Silver Screen Book Club discussion

Our spring read is MGM Style: Cedric Gibbons and the Art of the Golden Age of Hollywood by Howard Gutner.

Do you pay attention to sets in films? Which are your favorite?

Please join us in reading this book and taking in the opulent stills throughout.

I have my copy now and will begin it soon. As a rule, I haven't paid much attention to sets except in films I've watched many times and know very well (CITIZEN KANE, SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS, ADVISE AND CONSENT) so I will read it (and look at the pictures) with both interest and a blank slate.

For what it's worth, very sad about the Cinevent cancellation.

I just finished this book and found it very interesting. I hadn't realized how much Gibbons' set design influenced household decor trends during that era.

I don't know if I have a favorite film set, but I pay attention to set design and enjoy watching movies made when I was younger, to revisit period detail.

I liked it more than I thought it would. I haven't had much interest in film sets (or MGM, for that matter,) but this was very entertaining and informative and I got a good sense of how MGM worked in the "Golden Age" and how Cedric Gibbons influenced the look of the movies. The pictures were very well-chosen to illustrate the text and it was just a handsome volume all around.