Flawed but fascinating

This book is a treasure trove of fascinating details about an easily misremembered part of film history. I learned that it was a much more complicated process than just a new technology coming along and old stars quietly fading away.

Whilst I enjoyed this book immensely, it is not without structural flaws, which are amplified by the audio format. In places there is too much detail, as if the author wanted to cram in every bit of his research. And he tends to drop people into the story without sufficient indication of who they are, which may leave some listeners a bit lost unless they already know something about Hollywood history. The events of 1927-1930 are described roughly chronologically, which is probably the best way to go about such a huge topic, but it made for a frustrating experience at times; an interesting plot thread (John Gilbert's first sound films, William Fox's financial gambles) would be dropped at a tantalising point and then suddenly picked up again ages later, by which time I'd forgotten some of the relevant details. There's a lot of jumping from one film project to another, particularly in the latter part of the book, without enough commentary to draw the facts together into an overall narrative.

The author does shine when he analyses the mood and behaviour of the movie industry and the qualities of the films it produced. He describes the key players' acting and directing styles and the features of the finished films with great clarity and elegance. Reading these comments made me start searching out some of those movies so I can see them for myself. By making extensive use of quotes from actors and production staff, Eyman tells the story of the coming of talkies through the people who lived it, which makes it more immediate and engaging.

I liked the narration, which I felt enhanced the audio version of this book. Even though the material is densely detailed, Adams Morgan's delivery is very conversational and expressive, even when relating rather dry technical information. He has excellent diction but also throws in the occasional howling mispronunciation. Unfortunately though (and ironically, given the subject matter) in the last 40 minutes or so there is noticeable sound distortion which makes the narrator's voice become higher in pitch and less distinct.

Overall, though, this book was entertaining, informative and inspiring (so far I can recommend Sunrise and Bulldog Drummond, and check out the astonishing Jeanne Eagles in The Letter!) and I was kind of sad to leave this time period when the book ended. By then I understood not just how the upheaval of talking pictures occurred, but also why it occurred in the way it did, which means that The Speed of Sound succeeds as history.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

technical but fascinating

Hits just the right blend of technical, historical and salatiousness. The reading is pretty good also, his gently stilted lilt suits the period.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!