This social history is an outsider's view, written from a distance by a Brit. He feels the men who led the industry deserve some appreciation and thanks for their efforts rather than the contempt they tend to reap. They did found companies known around the world, but while they saw the promise in the nascent industry, "the legitimate theatre sneered at the cinema and orthodox financiers were not to be drawn." The lecture by industry notables, "unlettered luminaries," promoted by Joe Kennedy at the Harvard School of Business in March and April of 1927 are of particular interest. The bibliography includes comments by French. Good index.

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