"The Decline of Sentiment" seeks to characterize the radical shifts in taste that transformed American film in the jazz age. Based upon extensive reading of trade papers and the popular press of the day, Lea Jacobs documents the films and film genres that were considered old-fashioned, as well as those dubbed innovative and up-to-date, and looks closely at the works of filmmakers such as Erich von Stroheim, Charlie Chaplin, Ernst Lubitsch, and Monta Bell, among many others. Her analysis - focusing on the influence of literary naturalism on the cinema, the emergence of sophisticated comedy, and the progressive alteration of the male adventure story and the seduction plot - is a comprehensive account of the modernization of classical Hollywood film style and narrative form.

About the Author
Lea Jacobs is Professor in the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is author of The Wages of Sin: Censorship and the Fallen Woman Film, 1929-1942 (UC Press) and Theatre to Cinema: Stage Pictorialism and the Early Feature Film.

Reviews
"A groundbreaking examination of a pivotal turning point in American cinema... Jacobs' thoroughly researched arguments make her thesis as convincing as it is original... A formidable achievement." American Cinematographer



Book Information
ISBN 9780520254572
Author Lea Jacobs
Format Paperback
Page Count 374
Imprint University of California Press
Publisher University of California Press
Weight(grams) 590g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 23mm