kings" which is featured on the front cover.

8. HOLLYWOOD'S MIRACLES OF ENTERTAINMENT. I notice this 248-page book is currently on special for only $13.06. The normal price is $19.95. Like all other books in this "Hollywood Classics" series, it's a large format volume with details and reviews of many vintage movies, illustrated with a number of interesting reproductions of classic movie posters including "I'll Be Yours" (Deanna Durbin), "Platinum Blonde" (Loretta Young), "King Kong" (Fay Wray), "Desire" (Marlene Dietrich), "Charlie Chan at the Olympics" (Warner Oland), "The Wolf Man" (Lon Chaney), "The Invisible Man" (Claude Rains), "Hondo" (John Wayne), "Rancho Notorious" (Marlene Dietrich), "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" (John Wayne), "Against All Flags" (Errol Flynn). And of course "Miracle on 34th Street".

7. YOUR COLOSSAL MAIN FEATURE PLUS FULL SUPPORT PROGRAM. Remember the days when theaters offered a full three-hour (and sometimes more) program of cinema entertainment? At a typical neighborhood venue, the curtain would rise on a newsreel, and that would be followed by a short subject (hopefully a comedy like "Any Old Port" with Laurel and Hardy, or "Chicken Feed" with Billy Gilbert, or "Monkey Businessmen" with The Three Stooges, or "Taxi Barons" with Ben Blue; or perhaps a musical short like "Hoagy Carmichael"). It was then time for a couple of trailers advertising next week's attractions. And now that most of the latecomers were seated, on came the support feature: maybe Bela Lugosi in "Invisible Ghost", or popular Lupe Velez (supported by super-popular Lean Errol) as the "Mexican Spitfire", or Buck Jones as "Stone of Silver Creek", or Tex Ritter (with Rita Hayworth yet) in "Trouble in Texas", or Fay Wray in "Navy Secrets", or John Wayne in "His Private Secretary", or Glenda Farrell as Torchy Blane in movies like "Fly-Away Baby", or a great line-up of stars like Edward Arnold, Ann Harding, Donna Reed, Stephen McNally, Allen Jenkins and Reginald Denny in "Eyes in the Night". Sometimes there was even a serial like "Mystery Mountain" with Ken Maynard. Whatever, as soon as the "B" feature came to an end, it was time for the cartoon: "Bugs Bunny Rides Again" or "The Clock Watcher" with Donald Duck, or "Dizzy Dishes" with Betty Boop, or Popeye in "Man on the Flying Trapeze, or Mighty Mouse in "Wolf! Wolf!" INTERVAL: a time buy ice creams, chocolates and lollies from the Candy Bar. After Interval, more trailers for coming attractions. The Best Movie Ever Made was always the one Coming Next Week, a colossal main feature like "Jezebel" or "High Noon" or "The Great Waltz" or "Great Ziegfeld" or "The Merry Widow" or "Manhattan Melodrama" or "Young Mr Lincoln" or "White Shadows in the South Seas" or "Mutiny on the Bounty" or "I'm No Angel" or "The Rains Came" or "Bulldog Drummond" or "Becky Sharp" or "Little Miss Marker" or "A Star Is Born" or "Wife versus Secretary" or "Waikiki Wedding" or "A Midsummer Night's Dream" or "Mr Smith Goes to Washington" or "Rio Rita", "Alexander's Ragtime Band", or "Ball of Fire" or "Mr Deeds Goes to Town" or "Road to Zanzibar". Well, that's just a small section of the movies reviewed and detailed in this great book.

6. POPULAR PICTURES OF THE HOLLYWOOD 1940's. This 153-page, large-format book covers a lot of territory. The text is printed in slightly smaller type than other books in the "Hollywood Classics" series. Let me just list the movies starting with the letters "R" and "S": Raffles, The Rains Came, Rhapsody In Blue, Romance on the High Seas, Roxie Hart, Saigon, Saludos Amigos, Samson and Delilah, The Sea Hawk, Sentimental Journey, Seven Days' Leave, She Went To the Races, She Wolf of London, Since You Went Away, Sitting Pretty, Somewhere I'll Find You, Song of Texas, Song of the South, Son of Dracula, South of Pago-Pago, South of Santa Fe, South of Tahiti, Stage Door Canteen. All these titles are supplied with full cast and technical credits, synopses, reviews, release dates and other background information. Plus 22 pages of reproductions of original release posters.

