The Warner Bros. Story: The Complete History of Hollywood's Great Studio Every Warner Bros. Feature Film Described and Illustrated

This is absolutely fabulous, and then it’s not. You’ll have a love-hate relationship with this book, of that there is no doubt. Clive Hirschhorn did such a wonderful job with background on the studio, it easily outclasses the MGM and RKO entries in this famous, all-encompassing film reference series of the various studios. The coffee table size format, the high quality photo paper where all the films are listed and given a brief overview, accompanied by a photo from the film, make this an invaluable resource. There is a huge caveat to this one, however, that will have you rolling your eyes. But first, the good stuff.The text is oddly the most wonderful thing about this one. It takes up far more pages at the beginning than the background studio information found in many of the other entries in this series. Then, before each decade, there is more information on that particular decade in the studio’s history, before we dive in to the fun part — the films. WB was a major studio, with major players both in front of, and behind the camera. Hirschhorn goes all the way back to the father of the four men — you mostly hear about Jack nowadays, but the other brothers get their due here — who would create the powerhouse known by the famous initials, WB.In many ways, this is the most interesting part, because the story of Benjamin Warner, a Polish Jew denied an education under Russian influence in the region during his time, would come to America and embark on the American dream of old. Poor and uneducated, he supported his family as a cobbler, a fur trader, a seller of pots and pans, and as a grocer. Always looking to find a way to get ahead, Benjamin and his family would be fleeced and worn down, but he never gave up. His sons had that same perseverance, and their father’s eye for the next big thing.I won’t ruin your pleasure of reading about the rise of WB, and which son did what, but it is very much a tale of the beginning of film. A particular highlight is the greed and strong-arm tactics of Thomas Edison and The Trust, attempting — and succeeding for quite some time — to eliminate small time distributors of film, and any independent picture producers. In the story of these brothers, as they decide to make their own pictures, we come across the scandals which nearly destroyed the industry before it began. I am speaking, of course, of Fatty Arbuckle, and the infamous William Demond Taylor murder. The latter remains officially unsolved, but the great director King Vidor believed he had solved it, and Sidney Kirkpatrick writes about it in a fabulous book called A Cast of Killers you might want to pick up later.Though it is hardly a thorough delving into the early days of Hollywood, through the The WB Story, Hirschhorn gives you a look at those days, and some of the important platers. It’s wonderful to have all this background, but that’s not the real reason most people purchase these books. They do so for the films, to leaf through and discover films they never heard of, and remember sentimentally those they have seen. This is where the book lets you down, and it is the caveat I spoke of earlier.The RKO Story was terrific, the MGM Story even better, magnificent photos worth framing scattered everywhere. Sadly, the quality of the photos in The WB Story, are sub-par. Though you don’t notice it too much is the smaller photos of films on most listings, the larger the photo, the more it becomes obvious how bad they are. You’ll cringe at the horrid, full-page photo of Bogart and Bergman in Casablanca, and wince when you come across a full-page photo of Bogart and Bacall from Dark Passage. They should be sharp and clear, glossy and beautiful, yet they are grainy and dull, sometimes fuzzy, almost as if taken a click or two before the lens was focused correctly. Or blown up from a very tiny source photo, not a negative.Whether something happened during transfer of the photos to the book, or whether second and third-tier shots were used, the quality ranges from disappointing to dreadful. I remembered it was so, but only as I’ve gone through this one again after first going through the RKO and MGM books does it really strike me how poor these photos are. It’s just inexcusable. It’s still great to have them, but it’s also, by comparison, tremendously disappointing, marring the experience for the casual filmgoer who only picks this up for the photos, rather than the background on WB. It is throughout the entire book, and reeks of shoddiness.There are sections at the back on the Warners at work, Busby Berkeley, and posters and lobby card photos from the studio’s long history. There is also a glimpse and listing of films made at the Teddington Studios — I’ll let the text explain. There is no doubt that this book is invaluable, a tremendous resource for the serious film fan. For the casual fan, however, the quality of the photos will be a huge disappointment. For that reason, I can’t five-star this one. It still gets four, but it isn’t a must-own for everyone, and that’s a shame. Whoever is responsible for these grainy, dull photos, and whoever gave this the green light for publication, should apologize to everyone who loves the films found in this book.

