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Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History

Manny Pacheco

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Feb 08, 2010 Manny Pacheco rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author)

Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History teaches how to experience history through Hollywood films and provides the author's studies of motion pictures to show how history has been represented through Hollywood's images. It focuses on the character actresses and actors who have delivered solid performances and reviews timeless films that have captured American history on screen. Any film library will find this a lively survey.

~~MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW - July 2011

In "Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten Histo Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History teaches how to experience history through Hollywood films and provides the author's studies of motion pictures to show how history has been represented through Hollywood's images. It focuses on the character actresses and actors who have delivered solid performances and reviews timeless films that have captured American history on screen. Any film library will find this a lively survey.

~~MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW - July 2011

In "Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History", Manny Pacheco presents portraits of character actors who were important yet not widely known in the history of cinema in the United States. He ties the works of these actors with events in American and world history, often remarking on the correlation between the roles they chose, or were cast in, and the social and cultural developments of the times. Some of the actors' names are easily recognizable, such as Lionel Barrymore, Claude Rains and Basil Rathbone, while others, like Ward Bond and Thomas Mitchell, may be less familiar to many readers. The acting career of each actor covered is juxtaposed to historical events and the actual personages these actors portrayed. Pacheco includes relevant photographs both of the actors and historic events and persons.

"Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History" is a fascinating look at the roots of modern-day cinema. I enjoyed learning more about some of my favorite actors, such as Rathbone and Rains, and discovering actors who had just been names to me. The pictures Pacheco has gathered and included in the book are fabulous and make each chapter a tour not only of the covered actor but the history of the times as well. While I was familiar with Lionel Barrymore, his disability and the way he performed around it and led the way for other disabled performers was a revelation. Tonight, I'll be trying to find an online version of the first talking role Rathbone played, as Philo Vance, in a film I never knew existed, thanks to Pacheco's scholarship. Whether you are a classic movie buff or simply curious about this book, I think you'll be as pleased with it as I am.

~~READER'S FAVORITE review - 2013

What makes this media property compelling for Vision4Media are the stories behind some of the most beloved movies and cinematic legends from Hollywood’s Golden era, and how many of these true accounts are surprisingly relevant for our times. Within this rich, untold history of Hollywood lies a treasure trove of great and poignant social commentary.

Younger viewers will especially discover that none of the issues we wrestle within the 21st century are new. ‘Forgotten Hollywood’ is a powerful moving allegory to the greatest challenges we are still wrestling with today – from immigration, to race relations, to even the rights of the disabled. And, our goal here is not to be didactic, but simply to relate the untold stories of the actors, directors and movies from a ‘forgotten’ Hollywood era, that when revealed, suddenly become powerful reminders of how much work we have left to do.

~~DAVID C. LOYA / President, VISION4MEDIA - 2012

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