Buccaneer

James Stuart Blackton and the Birth of American Movies

Donald Dewey

A man of many film firsts, James Stuart Blackton promoted motion pictures as a mass commercial medium by creating the first true movie studio, adopting the star system, pioneering film animation, and publishing Motion Picture Magazine, one of the first film periodicals. As much of a seminal figure to the film industry as Thomas Edison and D.W. Griffith, James Stuart Blackton nonetheless remains unknown to most film enthusiasts and even many cinema scholars.

In Buccaneer: James Stuart Blackton and the Birth of American Movies Donald Dewey recounts the drama, intrigue, and romance of this motion picture trailblazer. A gifted director, producer, and founder of Vitagraph studios, Blackton’s personal escapades were nearly as dramatic as his contributions to the medium he helped establish. Decades ahead of his time, Blackton also played a critical role in propagating war-time sentiment during both the Spanish-American War and World War I and was an influence on such key historical figures as Theodore Roosevelt.

A fascinating look into the life of a truly distinguished filmmaker, Buccaneer narrates the volatile world of the early motion picture industry, as influenced by a man whose own story rivaled anything on screen. A must read for film lovers, this book will also prove to be invaluable to readers with an interest in American history.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 272 • Trim: 6½ x 9½

978-1-4422-4258-6 • Hardback • April 2016 • $53.00 • (£41.00)

978-1-4422-4259-3 • eBook • April 2016 • $50.00 • (£38.00)

Series: Film and History

Subjects: Performing Arts / Individual Director, Performing Arts / Film / History & Criticism, Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts

Buccaneer

James Stuart Blackton and the Birth of American Movies

Hardback

eBook

Summary

A man of many film firsts, James Stuart Blackton promoted motion pictures as a mass commercial medium by creating the first true movie studio, adopting the star system, pioneering film animation, and publishing Motion Picture Magazine, one of the first film periodicals. As much of a seminal figure to the film industry as Thomas Edison and D.W. Griffith, James Stuart Blackton nonetheless remains unknown to most film enthusiasts and even many cinema scholars.

In Buccaneer: James Stuart Blackton and the Birth of American Movies Donald Dewey recounts the drama, intrigue, and romance of this motion picture trailblazer. A gifted director, producer, and founder of Vitagraph studios, Blackton’s personal escapades were nearly as dramatic as his contributions to the medium he helped establish. Decades ahead of his time, Blackton also played a critical role in propagating war-time sentiment during both the Spanish-American War and World War I and was an influence on such key historical figures as Theodore Roosevelt.

A fascinating look into the life of a truly distinguished filmmaker, Buccaneer narrates the volatile world of the early motion picture industry, as influenced by a man whose own story rivaled anything on screen. A must read for film lovers, this book will also prove to be invaluable to readers with an interest in American history.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 272 • Trim: 6½ x 9½

978-1-4422-4258-6 • Hardback • April 2016 • $53.00 • (£41.00)

978-1-4422-4259-3 • eBook • April 2016 • $50.00 • (£38.00)

Series: Film and History

Subjects: Performing Arts / Individual Director, Performing Arts / Film / History & Criticism, Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts

Author

Donald Dewey has written hundreds of magazine stories and articles, many about the film industry. He is the author of more than thirty books of fiction, nonfiction, and drama, including Marcello Mastroianni: His Life and Art (1993), James Stewart: A Biography (1997), and Lee J. Cobb: Characters of an Actor (Rowman & Littlefield, 2014).

Buccaneer

James Stuart Blackton and the Birth of American Movies

Donald Dewey

Buccaneer

James Stuart Blackton and the Birth of American Movies

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