New Books

During the Summer of 1975, Temple University's School of Communications and Theater will conduct its first annual graduate film seminar in Montreal, Canada. For information see advertisement on p. 27 NEW RESEARCH SERVICE FOR SCHOLARS IN FILM The University Film Association plans quarterly publication of Film Research in Progress which will include: (1) announcement and depository for seminar papers, working papers, and other unpublished material; (2) a topic and title registration for dissertations, theses and other research projects; and (3) a notes and queries section for scholars soliciting information about film data, film sources, and other research material. Film Research in Progress will appear as part ofthe U.F.A.'s Digest, subscnptions to, which are available for non-U.F.A. members at $2 per annum. For further information contact Calvin Pryluck, Dept. of Radio, Television and Motion Pictures, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514. ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN HISTORIANS TO MEET IN BOSTON The O.A.H. annual meeting in Boston April 16-19 will include two sessions on film & history. One, entitled "Teaching About the American Revolution Through Film," will include papers on designing dramatic films for the classroom and teaching dramatic films. There will also be a seminar on "The Film As Social Criticism." Both sessions will be summarized in a later issue. LETTERS Dear Editors: As early as Spring 1898, the Sears Roebuck catalog carried advertisements for public entertainment outfits including one for "animated pictures" (i.e., motion pictures). I am trying to locate other data on sales, purchase, and display of films during this period. I am especially interested in other than metropolitan centers. It would be deeply appreciated if you would include in your notes section a solicitation of information that your readers might run across, perhaps in the search for other data on this period. A single ad in a farm or rural journal, for instance, would be useful but obviously difficult to locate directly. Calvin Pryluck, Associate Professor Dept. of Radio, TV, & Motion Pictures Univ. ofN.C, Chapel Hill, N.C. 27514 NEW BOOKS 18 From time to time the editors will provide capsule comments on new books which are thought to be ofparticular interest to the film and history teacher and scholar. Amos Vogel. Film as a Subversive Art. New York: Random House, 1974. 336 pp. $15.00. This volume traces the "subversion" of film form (in the various attempts to alter the accepted techniques of visual communications) and content (in analysis ofpolitical films ofthe left and right and the gradual breakdown of sexual and other taboos of the screen). The sources of revolutionary cinema and contemporary porn receive equal treatment. Steven H. Scheuer, ed. Movies on TV: 1975-76 Edition. New York: Bantam Books, 1974. 621 pp. $1.95. While not by any means a complete list (especially for thirties' films), this is an indispensable guide for the film user. Over 9,000 films are treated and, while the comments would be insufficient for most critical viewers, the plot synopses and tidbits ofproduction information are worthwhile. Molly Haskell. From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies. New York: Penguin Books, 1974. 388 pp. $3.95. An interesting study. While many of the conclusions are obvious, the discussion-chapter by chapter—of films of the twenties, thirties, forties, and fifties document many interesting examples. Richard H. Pells. Radical Visions and American Dreams: Culture and Social Thought in the Depression Years. New York: Harper & Row, 1 973. 424 pp. $12.50. This wide-ranging study contains one chapter of particular interest on Hollywood film in the thirties "From Little Caesar to Citizen Kane." This 25-page essay presents a convincing argument for the essential conservative message of most of the period's film product. Pells' work represents the type of scholarly research into the interplay of film and history that is sorely needed in many other areas. BOOK REVIEW Loy, Jane. Latin America: Sights and Sounds. A Guide to Motion Pictures and Music for College Courses. Gainesville, Florida: Consortium of Latin American Study Programs. 1973. 243 pp. $2.50 The film is ideal to introduce students to foreign areas, cultures, and peoples. The very practical guide...