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Rocky Mountain Moving Picture Association Audiobook by Loren D. Estleman
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Title: Rocky Mountain Moving Picture Association
Author: Loren D. Estleman
Narrator: Norman Dietz
Format: Unabridged
Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins
Language: English
Release date: 10-24-08
Publisher: Recorded Books
Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1 votes
Genres: Fiction, Historical
Publisher's Summary:
A fragmented story comprised of anecdotal episodes from the early days of Hollywood.
©2000 Paul Theroux (P)2004 Recorded Books, LLC
Members Reviews:
Two-reeler story that should have been a three-reeler
I enjoyed reading this relatively short (280 pages or so) novel set, mostly, in 1913 during the early days of moving-making in California. I would have liked a longer book better, though. After the climax, the book comes to a very sudden end, with a couple of the characters reminiscing about what happened after; this was a let-down.
I got the feeling that Estleman had set a limit for himself, which would have been in keeping with the practices of the film-makers, who cut their stories to fit a certain size, such as two reels of film. And then, with a couple of pages left, it appears he decided to "wrap". Given that the other non-1913 pieces were almost entirely unnecessary (Valentino's funeral???), I think the over-all structure was flawed as a result.
On a positive note, the characterization was very good, and I thought that this had the best dialogue, especially from Adele Varga, of any of Estleman's books.
Lights! Fire Bucket! Camera! Watch Crank Speed! Action!
The Rocky Mountain Moving Picture Association is above all a fascinating period piece that takes you into an unfamiliar world before refrigerators, modern film technology, reliable cars, and honest law enforcement. It's a time of silent movies featuring printed cards to help relate the story, and made more exciting by a piano player in the movie theater. And the price of admission is one nickel. Vignettes set at a later date are inserted to give you a sense of what's to come: how the pioneers fared; the rise of the studio system for making stars; and the effect of stars on society.
The basic story line is about the wild and woolly efforts involved in establishing the motion picture industry. Entrepreneurs started filming and worried about the payroll later. The technology was dangerous. Indoor Klieg lights could easily start a fire, and made the actors' eyes very sore so that they could not shoot indoors every day. The film was highly combustible and had a short life if it didn't catch on fire. Thomas Edison led an effort to extract patent royalties on the motion picture technology, and Pinkerton "detectives" used violent tactics much like they did with labor union strikers. The technology was hard to use. You had to hand crank the camera at the right speed (singing She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain When She Comes or Dixie at the proper tempo as you do) or the images convey nonsense. Few have any experience, and you just do your best.
The book opens near Mount Shasta in northern California where people of Russian immigrant parentage operate an ice business by cutting up blocks of a lake in the middle of winter. Dmitri Andreivitch Pulski, the owner's son, dreams of being a writer. He's supposed to be supervising the work teams, but he sneaks off to a shed to write in the quiet solitude. Unexpectedly, the company gets an order for their entire inventory of ice for delivery in two weeks to Los Angeles. Why would anyone need so much ice? Can they pay? Dmitri is sent to find out, taking along all of the family's money. The usually gentle giant, Yuri, a Russian immigrant who has a violent history, accompanies him.
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Title: Rocky Mountain Moving Picture Association
Author: Loren D. Estleman
Narrator: Norman Dietz
Format: Unabridged
Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins
Language: English
Release date: 10-24-08
Publisher: Recorded Books
Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1 votes
Genres: Fiction, Historical
Publisher's Summary:
A fragmented story comprised of anecdotal episodes from the early days of Hollywood.
©2000 Paul Theroux (P)2004 Recorded Books, LLC
Members Reviews:
Two-reeler story that should have been a three-reeler
I enjoyed reading this relatively short (280 pages or so) novel set, mostly, in 1913 during the early days of moving-making in California. I would have liked a longer book better, though. After the climax, the book comes to a very sudden end, with a couple of the characters reminiscing about what happened after; this was a let-down.
I got the feeling that Estleman had set a limit for himself, which would have been in keeping with the practices of the film-makers, who cut their stories to fit a certain size, such as two reels of film. And then, with a couple of pages left, it appears he decided to "wrap". Given that the other non-1913 pieces were almost entirely unnecessary (Valentino's funeral???), I think the over-all structure was flawed as a result.
On a positive note, the characterization was very good, and I thought that this had the best dialogue, especially from Adele Varga, of any of Estleman's books.
Lights! Fire Bucket! Camera! Watch Crank Speed! Action!
The Rocky Mountain Moving Picture Association is above all a fascinating period piece that takes you into an unfamiliar world before refrigerators, modern film technology, reliable cars, and honest law enforcement. It's a time of silent movies featuring printed cards to help relate the story, and made more exciting by a piano player in the movie theater. And the price of admission is one nickel. Vignettes set at a later date are inserted to give you a sense of what's to come: how the pioneers fared; the rise of the studio system for making stars; and the effect of stars on society.
The basic story line is about the wild and woolly efforts involved in establishing the motion picture industry. Entrepreneurs started filming and worried about the payroll later. The technology was dangerous. Indoor Klieg lights could easily start a fire, and made the actors' eyes very sore so that they could not shoot indoors every day. The film was highly combustible and had a short life if it didn't catch on fire. Thomas Edison led an effort to extract patent royalties on the motion picture technology, and Pinkerton "detectives" used violent tactics much like they did with labor union strikers. The technology was hard to use. You had to hand crank the camera at the right speed (singing She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain When She Comes or Dixie at the proper tempo as you do) or the images convey nonsense. Few have any experience, and you just do your best.
The book opens near Mount Shasta in northern California where people of Russian immigrant parentage operate an ice business by cutting up blocks of a lake in the middle of winter. Dmitri Andreivitch Pulski, the owner's son, dreams of being a writer. He's supposed to be supervising the work teams, but he sneaks off to a shed to write in the quiet solitude. Unexpectedly, the company gets an order for their entire inventory of ice for delivery in two weeks to Los Angeles. Why would anyone need so much ice? Can they pay? Dmitri is sent to find out, taking along all of the family's money. The usually gentle giant, Yuri, a Russian immigrant who has a violent history, accompanies him.