Hollywood in the neighborhood: historical case studies of local moviegoing

Collection of 14 essays, edited by Kathryn H. Fuller-Seeley, which examine the social and cultural changes brought to smaller towns across America by the arrival of cinema. Contents: Part I: Introduction Setting the Contexts 1. 'Introduction: researching and writing the history of local moviegoing' by Kathryn H. Fuller-Seeley and George Potamianos; 2. 'Decentering historical audience studies: a modest proposal' by Robert C. Allen. Part II: Origins Case Studies 3. 'The itinerant movie show and the development of the film industry' by Calvin Pryluck; 4. 'Early film exhibition in Wilmington, North Carolina' by Anne Morey; 5. 'Building movie audiences in Placerville, California, 1908-1915' by George Potamianos; 6. 'Cinema virtue, cinema vice: race, religion, and film exhibition in Norfolk, Virginia, 1908-1922' by Terry Lindvall; Part III: Integration and Variations Case Studies 7. 'The movies in a "not so visible place": Des Moines, Iowa, 1911-1914' by Richard Abel; 8. 'Digging the finest potatoes from their acre: Government film exhibition in rural Ontario, 1917-1934' by Charles Tepperman; 9. 'At the movies in the "biggest little city in Wisconsin"' by Leslie Midkiff DeBauche. Part IV: Maturity and Crisis in the 1930s Case Studies 10. 'Imagining and promoting the small-town theater' by Gregory A. Waller; 11. '"What the picture did for me": small-town exhibitors' strategies for surviving the Great Depression' by Kathryn H. Fuller-Seeley; 12. '"Something for nothing": bank night and the refashioning of the American Dream' by Paige Reynolds. Part V: Looking Backward, Looking Forward Case Studies 13. 'Bad sound and sticky floors: an ethnographic look at the symbolic value of historic small-town movie theaters' by Kevin Corbett; 14. 'Conclusion: when theory hits the road' by Ronald G. Walters.