Table of Contents

Acknowledgments New Introduction Part 1 The Context 1 Going to the Pictures 2 The Dream Merchants 3 'The Devil's Camera' 4 'Our Movie-made Children' Part 2 The Constraints 5 The Aims and Principles of Censorship 6 Censorship in Operation: Domestic Policy 7 Censorship in Operation: Foreign Policy 8 Censorship in Operation: Imperial Policy Part 3 The Stars 9 Stars 10 Gracie Fields: Consensus Personified 11 George Formby: The Road from Wigan Pier 12 Jessie Matthews: The Dancing Divinity 13 The Romantic Adventurer: Robert Donat and Leslie Howard Part 4 The Films 14 Putting Britain on the Screen 15 Visions of the Past - Messages for the Present 16 Images of Peace and War 17 Class and Consensus: Lower Down 18 Class and Consensus: Higher Up Conclusions Notes Sources General Index Index of Film Titles

Promotional Information

The period between the two world wars is often named 'the golden age of the cinema' in Britain. This title examines the role of going to the pictures in people's lives during a tough period when people regularly spent a few pence to purchase ready-made dreams watching Gracie Fields, Robert Donat and the other stars of the day.

About the Author

Jeffrey Richards is Professor of Cultural History, University of Lancaster. His fine books on Cinema include 'The Unknown 1930s' and, with Anthony Aldgate, 'Britain Can Take It: British Cinema in the Second World War' (new edition, 2007), both I.B.Tauris. He is General Editor of Tauris' 'Cinema and Society series'.

Reviews

'Jeffrey Richards is admirably equipped to look at the forces shaping the British film industry in the 1930s and to interpret sympathetically a body of films traditionally mocked for their class-bound attitudes... he is full of original insights and illuminating comparisons.' - Philip French, 'Observer'; 'For those with an interest in British Cinema such an enthusiastic and knowledgeable book is a godsend.' - Robert Murphy, 'Sight and Sound'