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Ken Wlaschin, The Silent Cinema in Song, 1896-1929, An Illustrated History and Catalog of Songs Inspired by the Movies and Stars, with a List of Recordings (Jefferson, North Carolina & London: McFarland & Company, 2009).
Ken Wlaschin, Silent Mystery and Detective Movies, a Comprehensive Filmography (Jefferson, North Carolina & London: McFarland & Company, 2009).
The late Ken Wlaschin was a person of passionate interests.Helovedmusicandwasa devoted fan of mystery and detective stories. He was also a uniquely skilled and knowledgeable film enthusiast. Wlaschin made his reputation in England where he was the highly respected programmer of the National Film Theatre and director of the London Film Festival. Later, in his native United States, he served as director of Filmex, the Los Angeles International Film Festival, and as director of creative affairs for theAmericanFilm Institute.Hewasprimarily known as an innovative film programmer, with a reputation for blending mainstream shows with explorations of lesser known but highly watchable cinema. Regular readers of Film History will recognize him as the co-author with Stephen Bottomore of "Moving Picture Fiction of the Silent Era, 1895-1928" (20.2, 2008).
These two books, The Silent Cinema in Song, 1896-1929 and Silent Mystery and Detective Movies, a Comprehensive Filmography, are a product of Wlaschin's personal passions and his journeys through the highways and byways of cinema. They also reflect his very catholic tastes. Wlaschin had previously demonstrated his love of music in three well regarded books exploring "serious" music, a guide to Gian Carlo Menotti on Screen (McFarland, 1999), Opera on Screen (Beachwood Press, 1997) and Encyclopedia of American Opera on Screen (Yale University Press, 2006). All three were designed to serve the classical music enthusiast while satisfying the needs of the curious bystander. These books are quite different; they deal with topics out of the mainstream, but his intent is the same. Like the bibliography in Film History, they are intended to add to our understanding of the silent era while providing the casual viewer with tidbits to satisfy curiosity. There is wonderful material for trivia questions in these additions to the silent film lexicon.
Songs first. Wlaschin states in his introduction to The Silent Cinema in Song, 1896-1929 that his purpose is to fill a gap in film scholarship caused by the lack of...