THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK
published by alfred a. knopf, inc.

Copyright © 1990 by Kevin Brownlow
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. Distributed by Random House, Inc., New York.

Grateful acknowledgment is made to Variety for permission to reprint excerpts from reviews of The Bridge of Sighs (5/28/15), The Blacklist (2/18/16), Birth Control (4/13/17), Big Brother (12/27/23), and The Racket (7/11/28). Reprinted by permission of Variety Inc. Variety is a registered trademark of Variety, Inc. MGM stills © Turner Entertainment Co.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Brownlow, Kevin.
Behind the mask of innocence : the social problem films of the
silent era / by Kevin Brownlow. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
eISBN: 978-0-307-82970-2
1. Silent films—History and criticism. 2. Motion pictures—United States—History. 3. Social problems in motion pictures.
I. Title.
PN 1995.75.B68 1990

791.43′0973–DC20

89-71676

Endpapers: A New York motion picture theatre, 1913. (Kobal Collection)
Frontispiece: Ellis Island re-created in the studio for The Strong Man, directed by Frank Capra, 1926.

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