Contains essays and articles from seventeen noted film studies experts, including Lewis Jacobs, Tom Milne, John Tibbetts, Gaylord Carter, Robert and Helen Merrell Lynd, and Anthony Slide. Chapters provide the reader with a well-rounded view of the societal influences that inspired the films and the techniques that directors, filmmakers, and actors used to portray the world around them. Appendixes list studio activity in the 20s, give listings of the titles and directors noted in all five volumes of the series, and provide annotations for each film.