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Drawing on a wide range of archival sources, Andrew Shail traces the emergence of film stardom in Europe and North America in the early 20th century. Modifying and supplementing Richard deCordova's account of the birth of the US star system, Shail describes the complex set of economic circumstances that led film studios and actors to consent to the adoption of a star system. He then explores the film industry's turn, from 1908, to making character-based series films. He details how these characters both prefigured and precipitated the star system, demonstrating that series characters and the 'firmament' of film stars are functionally equivalent, and shows how openly fictional characters still provide the model for 'real' film stars.
List of contents
Introduction
Part I: A New Run at the Story
Chapter 1: Europe
Chapter 2: North America
Chapter 3: What Happened Next?
Chapter 4: Causality
Part II: Another Run at the Story
Chapter 5: The Series Character
Chapter 6: The Series Character and the Star System
Chapter 7: The Ontology of Film Stardom
Conclusion
Works Cited
About the author
Andrew Shail is a film historian with 20 years’ experience as a university researcher and lecturer. He was co-editor of Early Popular Visual Culture for 12 years.
Summary
Drawing on a wide range of archival sources, Andrew Shail traces the emergence of film stardom in Europe and North America in the early 20th century. Modifying and supplementing Richard deCordova’s account of the birth of the US star system, Shail describes the complex set of economic circumstances that led film studios and actors to consent to the adoption of a star system. He then explores the film industry’s turn, from 1908, to making character-based series films. He details how these characters both prefigured and precipitated the star system, demonstrating that series characters and the ‘firmament’ of film stars are functionally equivalent, and shows how openly fictional characters still provide the model for ‘real’ film stars.
Foreword
A study of the emergence of film stardom both by exploring the economics of the early film industry and connecting it to the phenomenon of character-based series fiction, providing clear and insightful analysis on the cultural economy of stars based on new archival evidence.
Additional text
The Origins of the Film Star System includes an impressive bibliography and reproductions of rarely seen publicity photographs and posters … Shail's book stands as a monumental achievement, demonstrating the dynamism of historiography while arguing for the necessity of looking beyond American modes and machinations of the early star system. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.
