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The Exhibitor as Producer = Stage Prologues in American Movie Theatres, 1917-1926

This open access book seeks answers to a series of questions about the little studied subject of prologues or theatrical presentations in American movie theaters from the late 1910s to the mid-1920s. How did prologues emerge out of prior practices? Who were the exhibitors most involved? What characteristics would come to define prologues? How widespread did they become not only in metropolitan palace cinemas but also in movie theaters in mid-sized cities and even small towns? If they generally created an atmosphere that complimented or harmonized with the feature films, could they also be what at the time was called “contrastive“? Who were the performers in these theatrical presentations? Were prologues ever described, in ads and audience responses, as a program’s main attraction and to what effect?
The book comprises five chapters and up to a hundred photographs of prologue stage settings. Moreover, supplementing each chapter is one or more relevant trade press documents. Overall, the chapters construct a set of practices and typologies that came to define the theatrical presentations that typically preceded the feature films. They also advance this argument: the variety format of combined stage and screen performance in movie theaters has a longer and unexpectedly revealing history than usually assumed. In short, an exhibitor would have a certain degree of creativity in his/her programming, which in turn could strongly impact an audience’s movie-going experience.

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Detail Information

Series Title

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Call Number

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Publisher

: Palgrave Macmillan Cham., 2025

Collation

XVII, 199 hlm; ill., lamp.,

Language

English

ISBN/ISSN

9783031717819

Classification

-

Content Type

text

Media Type

computer

Carrier Type

other (computer)

Edition

1

Subject(s)

Film/TV Industry,
Theatre History
American Cinema and TV

Specific Detail Info

This book is open access, which means that you have free and unlimited access Presents prologues or theatrical presentations in early American movie theaters Compiles a set of practices and typologies that came to define stage prologues Includes nearly a hundred rare photos of stage settings and line drawings by major exhibitors

Statement of Responsibility

Richard Abel

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Source

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-71781-9

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ida

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-71781-9

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Journal Issue

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