Screen Deco: A Celebration of High Style in Hollywood

by Howard Mandelbaum, Eric Myers

Long sought-after in the out-of-print market, SCREEN DECO is a witty and detailed look at the fabulous Art Deco designs in the films of the Twenties and Thirties. Lavishly illustrated with stills from movies famous and obscure, SCREEN DECO appeals to the film historian as well as anyone interested in the rise of High Style Deco. Chapters cover, among other topics, the design of musicals, ocean liners, and futurist cinematic epics. The final chapter presents portraits of the stars who personified the Deco "look."

Genres: Film, Art, Nonfiction

209 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1987

Reviews

[Creolecat · Rating 5 out of 5]

A blueprint for my deco decor. My fantasy: lounging in an Adrian gown, sipping a martini with Mr. Powell in my Cedric Gibbons-decorated living room......"

[Philip Cosand · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this 25 years ago when I was in college. I thought, "Hey, this will be a fun side-textbook." Then I never read it.

Like many folks my age, I was introduced to Art Deco by Batman: The Animated Series. I had never seen "Metropolis." I just liked the sheen and the bold, soaring lines.

The vast majority of this book is pictures. (As it should be.) The text can easily be read through in a day. The enjoyment depends entirely on how much you like taking in photo stills. By the end, I had a list of movies that I wanted to watch, but I will probably give the book away.

If you know the movies of the 20s and 30s, then you are all set. If you were born half a century too late, then you will have some catching up to do.

From my limited knowledge, it was a fine overview of a bygone era.

[Amy Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm constantly swooning over the decadent sets in classic films so I was very excited to discover a book about it! Much of the book is screenshots from various films that really exemplify the Art Deco style, they're lovely big pictures, there's also some paintings of set ideas along with set stills which were very exciting to see!

The text takes you through what Art Deco is and it's evolution and how it became the go-to style for films. It also goes through how different rooms and movie genres were designed and the famous set designers themselves!

I learned a lot from this book as I started out knowing nothing but admiration for the style. My list of films I want to watch also got a lot longer and I had to look for books on the set designers mentioned so my reading list grew too! A fantastic book on a beautiful subject!

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

How Hollywood helped introduce Art Deco to Americans. Lovely black and white photos with some text to help set context. I haven't seen most of these films, many were shot in the early twenties, but the photos are extremely clear. Film majors might find it more useful but still a fun read for we who like odd architecture. Long out of print.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just want go back in time to the premier of 'Top Hat' at the Radio City Music Hall and then dance the night away at the Rainbow Room. Is that so wrong?

[Edie Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A particularly good book on film design from the deco period.

[GlenK · Rating 4 out of 5]

This entertaining look at Art Deco as a design element in (mostly Hollywood) movies of the 1920's and 30's focuses on the expected genres of musicals plus society dramas and comedies but also points to period pieces like DeMille's "Cleopatra" and the futuristic "Flash Gordon" serial. Especially interesting is the origins of the Big White Set (see Astaire/Rogers musicals "The Gay Divorcee" and "Top Hat" as prime examples) with water routinely dyed black for maximum contrast. Originally published in the mid-1980's, this work has excellent and error free text (I saw only one photo that seemed to me to be incorrectly captioned) plus plentiful film set photos.

[Kristen Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure I can really mark this book as "read" since I read not more than ten pages. I got this for the pictures (a little research) and was captivated. It was due back at the library before I could actually wade through the rather dense text, but I loved it nonetheless.