5. MEMORABLE FILMS OF THE FORTIES. Here's an easy question. What is THE most memorable film of the 1940's? If you're unsure, just scroll right to the top of this page. That's right, it's Casablanca. Other memorable movies included in this book are Yankee Doodle Dandy, Belle Starr, Cobra Woman, Forever Amber, The Heiress, Laura, Meet Me in St Louis, The Paleface, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Three Musketeers, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Easter Parade, All About Eve, The Breaking Point, etc. Illustrated with no less than TEN entirely different original posters of Casablanca, plus a beautiful color portrait of Ingrid Bergman on the back cover. Plus posters of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, The Accused, The Glass Key, Belle Starr, Laura, Cobra Woman, Angel on the Amazon, Meet Me in St Louis, Gentleman's Agreement, and two posters of Yankee Doodle Dandy. Use the link at the top of this page to order from Amazon.

4. MOVIE WESTERNS: Hollywood Films the Wild, Wild West. For all you western fans, here's a wonderful 271-page book (including 50 pages of vintage western poster illustrations) featuring movies from all our favoite stars, including John Wayne, Gene Autry, Charles Starrett, Gary Cooper, William Boyd, Buck Jones, Wild Bill Elliott, Tim Holt, Randolph Scott, James Stewart, Errol Flynn, Johnny Mack Brown, Buster Crabbe, Ray Corrigan, Hoot Gibson, Roy Rogers, Alan Ladd, Robert Mitchum, Audie Murphy, Wayne Morris and Ken Maynard, etc. Normal price is $24.50, but I notice this great book is currently on Special at Amazon for only $14.00. Now that's a real bargain!

3. AWARD-WINNING FILMS OF THE 1930s. Some of the best-loved movies of all time are covered in this book, including "The Adventures of Robin Hood", "Babes in Arms", "Broadway Melody", "Charge of the Light Brigade", "Gold Diggers of 1935", "Gone With The Wind", "Goodbye Mr Chips", "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde", "Grand Hotel", "It Happened One Night", "LittleWomen", "Naughty Marietta", "San Francisco", "Stagecoach", "Sweethearts", "Swing Time", "Wings", "The Wizard of Oz" and "Wuthering Heights". Please use the link at the top of this page to order from Amazon.

2. "B" MOVIES, BAD MOVIES, GOOD MOVIES. "Abbott and Costello Meet Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde". "The Sky Dragon" frightens "Tarzan and the She-Devil". "Charlie Chan at Treasure Island" enlists Perry Mason to solve "The Case of the Howling Dog". "The Green Archer, "Fast and Furious", asks his "Guest Wife" and "Jimmy, the Gent" to help him locate "The Lost Special". "The Phantom of Paris" lies "Sixteen Fathoms Deep" in the "Wake of the Red Witch". "The Widow from Chicago" buys a front row ticket for "Zombies on Broadway". "Under the Pampas Moon", "The Vanishing Legion" join "The Texans" and "Thirteen Women" to waylay "Trader Horn." "The Outlaw" hires "Sherlock, Jr" to find "The Moonstone" lost on the "Northwest Trail". "I Cover the Waterfront", so "Make Me a Star" in "The House of Mystery." "We're in the Legion Now" on "A Date with the Falcon" and "Gordon of Ghost City." Etc., etc. This large-format book is currently on special at Amazon for only $9.40. Please use the link at the top of this page.

1. NEW LIGHT ON MOVIE BESTS. Here are some of them: "The Big Clock", "Adventures of Sherlock Holmes", "Gilda", "The General", "Duck Soup", "China Seas", "After the Thin Man", "Anna Karenina", "The Bat Whispers", "Another Thin Man". "The Third Man", "The Shepherd of the Hills", "The Trouble with Harry", "Tower of London", "I Found Stella Parrish", "Cat People", "Tales of Manhattan". Etc., etc. Please use the link at the top of this page to order from Amazon. NEW LIGHT

The "CinemaScope" Series

3. CinemaScope 3: HOLLYWOOD TAKES THE PLUNGE. It's hard to believe this magnificent book retails for only $24.50. Somone must be losing money somewhere. Maybe it's me. I was never one to count my royalties. The book is the thing, and this one details around 200 CinemaScope movies in around 370 pages, including 60 pages of poster reproductions. Wow! For me, the color photo of Marilyn Monroe on the back cover is worth the purchase price alone. I've never seen it in any other book on Marilyn, yet it's a really beautiful still taken on the stairway set of "The Seven Year Itch".

