Marshalling his cinematic and cultural knowledge, editor Jan-Christopher Horak has compiled this group of articles on the cinematic period from 1919 to 1945. Many of the articles comprehensively treat such early film-makers as Mary Ellen Bute, Theodore Huff and Douglass Crockwell. Also included in the book is a listing of all American avant-garde films produced in the years before World War II as well as a bibliography of relevant criticism, literature and news accounts.