Front cover image for Popular filmgoing in 1930s Britain : a choice of pleasures

Popular filmgoing in 1930s Britain : a choice of pleasures

In the 1930s there were close to a billion annual admissions to the cinema in Britain and it was by far the most popular paid-for leisure activity. This book is an exploration of that popularity. The book establishes similarities and differences between national and regional tastes through case study analysis of cinemagoing in Bolton and Brighton.
Print Book, English, 2015
Reprinted digitally View all formats and editions
University of Exeter Press, Exeter, 2015
X, 316 stron ; 24 cm.
9780859896603, 0859896609
1066082342
Contents: A simple theory of film choice; the context film in 1930s Britain; measuring popularity; shares in the British market; popular films and their stars in Bolton (worktown); comparative cinemagoing preferences, 1934-1935 - national, Bolton and Brighton audiences; profits, film budgets and popularity; genres, generic lineages and "hits"; stardom and "hits"; Michael Balcon's close encounter with the American market; difficulties facing the production sector of the British film industry during the late 1930s; conclusion. Appendices: the national sample cinema set; 126 London West End "hits" screened between 1 January 1932 and 31 March 1938; POPSTAT top 100 films in Britain, 1932-1937.