Please use the link at the top of the page to order from Amazon.

2. CinemaScope Two: 20th Century Fox. As we all know, Fox was the studio that introduced CinemaScope to the world with "The Robe" in 1953. Here you'll find a complete list of Fox's CinemaScope features from 1953 through 1969. (I bet you can't tell me the title of Fox's final CinemaScope release). There's also a list of 'Scope features produced in the U.K. from 1954 to 1970. The first movie was not a Fox film, but MGM's "Knights of the Round Table". However, 150 famous Fox movies like "How To Marry a Millionaire", "Anastasia", "Carmen Jones" and "The King and I" are reviewed and detailed in this 256-page book (including 48 pages of poster reproductions). Please use the link at the top of the page to order from Amazon.

1. CinemaScope One: Stupendous in 'Scope. Rita Hayworth figures on the front cover (a) because I'm a Rita Hayworth fan and (b) because her "Pal Joey" and "They Came to Cordura" are detailed in the text. Other "T" movies reviewed in this book include Ten North Frederick, Tess of the Storm Country, Three Faces of Eve, Tickle Me, Tony Rome, 23 Paces to Baker Street and Three on a Guillotine. 172 pages, including 40 pages of poster reproductions. Please use the link at the top of the page to order from Amazon.

FEARLESS BOOK REVIEWS

"MIGHTY MOVIES". Here's a great oversized book from Lawrence Bassoff featuring movie poster art from Hollywood's greatest Adventure Epics and Spectaculars. Movies like DeMille's "The Sign of the Cross", "Samson and Delilah", "The Crusades" and "Cleopatra", Hathaway's "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer", George Sidney's "Scaramouche" and Richard Thorpe's "Ivanhoe" as well as the obvious "Ben Hur", "Spartacus", "El Cid" et al. 152 luxurious pages. Most highly recommended.

"CRIME SCENES: Movie Poster Art of The Film Noir" by Lawrence Bassoff. A mighty companion book to "Mighty Movies" of similar size, concentrating on fim noir, illustrating 100 movies over 159 luxurious color pages. Most highly recommended.

"RITA HAYWORTH: a PHOTOGRAPHIC RETROSPECTIVE" by Caren Roberts-Frenzel. A wonderful collection of stunning photos of my favorite star (with detailed and highly informative captions) from a dedicated fan. Hardcover. 240 pages. Highly recommended.

"HOLLYWOOD CLASSICS INDEX: BOOKS 1-16, A-L" by John Howard Reid. Even if you're not interested in the "Hollywood Classics" series (and don't need an index to all the movies detailed in the books so far), you'll love this 112-page book in which no few than 112 vintage posters are reproduced in full color PLUS six lobby card sets, making 160 movie posters in all. It's a truly luxurious volume, featuring posters drawn from three massive private collections. A great deal of effort was expended in photographing the actual posters, restoring the color tones so that they looked as near the originals as possible, and then finding a printer who could keep the colors in proper balance. (Oddly, the larger posters proved more difficult to photograph and restore, but there's only one or two that I'm not 100% happy with). At the moment you can only purchase this book direct from Lulu. Here's the link:

http://www.lulu.com/filmindex

"CLASSIC MOVIE POSTERS" by John Howard Reid. Over 200 gorgeous, full-color posters spread over 166 large pages, drawn mainly from my own private collection and the collections of B. Pattison and R. Maroney. There are notes on each poster, plus a few comments, and tips on buying and collecting. One source I didn't mention in the book are auctions. Heritage conducts online auctions in which interesting material can often be obtained for as low a price as $10. The only problem is that the shipping department obviously cannot distinguish betwen a $10 poster and a $500 poster and your $10 poster will be so securely wrapped, it will probably cost you around another $10 in postage. Anyway, this beautifully printed book can only be obtained from Lulu. The price is $29.95, which is a bargain considering that other books of less than half this size retail for $20 or more. Please use the link straight above and then scroll right down.

