"Individual reviews of 90 films created and released before 1941 are included here in the first title-by-title reference guide to the forerunners of film noir. Silent Hitchcock thrillers and German expressionist masterpieces, French poetic realist dramas and forgotten Hollywood B-movies, pseudo-Freudian gangster films and costume melodramas are among the works covered. The collection spans subgenres and cultures of filmmaking, aiming to demonstrate...

Presents a collection of essays that combine history, analysis, and love for movies covering such films as "All About Eve," "Casablanca," "Lawrence of Arabia," and "Schindler's List.".