Allan Dwan and the Rise and Decline of the Hollywood Studios
"No wonder it took seven years, and we should be grateful to Fred Lombardi. This is a thoroughly researched book which no film aficionado can afford to be without." --Kevin Brownlow, 2010 Honorary Academy Award winner"Exhaustively researched." --Dave Kehr, The New York Times"Totally remarkable book on Allan Dwan...so wonderfully dense with information, insights, judicious speculation, etc, etc.--in short it is an instant classic, one of the three or four finest books on film that I have ever read."--Kevin Thomas, retired film critic, Los Angeles Times"Excellent biography...impeccably researched, cleanly written and a huge overall boon to film scholarship." --Scott Eyman, The Palm Beach Post"No one will ever match the author for exhaustiveness as he explores Dwan's long career...every film is examined in depth...Dwan has never had a more diligent champion than Lombardi." --Leonard Maltin"Lombardi has done his homework. His Allan Dwan is a revelation, a testament to the fruits of untiring and solid research. Every page reveals the always reliable Dwan as a prolific and versatile filmmaker, whose work touched upon every genre and aspect of the evolving studio system in Hollywood's Golden Age. He was the architect behind Douglas Fairbanks's best pictures, from the early comedies to the swashbuckling costume epic, Robin Hood. Gloria Swanson, John Wayne, and Shirley Temple, among so many others, all benefited from his sure touch. We can only wonder why it has taken so long to restore this master director to his rightful place in the Hollywood firmament. We are profoundly grateful to Mr. Lombardi." --John C. Tibbetts, Douglas Fairbanks and the American Century"One of the best film books of 2013...thoroughly researched...does much to advance the director as one of the greats." --Thomas Gladysz, the Huffington Post"Lombardi has done his homework. His Allan Dwan is a revelation, a testament to the fruits of untiring and solid research. Every page reveals the always reliable Dwan as a prolific and versatile filmmaker, whose work touched upon every genre and aspect of the evolving studio system in Hollywood's Golden Age. He was the architect behind Douglas Fairbanks's best pictures, from the early comedies to the swashbuckling costume epic, Robin Hood. Gloria Swanson, John Wayne, and Shirley Temple, among so many others, all benefited from his sure touch. We can only wonder why it has taken so long to restore this master director to his rightful place in the Hollywood firmament. We are profoundly grateful to Mr. Lombardi." --John C. Tibbetts, Douglas Fairbanks and the American Century