In an unprecedented career, Ronald Colman starred in high adventure, light comedy, delicate romance and intense drama. His acting was tempered by a lighthearted nature, an introspective sadness of the eyes, and the indefinable fragility of an exquisitely modulated voice. This critical evaluation of Colman's life and career is accompanied by scores of never before published photos. Complete cast and credits are given.

Arthur J. Raffles is a character created in the 1890s by E. W. Hornung, brother-in-law to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. Raffles is, in many ways, a deliberate inversion of Holmes - he is a ""gentleman thief,"" living at the Albany, a prestigious address in London, playing cricket for the Gentlemen of England and supporting himself by carrying out ingenious burglaries. He is called the ""Amateur Cracksman,"" and often, at first, differentiates between himself and the ""professors"" - professional criminals from the lower classes. As Holmes has Dr. Watson to chronicle his adventures, Raffles has Harry ""Bunny"" Manders - a former schoolmate saved from disgrace and suicide by Raffles, whom Raffles persuaded to accompany him on a burglary. While Raffles often takes advantage of Manders' relative innocence, and sometimes treats him with a certain amount of contempt, he knows that Manders' bravery and loyalty are to be relied on utterly.

A tribute to actor William Powell details his short-lived marriage to Carole Lombard, tragic romance with Jean Harlow, forty-year marriage to Diana Lewis, and his remarkable film career

Documenting the most notorious house in Hollywood, this history spans the life and death of Mulholland Farm, the elegant and infamous mountaintop showplace built by film star Errol Flynn at the height of his fame. While appearing to be stylish and refined, Flynn installed secret passageways, two-way mirrors, and other voyeuristic tools into the house to spy on the famous women he entertained, as well as couples making love. He lived in Mulholland Farm during Hollywood’s Golden Era, when he was the most famous playboy movie star alive, remaining in the home through the rape trial that almost ruined him and the snatching of John Barrymore's body. The intricate story of the farm also spans five continents to include Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, Fidel Castro, Humphrey Bogart, Shirley Temple, Clark Gable, Billy Graham, Johnny Cash, Roy Rogers, the Rolling Stones, and the other two owners of the property, Christian singer/songwriter Stuart Hamblen and rock ‘n’ roll legend Rick Nelson.

Actor William Powell is perhaps best known for his roles as charming Nick in The Thin Man films and blustery Clarence Day in Life with Father. As diverse as those characters are, they don't begin to reveal the full scope of talent demonstrated by one of Hollywood's most intelligent leading men. Elegant, witty and dignified, Powell created accessible and human characters in a great variety of roles. His talent was such that Powell has a large and growing fan base 50 years after his last film was released, evidenced by the popularity of DVD rereleases and the frequent appearance of his films on cable television. The focus of this book is Powell's work in more than 90 films, from the silent era to the age of CinemaScope, woven into the dramatic and touching story of the actor's life. It begins by leaping into how Powell and actress Myrna Loy were launched to stardom as husband and wife Nick and Nora Charles in The Thin Man. The next chapter sets the stage for the baby Powell's entry into the world in 1892 and details his childhood and upbringing. Following chapters trace Powell's journey into the film industry, his early career as a popular villain, and his transition to talkies in the late 1920s aided by his stage training. The book details his work at Warner Bros., which turned him into a leading man, and his years of stardom at MGM. The book describes turning points in Powell's life--the death of lover Jean Harlow, a 21-month hiatus from films while the actor battled cancer, and a new leap to the top in Life with Father. Concluding chapters detail another flurry of films and the actor's retirement. A filmography lists Powell's films from 1922 to 1955, including those believed to be lost.

One of the most enchanting figures of the silver screen, Ronald Colman appeared in such classic films as Beau Geste, The Prisoner of Zenda, Lost Horizon, and A Tale of Two Cities. He was nominated four times for the Academy Award, which he won for a spectacular performance in A Double Life. His voice was unrivaled, and he had a brilliant career as a radio star. A charismatically photogenic performer, he was voted the handsomest actor in Hollywood on several occasions. His superior skills, his dashing visage, and his resonant speech made him one of the most sought after and acclaimed stars of his day. In spite of his enormous talent and supreme achievements, Ronald Colman has strangely been overlooked. This immensely detailed reference book brings Colman's life and career into sharp focus, corrects misleading information about him, and comments on the critical response to his work. The heart of this expertly researched volume is a series of chapters with entries for Colman's many hundreds of performances in film, radio, and television. Entries provide full production information, plot synopses, excerpts from reviews, and valuable commentary. An extensive annotated bibliography summarizes and assesses material written about Colman, and the author scrupulously debunks the many myths that have been written about Colman in previous publications.

British Social Realism details and explores the rich tradition of social realism in British cinema from its beginnings in the documentary movement of the 1930s to its more stylistically eclectic and generically hybrid contemporary forms. Samantha Lay examines the movements, moments and cycles of British social realist texts through a detailed consideration of practice, politics, form, style and content, using case studies of key texts including Listen to Britain, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Letter to Brezhnev, and Nil by Mouth. In discussing the work of many prominent realist filmmakers, the book considers the challenges for social realist film practice and production in Britain, now and in the future.

The story of Dana Andrews (1909-1992)