UC Library Search
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UC Library Search is the unified discovery and borrowing system for all 10 UC Campuses. Select the UCLA Library Catalog scope to search holdings of materials owned by the UCLA Library and other UCLA collections, whether online or in print. Does not contain full-text articles or article citations. Select the Articles, books and more scope to search for materials in all 10 UC campuses. More information in this guide.
Selected Online Books and Dissertations
Some examples of online books and dissertations on a range of early film topics. Students are encouraged to search in the UCLA Library Catalog for additional books on their topics.
- Before the Nickelodeon: Edwin S. Porter and the Edison Manufacturing CompanyEbook from UC Press, written by Charles Musser.
- Casting Race: A History of Makeup Technology in the United States Film Industry, 1890-1940 (Dissertation)Online Ph.D. dissertation, written by Jennifer Miller at the U. of Rochester.
- Cecil B. DeMille and American Culture: The Silent EraEbook from UC Press, written by Sumiko Higashi.
- Cinema's Conversion to Sound: Technology and Film Style in France and the U.S.Limited to three concurrent users. Try again later if unavailable.
- The City That Made the Pictures Move: Gender, Labor, and the Film Industry in Los Angeles, 1908-1917 (Dissertation)This is a full text Ph.D. dissertation, written by Denise McKenna from NYU.
- Diffusing Authorship into System: Thomas Harper Ince, the Emergence of the American Feature and the Incean Society Film, 1911-1924 (Dissertation)Online Ph.D. dissertation from U. of Chicago, by Christopher Simmons.
- D. W. Griffith's 1915 Film "The Birth of a Nation": And its Impact on the Cultural Landscape of America (M.A. Thesis)Online Master's thesis from CSU-Dominguez Hills, by Michael Hurwitz.
- Edwin S. Porter and the Origins of the American Narrative Film, 1894-1907 (Dissertation)Online Ph.D. dissertation from McGill U., written by David Levy.
- Entrepreneurship and New Industry Emergence: The American Film Industry, 1896-1928 (Dissertation)Online Ph.D. dissertation from NYU Graduate School of Business Administration, written by Elizabeth Boyle.
- Hollywood in the Neighborhood: Historical Case Studies of Local MoviegoingIncludes chapter on moviegoing during the Depression, as well as case studies from specific cities in earlier decades.
- Images that Move: The Pioneering Work of Louis Lumiere (Dissertation)Online Ph.D. dissertation from Columbia U., written by Raymond Foery.
- The Motion Picture Patents Company (Dissertation)Online Ph.D. dissertation from U. Wisconsin, written by Robert Anderson.
- The Motion Picture Theater and Film Exhibition: 1896-1932 (Dissertation)Online Ph.D. dissertation from Northwestern U., written by Charlotte Herzog.
- Moving Pictures before Motion Pictures: The Pictorial Tradition and American Media Aesthetics, 1890-1920 (Dissertation)Online Ph.D. thesis from U. of Chicago, by Kaveh Askari.
- Off-Screen Realities: A History of Labor Activism in Hollywood, 1933-1947 (Dissertation)Ph.D. disseration by Laurie Pintar, from USC.
- The Red Rooster Scare: Making Cinema American, 1900-1910Ebook from UC Press, written by Richard Abel.
- Universal Women : Filmmaking and Institutional Change in Early HollywoodE-book by Mark Garret Cooper
- Wiley-Blackwell History of American Film4-volume set. Volumes 1 and 2 cover origins of film to 1945.
Browsing by Call Numbers
Most books in UCLA libraries are shelved by call number. You can browse broad call number ranges (examples below), but keep in mind that anything checked out, shelved in Reference or Class Reserves, or in other campus libraries, will be located in different places. Using the Library Catalog is recommended for searching specific books and topics.
PN1993.5.U6 - PN1993.5.U8: Motion Pictures History (United States)
PN1995.6: Motion Pictures and Censorship
PN1995.7: Pictures and sound / talking pictures
PN1995.75: Silent film
PN1995.9.G3: Gangster films (other film genres/topics also shelved in PN1995.9)
PN1998 - PN1998.3: Biographies and scholarship on individuals (mostly directors)
PN1999: Motion picture studios and corporations
PN2287: Biographies of actors/actresses
TR845 - TR899: Cinematography (includes projection, Technicolor and color cinematography, special effects)
NC1320 - NC1776: Cartooning and Animation
NA6845 - NA6846: Motion picture theaters