"REEL ART: Great Posters of the Golden Age of the Silver Screen". This mammoth book by Stephen Rebello and Richard Allen concentrates on art and artists. There are few photographic posters in the book, but those of us who thrill to the artwork of Al Hirschfeld, Norman Rockwell, Alberto Vargas, James Montgomery Flagg, Thomas Hart Benton, Howard Chandler Christy and company will find themselves in a collector's paradise. Most highly recommended.

"THE LOST ARTWORK OF HOLLYWOOD" by Fred E. Basten. Like "Reel Art", the accent here is on artwork, but instead of drawing on actual front-of-house poster material, the author has ingeniously scoured trade magazines and press handouts to reproduce material drawn by such artists as William Galbraith Crawford, Ted Ireland, Barbara Shermund, Marcel Vertes and Jacques Kapralik, as well as Alberto Vargas, Noman Rockwell and company. Highly recommended.

"CARTOON MOVIE POSTERS" I believe this was the first of Bruce Hershenson's books, and a marvelous feast for cartoon fans it is too. 391 posters are reproduced in full color over 90 pages, generally five posters to a page (two big ones and three smaller). This generous spacing does the posters full justice. In fact, the whole book is beautifully designed. Most highly recommended.

"VINTAGE HOLLYWOOD POSTERS III". Whilst almost all of Bruce Hershenson's books represent very good value, this one is a bit disappointing. Printed on cheaper paper, it served as a catalog for an auction back in 2000. Mind you, no less than 371 posters are reproduced in full color , but they are crowded into 73 pages, sometimes as many as nine posters to a single page. It's a shame to see great posters like the wonderful window cards for "The Hound of the Baskervilles", "The Great Ziegfeld" and "Treasure Island" reduced to the size of extra-large postage stamps.

"FILM POSTERS OF THE 30s: The Essential Movies of the Decade from the Reel Poster Gallery Collection" by Tony Nourmand and Graham Marsh. Whether you could describe "Disgraced" with Helen Twelvetrees, or "Virtue" with Carole Lombard, or "The Sin of Nora Moran" with Zita Johann as "essential movies of the decade" is open to question. Surely the essential movie in this category is "The Sin of Madelon Claudet" which won Helen Hayes the year's award for Best Actress. A poster of that movie is NOT included. In fact, many of the posters that are included have been reproduced in other books or have been sold as individual poster reprints for years. However, there is more than sufficient material never seen before to justify adding this book to your library. I very much like the idea of printing the posters full page, so the editors are to be commended on that score. The printing quality is excellent too. Highly recommended.

"GREAT MOVIE POSTERS". Edited by Michael Jay for Galahad Books, this is a slim and somewhat disappointing volume, containing full-page posters in full color from 59 movies ranged from "Murders in the Rue Morgue" (1932) to "Kagemusha" (1980). Recommended for novice collectors only.

"THE DISNEY POSTER BOOK": A lavish, extra-large collection of more than 100 wonderful posters, all reproduced in full color and most of them printed on single pages. A "must" for all Disney fans.

"60 GREAT COWBOY MOVIE POSTERS". Responding to many requests from collectors and fans, Bruce Hershenson changed the format of his books and has now given each poster the luxury treatment of a full page. There are certainly some great color posters in this book, ranging from "The Cold Deck" (1917) to "Unforgiven" (1992). Great value for just over $10. Highly recommended.

"MORE COWBOY MOVIE POSTERS: Featuring hundreds of full color movie posters from silent films to present day Westerns." A stunning but somewhat overcrowded collection of 76 pages in Bruce Hershenson's admirable series. Great value for $13. Highly recommended.

"PICTURESHOW: Classic Movie Posters from the TCM Archives" by Dianna Edwards. Here are no less than 150 gorgeous posters, all in color and all in English. Most, like the movies covered, are of U.S. origin, though there are a few British films and there is some Australian poster material. Personally, I like foreign posters, but the selection here is so rich, few collectors will notice the absence of any French, Belgian or Spanish contributions. Most highly recommended.

