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Pyramid Illustrated History of the Movies
General Editor: Ted Sennett

   

If you are a fan of the uniform set called the Pyramid Illustrated History of the Movies, you just did a double take. Bogart and Marilyn are familiar, but they should have done a volume on James Dean, and they didn't. They should have done Audrey Hepburn and Steve McQueen and Frank Sinatra and several others too, but they never did. The problem was, in 1974, just as this set was getting interesting, Pyramid Books was sold, and by 1977 its name was changed to Jove. A few more volumes came out from the new company, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, but those quickly stopped as well.

The James Dean book above is a German-language paperback published by Heyne. The Germans were concurrently publishing many of the same titles with the same silver marquee covers, but they kept doing them after the Americans stopped. They continued for years and featured not just movie stars but directors and genres and European stars as well. They continued to publish over 200 titles throughout the 1980's (later editions had color covers). The German paperbacks are closer to mass market size and thus are smaller than their 7 1/2 x 5 1/4 American counterparts. I will show a small sample of the German editions after the American set. The books provide a good introductory overview of each star's filmography up to that date. There are many full-page photos and usually at least one photo on every other page. As might be expected with a set from so many different writers, the quality of the books varies, but over all it's a fine group of books for fans of the Hollywood classics.

I have 61 of the books shown here. As far as I know this is the complete set, but let me know if I'm missing any.


1. FRED ASTAIRE
Stephen Harvey Pyramid M3870, 1975.


2. INGRID BERGMAN
Curtis F. Brown D3130, 1973.


3. HUMPHREY BOGART
Alan G. Barbour D2930, 1973.

(All books published by Pyramid except as noted.)


4. MARLON BRANDO
Rene Jordan D3128, 1973.


5. JAMES CAGNEY
Andrew Bergman D3127, 1973.


6. CHARLIE CHAPLIN
Robert F. Moss M3640, 1975.



7. CLAUDETTE COLBERT
William K. Everson M3960, 1976.


8. GARY COOPER
Jordan M3416, 1974.


9. JOAN CRAWFORD
Stephen Harvey M3417, 1974.



10. BING CROSBY
Bauer Y4331, June 1977.


11. BETTE DAVIS
Vermilye D2932, 1973.


12. DORIS DAY
George Morris M3959, 1976.



13. OLIVIA de HAVILLAND
Judith M. Kass M4175, 1976.


14. MARLENE DIETRICH
Charles Silver M3484, 1974.


15. KIRK DOUGLAS
Joseph McBride M4084, 1976.



16. W.C. FIELDS
Nicholas Yanni M3486, 1974.


17. ERROL FLYNN
George Morris M3739, 1975.


18. HENRY FONDA
Michael Kerbel M3738, 1975.



19. CLARK GABLE
Rene Jordan D2929, 1973.


20. GANGSTERS
John Gabree M3249, 1973.


21. GRETA GARBO
Richard Corliss M3480, 1974.



22. AVA GARDNER
Judith M Kass Harvest HBJ 0-15-609425-8, Aug 1977.



23. JOHN GARFIELD
George Morris Harvest HBJ 0-15-646250-8, Oct 1977.
This appears to be the last and scarcest title in the U.S. set.


