The Hollywood depicted in John Swope's photographs from the late 1930s is a working town not unlike others in America -- its main difference being that in place of town mill or factory, one finds instead the movie studios. Paradoxically, it is this ordinary, almost mundane, quality of the sets, the props, the extras knitting backstage between takes, and the celebrity dutifully signing autographs, that makes Swope's Hollywood so compelling. Just as Robert Frank, in The Americans, captured with unsentimental ease that ...
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The Hollywood depicted in John Swope's photographs from the late 1930s is a working town not unlike others in America -- its main difference being that in place of town mill or factory, one finds instead the movie studios. Paradoxically, it is this ordinary, almost mundane, quality of the sets, the props, the extras knitting backstage between takes, and the celebrity dutifully signing autographs, that makes Swope's Hollywood so compelling. Just as Robert Frank, in The Americans, captured with unsentimental ease that essential loneliness of American life and character, so Swope reveals a Hollywood in the wake of the Depression not as glittering or remote, but as gritty and workaday. Swope, as an insider who also acted, was intimate with the famous, and thus had considerable access to that world. But this was also a time when celebrities were in the local Shriner's parade, and were known to chat with the cameramen. A vintage look at a bygone era from Hollywood's past.
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Add this copy of Camera Over Hollywood to cart. $107.00, very good condition, Sold by Ira Joel Haber rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brooklyn, NY, UNITED STATES, published 1939 by Random House.
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Seller's Description:
An early classic book on Hollywood in its original first edition. Illustrated with many well printed candids and photos by Swope of a long lost and gone Hollywood with many large full page photos featuring famous stars and behind the scenes of movie making. Captions in the back of the book. There is light tonning to the paper which is to be expected, but overall the book is fine. Lacking the original dustjacket, the blue boards are in nice condition with some rubbing to the spine panel.
Add this copy of Camera Over Hollywood: Photographs by John Swope 1937 to cart. $41.00, very good condition, Sold by Margaret Taylor Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from santa cruz, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Charles Rivers Publishing Co..