John Howard Reid's (reluctant) selection of the

250 Best Films of All Time

1. CITIZEN KANE (ORSON WELLES)
2. A PLACE IN THE SUN (GEORGE STEVENS)
3. ROSE OF WASHINGTON SQUARE (GREGORY RATOFF)
4. THE LOVERS OF VERONA (ANDRE CAYATTE)
5. LOVE ME TONIGHT (ROUBEN MAMOULIAN)
6. SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (DAVID HAND)
7. THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY (ALBERT LEWIN)
8. MARIE WALEWSKA (CLARENCE BROWN)
9. ANNA KARENINA (CLARENCE BROWN)
10. TALES OF MANHATTAN (JULIEN DUVIVIER)
11. CASABLANCA (MICHAEL CURTIZ)
12. THE THIRD MAN (CAROL REED)
13. GO INTO YOUR DANCE (ARCHIE MAYO)
14. WAKE UP AND LIVE (SIDNEY LANFIELD)
15. STAGECOACH (JOHN FORD)
16. THE SCARLET EMPRESS (JOSEF VON STERNBERG)
17. SUNSET BOULEVARD (BILLY WILDER)
18. THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI (ORSON WELLES)
19. THE SHEPHERD OF THE HILLS (HENRY HATHAWAY)
20. HENRY V (LAURENCE OLIVIER)
21. CHINA SEAS (TAY GARNETT)
22. CARRIE (version exhibited in Australia only -- not the mutilated version released in the USA and currently broadcast on worldwide television) (WILLIAM WYLER)
23. THE BIG CLOCK (JOHN FARROW)
24. STAR! (full-length version only) (ROBERT WISE)
25. KING KONG (ERNEST SCHOEDSACK)

26. I MARRIED A WITCH (RENE CLAIR)
27. DOUBLE INDEMNITY (BILLY WILDER)
28. THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (MICHAEL CURTIZ and WILLIAM KEIGHLEY)
29. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (FRANK CAPRA)
30. CITY LIGHTS (CHARLES CHAPLIN)
31. GRAND HOTEL (EDMUND GOULDING)
32. THE LETTER (WILLIAM WYLER)
33. LETTER FROM AN UNKNOWN WOMAN (MAX OPHULS)
34. REBECCA (ALFRED HITCHCOCK)
35. KINGS ROW (SAM WOOD)
36. LOST HORIZON (FRANK CAPRA)
37. BEES IN PARADISE (VAL GUEST)
38. MR SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (FRANK CAPRA)
39. METROPOLIS (FRITZ LANG)
40. BULLDOG DRUMMOND (F. RICHARD JONES)
41. FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT (ALFRED HITCHCOCK)
42. SAN FRANCISCO (W.S. VAN DYKE)
43. HIGH NOON (FRED ZINNEMANN)
44. LAURA (OTTO PREMINGER)
45. LIVES OF A BENGAL LANCER (HENRY HATHAWAY)
46. THE INFORMER (JOHN FORD)
47. ALL ABOUT EVE (JOSEPH L. MANKIEWICZ)
48. THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS (ORSON WELLES)
49. MY FAIR LADY (GEORGE CUKOR)
50. THE MUSIC MAN (MORTON DA COSTA)

51. THE SOUND OF MUSIC (ROBERT WISE)
52. STAR! (full version) (ROBERT WISE)
53. THE MUMMY (KARL FREUND)
54. DETECTIVE STORY (WILLIAM WYLER)
55. PEPE LE MOKO (JULIEN DUVIVIER)
56. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (JEAN COCTEAU)
57. PASSPORT TO PIMLICO (HENRY CORNELIUS)
58. WHISKY GALORE (ALEXANDER MACKENDRICK)
59. THE GHOST TRAIN (Askey version) (WALTER FORDE)
60. HOW THE WEST WAS WON (Cinerama only) (mostly HENRY HATHAWAY)
61. HELLO, DOLLY! (GENE KELLY)
62. OLIVER! (CAROL REED)
63. 42nd STREET (LLOYD BACON and BUSBY BERKELEY)
64. FANNY (JOSHUA LOGAN)
65. THE NUN'S STORY (FRED ZINNEMANN)
66. GIGI (VINCENTE MINNELLI)
67. THE CAINE MUTINY (EDWARD DMYTRYK)
68. BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (DAVID LEAN)
69. YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (MICHAEL CURTIZ)
70. MILDRED PIERCE (MICHAEL CURTIZ)
71. DIPLOMANIACS (WILLIAM A. SEITER)
72. THE BIG PARADE (KING VIDOR)
73. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (LEWIS MILESTONE)
74. STATE FAIR (HENRY KING)
75. JOURNEY INTO FEAR (both versions) (ORSON WELLES and NORMAN FOSTER)