24. JUDY GARLAND
James Juneau M3482, 1974.




25 CARY GRANT
Jerry Vermilye M3246, 1973.


26. JEAN HARLOW
Curtis F. Brown M4247, 1977.


27. RITA HAYWORTH
Gerald Peary M4116, 1976.



28. KATHARINE HEPBURN
Alvin H. Marill D2931, 1973.


29. CHARLTON HESTON
Michael B. Druxman M4189, 1976.


30. WILLIAM HOLDEN
Will Holtzman M4113, 1976.



31. KARLOFF & COMPANY
Robert F. Moss M3415, 1973.


32. GENE KELLY
Jeanine Basinger M3957, 1976.


33. BURT LANCASTER
Tony Thomas M3855, 1975.



34. JACK LEMMON
Will Holtzman Y4291, 1977.


35. CAROLE LOMBARD
Leonard Maltin M4085, 1976.


36. MYRNA LOY
Karyn Kay Y4290, 1977.



37. IDA LUPINO
Jerry Vermilye Y4306, June 1977.


38. JEANETTE MACDONALD
Lee Edward Stern Harvest HBJ 0-15-646215-X, Oct 1977.


39. THE MARX BROTHERS
William Wolf M3754, 1975.



40. ROBERT MITCHUM
John Belton M3956, 1976.


41. MARILYN MONROE
Joan Mellen D3129, 1973.


42. THE MOVIE MUSICAL
Lee Edward Stern M3487, 1974.



43. PAUL NEWMAN
Michael Kerbel M3418, 1974


44. GREGORY PECK
Tony Thomas M4239, 1977.


45. EDWARD G. ROBINSON
Foster Hirsch M3642, 1975 .



46. GINGER ROGERS
Patrick McGilligan M3984, 1975.


47. ROSALIND RUSSELL
Nicholas Yanni M3737, 1975.


48. BARBARA STANWYCK
Jerry Vermilye M3641, 1975.



49. JAMES STEWART
Howard Thompson M3485, 1974.


50. ELIZABETH TAYLOR
Foster Hirsch M3247, 1973.


51. SHIRLEY TEMPLE
Jeanine Basinger M3643, 1975.



52. SPENCER TRACY
Romano Tozzi M3248, 1973.


53. LANA TURNER
Jeanine Basinger M4194, 1976.


54. THE WAR FILM
Norman Kagan M3483, 1974.



55. JOHN WAYNE
Alan G. Barbour M3481, 1974.


56. ORSON WELLES
Joseph McBride Harvest HBJ 0-15-670170-7, Aug 1977.


57. MAE WEST
Michael Bavar M3868, 1975.



58. THE WESTERN FILM
Charles Silver M4191, 1976.



59. THE MOVIE BUFF'S BOOK
ed by Ted Sennett 3649, 1975.
This and the final two books are oversized companion volumes to the set.


60. THE MOVIE BUFF'S BOOK 2
ed by Ted Sennett 4214, 1977.


 

61. DOWN THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD : THE MAKING OF THE WIZARD OF OZ – Doug McClelland 4096, 1976.

At first glance this book with its blue cover does not appear to be in the series. It doesn't say “Illustrated History of the Movies” anywhere inside or out. But it was published by Pyramid with the same editor, Ted Sennett, and designer, Anthony Basile, as the series. And there is that familiar marquee on the cover. Most importantly, in a couple of the later volumes in the series there is an ad in the back that lists other books in the set, and DOWN THE YELLOW BRICK is listed there. This book was reprinted in hardcover for the 50 th anniversary of THE WIZARD OF OZ in 1989.

My friend Ruben at paperbackart.com brought this addition to our complete series to my attention. There are five volumes inside: Bogart, Gangsters, Judy Garland, Chaplin and The Marx Brothers. Front and back covers of the box are shown here:

 

The quick demise of THE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE MOVIES after October 1977 left us wondering where the series might have gone. The German editions offer a glimpse of what might have been. But both the German and American editors, despite all their fine work, never got around to featuring some under-rated movie icons with volumes of their own. A partial list of these stars includes Randolph Scott, Jean Arthur, Dorothy Dandridge, Joel McCrea, Bob Hope, Dolores Del Rio, Glenn Ford, Laurel & Hardy, Sidney Poitier, Louise Brooks, Clara Bow, Joan Blondell, Elvis Presley and Dean Martin.


Here are a few selections from the series published by Heyne in Germany.

     
     
     

* Ad shows they used different cover photos for the books also published in U.S.

The German-language Heyne editions also include such titles as THE JAMES BOND FILMS, TARZAN FILMS, STAR WARS, GONE WITH THE WIND and many others. The series offers a look at what should have happened in the U.S. , if Pyramid had not been sold to less imaginative editors.

And now another brilliant publisher, Taschen, has started a new series called MOVIE ICONS, for a new generation of movie lovers. The series is edited by our old friend Paul Duncan, and Paul tells us they have 20 titles planned. And you can be sure the set includes James Dean, Audrey Hepburn, Steve McQueen and Frank Sinatra. I encourage you to look for these out at your local bookstore:

2006: MARLON BRANDO, CHARLIE CHAPLIN, CLINT EASTWOOD, AUDREY HEPBURN, MARILYN MONROE, ORSON WELLES

July 2007: INGRID BERGMAN, HUMPHREY BOGART, MARLENE DIETRICH, CARY GRANT, KATHARINE HEPBURN, STEVE MCQUEEN

Nov 2007: JAMES DEAN, GRETA GARBO, GRACE KELLY, THE MARX BROTHERS

Forthcoming: ELVIS PRESLEY, FRANK SINATRA, ELIZABETH TAYLOR, MAE WEST

 



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