The Theatre/Cinema Shelf

Hollywood in the Klondike
Michael Gates
Harbour Publishing
www.harbourpublishing.com
9781550179965, $34.95, HC, 304pp

https://www.amazon.com/Hollywood-Klondike-Dawson-Citys-Great/dp/1550179969

Synopsis: In 1978, hundreds of reels of silent films were unearthed from be= neath the demolished site of an old hockey arena in Dawson City, Yukon. Aut= hor Michael Gates witnessed the cinematic discovery of these once-lost film=
s -- and with the publication of "Hollywood in the Klondike: Dawson City's = Great Film Find" tells of excavating time lost cinematic treasures while il= luminating the history of a gold rush town like no other.

An event in the most unlikely of places and circumstances, the Klondike gol=
d rush was unique in the history of Canada and the development of the North=
.. Dawson City, the "Paris of the North," was the hub of the Klondike gold r= ush 125 years ago. There were more saloons, gambling halls and theatres tha=
n there were places serving food, and the live theatre was at the centre of=
it all.

Readers will discover the icons who went from the Klondike to Hollywood inc= luding Robert Service, Jack London, Charlie Chaplin, Alexander Pantages, Si=
d Grauman, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Marjorie Rambeau and more.

Readers will join Gates on his cinematic journey as he ponders the question=
: Did the Klondike help make Hollywood, or did Hollywood make the Klondike?=
Crafted from Gates's first-hand experience and extensive research, "Hollyw= ood in the Klondike" casts a spotlight on an exciting piece of Canadian (an=
d Hollywood) history.

Critique: A seminal work that is an absolutely essential read for dedicated=
students of cinematic film history (and the history of Dawson City), "Holl= ywood in the Klondike: Dawson City's Great Film Find" is an extraordinary a=
nd inherently fascinating account. Exceptionally well written, organized an=
d presented, "Hollywood in the Klondike: Dawson City's Great Film Find" is = informatively enhanced with the inclusion of a five page Appendix (Gold-Min= ing Techniques and Terminology), a six page Bibliography, eighteen pages of=
Notes, and a an eight page Index. This edition of "Hollywood in the Klondi= ke: Dawson City's Great Film Find" from Harbour Publishing is highly recomm= ended for personal, community, and academic library Cinematic History colle= ctions and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Michael Gates (https://harbourpublishing.com/collections/mi= chael-gates) is the Yukon story laureate. He is the author of several histo= rical books, including From the Klondike to Berlin, which was shortlisted f=
or the Canadian Authors Association Fred Kerner Book Award, and Dublin Gulc=
h: The History of the Eagle Gold Mine, which received the Axiom Business Bo=
ok Award silver medal for corporate history. He was formerly the curator of=
collections for Klondike National Historic Sites in Dawson City and pens t=
he popular column History Hunter for the Yukon News. He lives in Whitehorse=
, Yukon Territory.

The Life and Afterlife of Swedish Biograph
Jan Olsson
University of Wisconsin Press
728 State Street, Suite 443, Madison, WI 53706-1418
www.uwpress.wisc.edu
9780299339906, $79.95, HC, 312pp

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-life-and-afterlife-of-swedish-biograph= -jan-olsson/1141872290

Synopsis: Sweden's early film industry was dominated by Swedish Biograph (S= venska Biografteatern), home to star directors like Victor Sjostrom and Mau= ritz Stiller. It is nostalgically remembered as the generative site of a na= scent national artform, encapsulating a quintessentially Nordic aesthetic -=
- the epicenter of Sweden's cinematic Golden Age.

With the publication of "The Life and Afterlife of Swedish Biograph: From C= ommercial Circulation to Archival Practices", veteran film scholar and acad= emician Jan Olsson takes a hard look at this established, romanticized narr= ative and offers a far more complete, complex, and nuanced story.

Nearly all of the studio's original negatives were destroyed in an explosio=
n in 1941, but Olsson's comprehensive archival research shows how the compa=
ny operated in a commercial, international arena, and how it was influenced=
not just by Nordic aesthetics or individual genius but also by foreign aud= iences' expectations, technological demands, Hollywood innovations, and the=
gritty back-and-forth between economic pressures, government interference,=
and artistic desires.