76. IF I HAD A MILLION (various directors)
77. DUCK SOUP (LEO McCAREY)
78. THE MALTESE FALCON (JOHN HUSTON)
79. THE MARK OF ZORRO (ROUBEN MAMOULIAN)
80. CALAMITY JANE (DAVID BUTLER)
81. CALL NORTHSIDE 777 (HENRY HATHAWAY)
82. THE JUNGLE BOOK (ZOLTAN KORDA)
83. THE GOLDEN COACH (JEAN RENOIR)
84. THE MERRY WIDOW (ERNST LUBITSCH)
85. IN OLD CHICAGO (HENRY KING and BRUCE HUMBERSTONE)
86. OUT OF THE PAST (JACQUES TOURNEUR)
87. GOODBYE MR CHIPS (SAM WOOD)
88. THE 39 STEPS (ALFRED HITCHCOCK)
89. T-MEN (ANTHONY MANN)
90. HEAVEN CAN WAIT (ERNST LUBITSCH)
91. THE GHOST BREAKERS (GEORGE MARSHALL)
92. GREEN PASTURES (MARC CONNELLY and WILLIAM KEIGHLEY)
93. MADELEINE (DAVID LEAN)
94. ROMAN SCANDALS (FRANK TUTTLE and BUSBY BERKELEY)
95. THE LAVENDER HILL MOB (CHARLES CRICHTON)
96. MURDER, SHE SAID (GEORGE MARSHALL)
97. THE CAT AND THE CANARY (ELLIOTT NUGENT)
98. CHU CHIN CHOW (MARCEL VARNEL)
99. IT'S IN THE BAG (RICHARD WALLACE)
100. MY FAVORITE BRUNETTE (ELLIOTT NUGENT)

101. ODD MAN OUT (CAROL REED)
102. THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES (CHARLES BARTON)
102. PIMPERNEL SMITH (LESLIE HOWARD)
103. WAY OUT WEST (JAMES W. HORNE)
104. SON OF FRANKENSTEIN (ROWLAND V. LEE)
105. THE GHOST GOES WEST (RENE CLAIR)
106. DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE (VICTOR FLEMING)
107. TIGER IN THE SMOKE (ROY BAKER)
108. THE TUTTLES OF TAHITI (CHARLES VIDOR)
109. KEEPER OF THE FLAME (GEORGE CUKOR)
110. HOLIDAY INN (MARK SANDRICH)
111. TALES OF HOFFMAN (MICHAEL POWELL)
112. MY LITTLE CHICKADEE (EDWARD CLINE)
113. MY WILD IRISH ROSE (DAVID BUTLER)
114. ROAD TO RIO (NORMAN Z. McLEOD)
115. BACK ROOM BOY (HERBERT MASON)
116. CAT PEOPLE (JACQUES TOURNEUR)
117. PEOPLE WILL TALK (JOSEPH L. MANKIEWICZ)
118. KNOCK ON WOOD (NORMAN PANAMA and MELVIN FRANK)
119. THE BAND WAGON (VINCENTE MINNELLI)
120. BROKEN LANCE (EDWARD DMYTRYK)
121. ONE HOUR WITH YOU (ERNST LUBITSCH)
122. THE RED SHOES (MICHAEL POWELL)
123. ASK A POLICEMAN (MARCEL VARNEL)
124. A TALE OF TWO CITIES (JACK CONWAY AND JACQUES TOURNEUR)
125. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (STANLEY DONEN and GENE KELLY)
126. MONSIEUR HULOT'S HOLIDAY (JACQUES TATI)
127. THE COURT JESTER (NORMAN PANAMA and MELVIN FRANK)
128. STORY OF GILBERT AND SULLIVAN (SIDNEY GILLIAT)
129. DEAD OF NIGHT (BASIL DEARDEN)
130. OH, MR PORTER (MARCEL VARNEL)
131. SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS (PRESTON STURGES)
132. TO BE OR NOT TO BE (ERNST LUBITSCH)
133. LET GEORGE DO IT (MARCEL VARNEL)
134. LE CORBEAU (HENRI-GEORGES CLOUZOT)
135. THE RIVER (JEAN RENOIR)
136. WINCHESTER '73 (ANTHONY MANN)
137. CABINET OF DR CALIGARI (ROBERT WIENE)
138. MOSS ROSE (GREGORY RATOFF)
139. IT ALL CAME TRUE (LEWIS SEILER)
140. ON DANGEROUS GROUND (NICHOLAS RAY)
141. THE NARROW MARGIN (RICHARD FLEISCHER)
142. GOOD MORNING, BOYS (WILLIAM BEAUDINE)
143. HARVEY (HENRY KOSTER)
144. FANTASIA (various directors)
145. THE FOUR FEATHERS (ZOLTAN KORDA)
146. MR SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (FRANK CAPRA)
147. NINOTCHKA (ERNST LUBITSCH)
148. WONDER MAN (BRUCE HUMBERSTONE)
149. THE EMPEROR WALTZ (BILLY WILDER)
150. MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (FRANK LLOYD)

151. ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (FRANK CAPRA)
152. OF MICE AND MEN (LEWIS MILESTONE)
153. LUCREZIA BORGIA (CHRISTIAN-JACQUES)
154. THE RECKLESS MOMENT (MAX OPHULS)
155. THE KING OF KINGS (CECIL B. DE MILLE)
156. THE HORN BLOWS AT MIDNIGHT (RAOUL WALSH)
157. BANK DICK (EDWARD CLINE)
158. THE LIFE OF EMILE ZOLA (WILLIAM DIETERLE)
159. ALL THE KING'S MEN (ROBERT ROSSEN)
160. THE SEA WOLF (MICHAEL CURTIZ)
161. FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD (JOHN SCHLESINGER)
162. THE STORY OF LOUIS PASTEUR (WILLIAM DIETERLE)
163. STALAG 17 (BILLY WILDER)
164. THE HEIRESS (WILLIAM WYLER)
165. JUAREZ (WILLIAM DIETERLE)
166. ME AND MARLBOROUGH (VICTOR SAVILLE)
167. THE KID FROM SPAIN (LEO McCAREY)
168. KID MILLIONS (ROY DEL RUTH)
169. BALL OF FIRE (HOWARD HAWKS)
170. HIS GIRL FRIDAY (HOWARD HAWKS)
171. POT LUCK (TOM WALLS)
172. OWD BOB (ROBERT STEVENSON)
173. THE GRAPES OF WRATH (JOHN FORD)
174. FALLING FOR YOU (JACK HULBERT and ROBERT STEVENSON)
175. BULLDOG JACK (WALTER FORDE)

176. I SEE A DARK STRANGER (FRANK LAUNDER)
177. KIPPS (CAROL REED)
178. HISTORY OF MR POLLY (ANTHONY PELISSIER)
179. LA SIGNORA DI TUTTI (MAX OPHULS)
180. IT'S LOVE AGAIN (VICTOR SAVILLE)
181. OLD BONES OF THE RIVER (MARCEL VARNEL)
182. STRANGE BOARDERS (HERBERT MASON)
183. THE COVERED WAGON (JAMES CRUZE)
184. THE HAPPIEST DAYS OF YOUR LIFE (FRANK LAUNDER)
185. CASQUE D'OR (JACQUES BECKER)
186. THE KID FROM SPAIN (LEO McCAREY)
187. SABRINA (BILLY WILDER)
188. HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY (JOHN FORD)
189. MR PERRIN AND MR TRAILL (LAWRENCE HUNTINGTON)
190. THE CITADEL (KING VIDOR)
191. YOUNG MR LINCOLN (JOHN FORD)
192. GONE TO EARTH (MICHAEL POWELL)
193. A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN (ELIA KAZAN)
194. ARISE MY LOVE (MITCHELL LEISEN)
195. THE HURRICANE (JOHN FORD)
196. THE WESTERNER (WILLIAM WYLER)
197. THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (RAOUL WALSH)

198. THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (MICHAEL POWELL and others)
199. A LETTER TO THREE WIVES (JOSEPH L. MANKIEWICZ)
200. PANIC IN THE STREETS (ELIA KAZAN)

201. FATHER OF THE BRIDE (VINCENTE MINNELLI)
202. GOLD OF NAPLES (VITTORIO DE SICA)
203. HOUSE OF WAX (3-D version only) (ANDRE DE TOTH)
204. THE KING OF KINGS (CECIL B. DE MILLE)
205. THE PALM BEACH STORY (PRESTON STURGES)
206. THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY (NORMAN Z. McLEOD)
207. DEAD END (WILLIAM WYLER)
208. PALMY DAYS (A. EDWARD SUTHERLAND)
209. BLACK NARCISSUS (MICHAEL POWELL)
210. ODOR IN THE COURT (BEN HOLMES)
211. FOOTLIGHT PARADE (LLOYD BACON and BUSBY BERKELEY)
212. 40,000 HORSEMEN (CHARLES CHAUVEL)
213. ZIEGFELD FOLLIES (Limehouse sequence) (VINCENTE MINNELLI)
214. THE STRONG MAN (FRANK CAPRA)
215. THE CAMERAMAN (EDWARD SEDGWICK)
216. WAKE IN FRIGHT (TED KOTCHEFF)
217. GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 (MERVYN LeROY and BUSBY BERKELEY)
218. SHANE (GEORGE STEVENS)
219. IF I WERE KING (FRANK LLOYD)
220. FLYING DOWN TO RIO (THORNTON FREELAND)
221. THE SECRET GARDEN (CLARENCE BROWN)
222. MEET ME IN SAINT LOUIS (VINCENTE MINNELLI)
223. DARK CORNER (HENRY HATHAWAY)
224. EVERY DAY'S A HOLIDAY (A. EDWARD SUTHERLAND)
225. HALF A SIXPENCE (GEORGE SIDNEY)

226. SHOW BOAT (JAMES WHALE)
227. 5,000 FINGERS OF DR T (ROY ROWLAND)
228. THE FOUNTAINHEAD (KING VIDOR)
229. THE IRON DUKE (VICTOR SAVILLE)
230. LITTLE DUTCH MILL (DAVE FLEISCHER)
231. HELLZAPOPPIN (HANK POTTER)
232. MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM (WILLIAM DIETERLE and MAX REINHARDT)
233. ADVENTURES OF MARK TWAIN (IRVING RAPPER)
234. LADY ON A TRAIN (CHARLES DAVID)
235. MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE (GEORGE MARSHALL)
236. WOMAN IN THE WINDOW (FRITZ LANG)
237. STANDING ROOM ONLY (SIDNEY LANFIELD)
238. RIDING SHOTGUN (ANDRE DE TOTH)
239. A NIGHT TO REMEMBER (ROY BAKER)
240. BELOW ZERO (JAMES PARROTT)
241. LET'S MAKE LOVE (GEORGE CUKOR)
242. TRAPEZE (CAROL REED)
243. JUNGLE GIRL (WILLIAM WITNEY and JOHN ENGLISH)
244. COME ON, GEORGE! (ANTHONY KIMMINS)
245. BROKEN ARROW (DELMER DAVES)
246. FORBIDDEN (FRANK CAPRA)
247. I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG (MERVYN LeROY)
248. MY HEART IS CALLING (CARMINE GALLONE)
249. THE UNSUSPECTED (MICHAEL CURTIZ)
250. SAFETY LAST (SAM TAYLOR and FRED NEWMEYER)

250 Best Films of All Time

No space for "Gilda" either! I took her out in favor of "The Tuttles of Tahiti". So make it 251!

Any suggestions? Why not e-mail me at filmindex@search-the-world.com