Ruth Harriet Louise and Hollywood Glamour Photography

Rating:
Summary: Not mostly photos
Review: I had expected tons of large photos / portraits in this book. That was not the case. It is a fasinating read though. Peppered with photos. Just thought I'd tell others incase they expected a mostly photos book too.

Rating:
Summary: Creating the Stars
Review: This is a superb, beautifully-produced book that is important for many reasons. First, the authors have rescued from obscurity an important woman photographer who helped create the most enduring images of Hollywood's early stars and also helped define the whole concept of cinematic Glamour. (Her work with Garbo established the conventions maintained and developed by the better-known Clarence S. Bull, and she even taught Steichen a lesson that he used in crafting his greatest image of Garbo.) Second, they have put the portrait photographer in context, in a fascinating exegesis of the Hollywood starmaking machine. Third, a marvellous appendix has clarified, for the first time, the timeline for the development of Garbo's image by various photographers (and the chapter on Garbo is also fascinating in its case study of this process)... another appendix elucidates the formerly-opaque numbering systems used by MGM's photographers. More AND BETTER text than the usual Hollywood picture book, although it is also filled with never-before-published photos. A must-have for the shelf of any film buff, and also a good choice for those interested in photography or women's studies. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Creating the Stars
Review: This is a superb, beautifully-produced book that is important for many reasons. First, the authors have rescued from obscurity an important woman photographer who helped create the most enduring images of Hollywood's early stars and also helped define the whole concept of cinematic Glamour. (Her work with Garbo established the conventions maintained and developed by the better-known Clarence S. Bull, and she even taught Steichen a lesson that he used in crafting his greatest image of Garbo.) Second, they have put the portrait photographer in context, in a fascinating exegesis of the Hollywood starmaking machine. Third, a marvellous appendix has clarified, for the first time, the timeline for the development of Garbo's image by various photographers (and the chapter on Garbo is also fascinating in its case study of this process)... another appendix elucidates the formerly-opaque numbering systems used by MGM's photographers. More AND BETTER text than the usual Hollywood picture book, although it is also filled with never-before-published photos. A must-have for the shelf of any film buff, and also a good choice for those interested in photography or women's studies. Highly recommended.