Professor Olsson's focus is wide, encompassing the studio's production prac= tices, business affairs, and cinematographic conventions, as well as the la= tter-day archival efforts that both preserved and obscured parts of Swedish=
Biograph's story, helping construct the company's rosy legacy. The result =
is a necessary rewrite to Swedish film historiography and a far fuller pict= ure of a canonical film studio.

Critique: Informatively enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of illus= trations, three appendices, thirty-four pages of notes, a four page bibliog= raphy, and a sixteen page index, "The Life and Afterlife of Swedish Biograp=
h: From Commercial Circulation to Archival Practices" by Professor Jan Olss=
on is an extraordinary work of meticulous, exhaustive, and research. Except= ionally well written, organized and presented, this seminal study is unrese= rvedly recommended for personal, professional, community, college, and univ= ersity library Swedish Cinematic History collections and supplemental curri= culum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Jan Olsson (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Olsson_(film_= scholar)) is a Swedish film scholar, professor of cinema studies and former=
head of department at Stockholm University. He has been a visiting profess=
or at the University of Southern California, UCLA, Northwestern University,=
Utrecht University and the City University of Hong Kong. Olsson is the fou= nding editor of John Libbey's book series Stockholm Studies in Cinema, and = the founding editor of the scholarly journal Aura Film Studies Journal. Alo=
ng his trajectory of archival research, he has found copies of two previous=
ly lost early films, Buster Keaton's The Cook and Fatty Arbuckle's A Reckle=
ss Romeo. He currently leads the research project "From Business Commoditie=
s to Revered Cultural Heritage: Global Media, Vernacular Strategies, and Cu= ltural Negotiations," funded by a grant from Vetenskapsradet (the Swedish R= esearch Council). He is also responsible editor of Acta Universitatis Stock= holmiensis' cinema studies series which is distributed by Stockholm Univers= ity library.

Hollywood with a Smile
Sandra de Bruin, author
Dean Brierly, author
BearManor Media
PO Box 71426, Albany, GA 31708
www.bearmanormedia.com
9798887710297, $35.00, HC, 218pp

https://www.amazon.com/Hollywood-Smile-Sandra-Bruin/dp/B0BJYD44V9

Synopsis: With the assistance of Dean Brierly, "Hollywood with a Smile: My = Follies and Foibles in the Film Industry" is a simply fascinating memoir by=
Sandra de Bruin recounting her encounters with numerous Hollywood celebrit= ies and her life and career as a working actress who never made the A list =
of celebrity status herself but had a successful acting history enabling he=
r to deliver a true 'insider' perspective to what it was like to be a suppo= rting actress in a long term movie and television career.

Critique: With a poem for a Prologue, "Hollywood with a Smile: My Follies a=
nd Foibles in the Film Industry" is a personal and fascinating memoir that =
is deftly organized and presented with chapters and sections devoted to spe= cific Hollywood celebrities ranging from Harry Belafonte, James Garner, Cha= rleton Heston, Cher, Paul Newman, Dolly Parton, and more! Not to be missed =
in Chapter 18 featuring Sandra de Bruin herself -- including her experience=
s with auditions, commercials, and 'Off-Center Vignettes. While a treasured=
addition to personal, community, and academic library Cinematic History co= llections, it should be noted for individual reading lists that "Hollywood = with a Smile" is also available in a paperback edition (9798887710280, $25.= 00) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.95).

Editorial Note: Sandra de Bruin (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0207632/bio) h=
as appeared in over 200 television shows, several major films, many Los Ang= eles stage productions, numerous commercials, voice over and looping -- and=
danced in a production at the Los Angeles Music Center. Her informative an=
d witty articles have appeared in several magazines, and her scripts have b= een optioned, bought, sold and dropped by major studios and independent pro= ducers alike. She created both the "Actor's Audition Log" and the "Performe= r's Workshop Log" to fulfill the organizational needs of her fellow perform= ers from coast to coast and around the world.

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