Hidden Talent: The Emergence of Hollywood Agents Paperback – November 3, 2009

In Tom Kemper's history of the early years of the agency business in Hollywood, he produces a rare work of scholarship: he makes the history riveting to read. Not only does the book offer a persuasive analysis of the financial and even artistic relevance of agents to the motion picture business, but it does so in a way that makes individual agents like Myron Selznick and Charles Feldman stand out as three-dimensional characters one might find in a historical novel. This makes for a compelling read. I would highly recommend this to academics and film buffs alike. As the "narrative" comes to an end with the arrival of TV in the fifties, Kemper promises a sequel (in characteristic Hollywood fashion) and it would be a book I very much would look forward to reading.

Tom Kemper provides a fascinating history of talent agents in the Golden Age of Hollywood.Using extensive research into the archives of both the Myron Selznick and Charles Feldman agencies, among others, Tom Kemper provides the reader with "in depth" detail that explodes the myth that all the Holywood Moguls offered actors was a 7 year contract or central casting. The idea that package deals were only created in the 1970's by the likes if ICM and CAA is rendered nonsense.For those with a serious interest in the History of Hollywood, this book, which is extremely readable, provides thelevel of detail on stars and their contracts that puts one in the Hollywood Pool, swimming with the sharks.Mr Kemper also features mini- case studies on various stars - Claudette Colbert & John Wayne showing how their agents assisted in creating their careers and personas, yet in the background, always, the battles being fought for an even bigger slice of the pie and who gets it.An excellent book for those who want more than a " coffee table book" view of Hollywood in it's Golden Age.

A well researched and informative look into the rising power of agents in the film industry in the thirties and forties.