Vitagraph

This is a well-researched, exhaustively documented study of a film company that at one time was better known than any other. The author has drawn extensively on archival material and especially the trade publications of the period to enrich his study. He separates fact from fiction, particularly in the accounts of the two founders of the company who tended to mythologize and fabricate to enhance their reputations. A commendable book—I learned much from it.

~Bernard F. Dick, author of Engulfed: The Death of Paramount Pictures and the Birth of Corporate Hollywood

This straightforward, richly documented work is a credit to film history. Vitagraph fills a significant gap, as there is no existing volume that dispassionately recounts the full history of this studio using such a range of sources.

~Stephen Bottomore, editorial board member of Film History journal

A handsome book with well-chosen, highly evocative photographs.

~Stage and Cinema

What is evident on almost every page is the deep knowledge that Erish possesses about early cinema and his overwhelming enthusiasm for it.... A fine piece of historical research as well as a testament to a largely unsung part of American cinema.

~Kevin Brianton, adjunct senior research fellow at La Trobe University and author of Hollywood Divided, Cinema History Online

With a deft combination of thorough research and page-turning storytelling, Erish makes the Vitagraph story flicker to life over [304] thrilling pages. He succeeds not only in laying out the journey of the Vitagraph boys and their importance in film history, but also in separating fact from layers of tale tales spun by the Blackton and Smith themselves.

~Hollywood North Magazine

A mixture of good gossip and heavy, important research.

~A Person in the Dark Blog

Erish's new book, Vitagraph: America's First Great Motion Picture Studio, is a valuable history of filmmaking in its earliest days.... Erish is an honest researcher, willing to set aside his enthusiasm for Vitagraph in pursuit of the truth.

~Shepherd Express

A fascinating look at the history and influence of Vitagraph.... This book is a wonderful read focused upon the importance and impact of Vitagraph.

~Hometowns to Hollywood

Erish backs up his claims with scholarship that calls into question many years of cinematic history assumptions. Readers can feel his satisfaction at righting this decades-long wrong, and putting Vitagraph back in it's place as one of the most important founders of the modern day movie business. The fall of Vitagraph is also well-detailed, in this writer's view, explaining how the names behind the company faded into obscurity, while names like Warner, Lasky, and Zukor remain. Though this book may be most enjoyed by movie historians and lovers of the silent age, it neatly fits into the genre of eye-opening revisionist history that is beloved by many. It also serves as an overarching history of the early days of the movie business, so could easily serve as a jumping off point for readers who want to get it right from the start. Long live Vitagraph!

~Picture This Post