Part of a series of books illustrating the major film studios during Hollywood's golden age, The Warner Bros. Story is told by examining their entire filmography in chronological order (up to the time of publication. WB was known in the 30's and 40's for its crime dramas and musicals. Their crime dramas frequently touched on various social and political issues of the day.Like the other entries, this is beautiful illustrated by various stills both from on the set and for publicity. Each section is divided by decade with a two page essay detailing what the studio did in the respective decade and how they fared. What makes this book worth seeking out is that this is the best reference guide to every film that the studio produced which includes the films that are lost. Books like these were no doubt very valuable for film enthusiasts in the pre-internet days.Some might argue for an updated version that would incorporate the films made since the 80's, but a book like this is better for learning about and referencing the classic films from the 1910's to the 1950's. I would favor an updated version that incorporates a filmography of the live action short subjects and musical shorts that accompanied the main features.My only complaint is that these books are out of print. A lot of great books on film were published in the 80's and 90's that are out of print.This is an essential reference guide for classic film buffs.

I wasn't sure just how much I would get out of another story about Hollywood's "studio system." After reading some very good reviews, I decided that I really had nothing to lose. I am so glad that I bought "The Warner Bros. Story." When I first picked it up, I was surprised at how heavy it was and then I learned why. It is absolutely full of every detail imaginable about the movies that Warner Brothers made from the early silent years right up through the seventies. It not only explains who starred, directed, edited, etc. in each movie but gives relevant info about costumes, sets, and the stars. The other thing I like about it is that it is presented chronologically, so that you not only see how the filming process progressed, but also see the stars age and in most cases become better actors with better roles. One other thing that I might add is that MGM used to say it had "more stars than the heavens." Well, so did Warner Brothers! There are many that were under contract to Warner's, but there were also many actors who were independent that starred in movies for them. And they are all here! This is one of the best buys I have ever made and I highly recommend it for anybody who loves movies.

I love old time classic gangster movies the Warner Brothers movie studio specialized in this particular movie genre this book is loaded with these pictures, on page 101 you have the steely eyed Edward G. Robinson in Little Caesar, on page 104 Mr. tough guy himself James Cagney in Public Enemy, pages 160-161 you have the double treat of Humphrey Bogart and a very young vivacious Bette Davis in The Petrified Forest, page 165 Cagney and Bogart in Bullets or Ballots, page 194 Cagney and The Dead End Kids in Angels with Dirty Faces, page 207 Cagney and Bogart in The Roaring Twenties, on pages 276-277 Cagney and a very pretty Virginia Mayo in White Heat. After you've finished with the gangster movies you can focus on Bogie (Humphrey Bogart) himself in The Maltese Falcon on page 228, the pairing of Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca on pages 238-239, Bogart and Lauren Bacall in To Have And Have Not on pages 252-253, Bogart and Bacall in Dark Passage on pages 268-269, on page 270 Bogart in The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre, this book is GREAT!!! I can go on and on but I will stop here and let you catch your breath after you've read my enlightening review you can go over to amazon.com and buy your copy of this enjoyable book.

It’s a beautiful book on the history of Warner Brothers. A fine resource to look up classic films. I hope someday it will be updated.

I purchased this volume to complete what I regard as the set. I have all the other studio books - bought when they were first published in the late 70's and early 80's, but the hardback version of Warner Brothers has always eluded me. The book is what it says on the cover and has an article of all major films made by this studio. Warners was pre-eminent during the 30's and 40's and seemed to have more than it's fair share of major stars contracted to it and without it my collection was definitely incomplete .

all ways good to have a record of great to keep a list top company many films to keep forever