Table of Contents

List of Illustrations Introduction 1. "Master Showmen of the World": Prehistory and the Formation of the Company 2. "It's RKO--Let's Go": The Brown-Schnitzer-LeBaron Regime (1929--1931) 3. "Failure on the installment plan, a ticket at a time": The Aylesworth-Kahane-Selznick Regime (1932--1933) 4. "All this is very distressing to me": The Aylesworth-Kahane-Cooper Regime (1933--1934) 5. "He feels the company is unsettled": The Aylesworth-McDonough-Kahane Regime (1934--1935) 6. "An awfully long corner": The Spitz-Briskin Regime (1936--1937) 7. "Plaything of industry": The Spitz-Berman Regime (1938) 8. "The company's best interest": The Schaefer-Berman Regime (1939) 9. "Quality pictures are the lifeblood of this business": The Schaefer-Edington Regime (1940--1941) 10. "Crossing wires": The Schaefer-Breen Regime (1941--1942) Appendix: "The Whole Equation of Pictures" Notes Selected Bibliography Index

About the Author

Richard B. Jewell is Professor of Critical Studies at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. He is the author of The Golden Age of Hollywood, and The RKO Story, among others.

Reviews

"Jewell not only makes great use of this primary material, but presents a clear, fair-minded narrative that puts the facts into proper context." Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy "The author is clear and candid... A readable, thought-provoking analysis." -- S.R. Kozloff, Vassar College Choice