Framework: A History of Screenwriting in the American Film

Television and Popular Culture

by Tom Stempel

Updated and expanded for the third edition, this volume combines scholarship with movie lore to present a comprehensive account of the development and influence of the American screenwriter. The text is written in an informal style and includes anecdotes and stories that spotlight writer's creative work and their struggle to achieve recognition.

313 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1988

Reviews

[James Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the title suggests, this is a fairly comprehensive history of the screenplay, from the dawn of cinema to the mid 80s (when the book was released). There's a fair amount of criticism in the book as well, mostly welcome but sometimes a bit much. It's obvious that Tom Stempel is a screenwriter and evaluates films based solely on the narrative strength of a film, because it's clear that he dislikes movies that are mood-driven or episodic rather than fueled by narrative. As the book goes on, it also becomes clear that he thinks of the studio era as the peak of American film and it's been a steep decline since then. All this aside, this is a great overview of an aspect of film history that is often ignored.