Arranged chronologically and illustrated wherever possible with frame stills, the aims of the collection are threefold: to provide detailed accounts of a wide array of films produced in a number of different counties between the early 1910s and the early 1930s; to focus principally on films that may be well-known but that have rarely been discussed in detail; and hence to appeal to interested members of the public as well as to scholars of film style and history and teachers and students of film in the U.S., Europe, Scandinavia, East Asia and elsewhere abroad.

Outstanding group of contributors – see details on Author Biography page – all are acknowledged and well-regarded scholars in the field, many of whom have established international reputations for their work in this area and a world-renowned editor.