CinemaScope Four: M-G-M MOVIES Light Up the Screen by John Howard Reid    Books by John Howard Reid     View all 68 · 140 All-Time Must-See Movies for Film Lovers Now Available On DVD · NIBBLES OF NONSENSE Hilarious Comic Verse · Success in the Cinema: Money-Making Movies & Critics' Choices · Hollywood Classics Title Index to All Movies Reviewed in Books 1-24 · Silent Movies & Early Sound Films on DVD: New Expanded Edition
Category:	Arts/Entertainment	Publisher:	Lulu	ISBN-10:	1257754319	Type:	Non-Fiction
Pages:	170	Copyright:	May 24, 2011	ISBN-13:	9781257754311

Click here to buy this book! Buy your copy! Amazon Lulu Amazon Amazon Kindle $2.99 ebook NOOK Book $2.99 by Barnes & Noble Classic Movie Books 110 wide-screen classics from Hollywood's former number one studio, are examined in detail, including 2001: A Space Odyssey, Gigi, Guys and Dolls, High Society, Brigadoon, Moonfleet, The Swan, Viva Las Vegas, Bells Are Ringing... CinemaScope Four: M-G-M MOVIES Light Up the Screen M-G-M (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) was generally regarded as Hollywood's number one movie studio. Easily the world's largest and most glamorous, the studio, under the leadership of Louis B. Mayer, often boasted that it had "more stars than there are in heaven" under contract. This was true. By the mid-1950s, however, the movie industry found itself under serious threat from television. Hollywood's answer, spearheaded by Mayer's protege, Darryl F. Zanuck at 20th Century-Fox, was to invest in large-screen systems that would make the home TV screen seem puny and second-rate. Fox's CinemaScope system, initiated by "The Robe", was a huge success. M-G-M quickly followed suit. This book examines 110 of the wide-screen movies (most of them identified as CinemaScope) that M-G-M produced and/or released. Titles include Bad Day at Black Rock, Brigadoon, Designing Woman, Far From the Madding Crowd, Gigi, Guys and Dolls, King of Kings, Lust for Life, Moonfleet, The Reluctant Debutante, Rose Marie, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Silk Stockings, The Swan, Viva Las Vegas; as well as Ben Hur, High Society and 2001: A Space Odyssey. You can purchase a beautifully printed hard copy direct from the publisher for less than $12 (please click the "publisher" link above) or you can buy a Kindle edition for only $2.99. Note: The Kindle edition has a different cover, but is exactly the same inside.

Paperback

Professional Reviews
Ross Adams in DRESS CIRCLE Magazine August 2011

The following review by editor, Ross Adams, appeared in the August 2011 issue of "Dress Circle - Movie Enthusiasts & Collectors Magazine": John Howard Reid's "CinemaScope Four" book captures the essence of MGM's great and not so great CinemaScope movies of the 1950s and 60's. In the days of the great Hollywood studios, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (usually abbreviated to MGM) attracted millions of followers for its movies, many of which were glossy, extravagant productions with top-line stars. Films like Brigadoon, Ben Hur, Rose Marie, Bhowani Junction, Designing Woman, Gigi, The Swan, Raintree County, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Guys and Dolls, The Prodigal, Silk Stockings, The Reluctant Debutante, Viva Las Vegas, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Far From the Madding Crowd, Cimarron, Bells Are Ringing, Bad Day at Black Rock, The Swan, and Les Girls - to name but a few of the films exhaustively covered in this book. In all, 114 movies are reviewed in JHR's standard format of complete cast and production staff credits, plus release dates, a story synopsis, current DVD availability, and JHR's own comments. Some movies have additional background information and award details as well. My only complaint is that there are not as many reproductions of lobby cards and posters in this particular book as is the case in most of JHR's other movie titles.

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