A wonderful large-format library find, detailing the history of American films after the Roaring Twenties, when talkies scared the moralists. Films were butchered and many original works were permanently lost on the cutting room floor. This book is well-researched, contains many high-quality full-page photos, and includes helpful appendices (texts of the production codes and a list of 100 "pre-code" films and their availability at publishing date, 1999).