The New Historical Dictionary of the American Film Industry is a completely revised and updated edition of Anthony Slide's The American Film Industry, originally published in 1986 and recipient of the American Library Association's Outstanding Reference Book award for that year. More than 200 new entries have been added, and all original entries have been updated; each entry is followed by a short bibliography. As its predecessor, the new dictionary is unique in that it is not a who's who of the industry, but rather a what's what: a dictionary of producing and releasing companies, technical innovations, industry terms, studios, genres, color systems, institutions and organizations, etc. More than 800 entries include everything from Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences to Zoom Lens, from Astoria Studios to Zoetrope. Outstanding Reference Source - American Library Association

This book documents films produced in America during the 1940s, including 61 documentaries and 44 so-called "race movies," B Westerns and films from Poverty Row studios. Entries are alphabetically arranged by title and sequentially numbered. Where applicable, entries contain the following information: studio and/or production company, year of production and release, cast (sometimes with name of character played), running time, a brief synopsis, and awards won.