Book Review: Warner Bros.: 100 Years of Storytelling

The centennial of one of Hollywood’s greatest studios is celebrated in a beautiful new coffee table book, WARNER BROS.: 100 YEARS OF STORYTELLING by Mark Vieira.

I’ve long been a fan of Vieira’s work on books such as HARLOW IN HOLLYWOOD. His books always have notably high photo quality, and this new book, published by TCM and Running Press, is no exception.

In his preface Vieira describes the book as “a family album,” with snapshots hitting the high points in the studio’s history.

Vieira approaches his subject matter decade by decade, with a history of several pages opening each decade's chapter. 

His historical summary of each decade is followed by photos, along with lists of Academy Award nominations and wins. The chapters run up through the present day, with 2021 being the last year covered.

The photos are very well chosen; some were familiar to me but many others were not, which is always a treat when one reads as many film books as I do. The photos, especially the full-page shots, are gorgeous and invite the viewer to linger, taking in every detail.

In the interest of completeness, I noticed one small caption goof, with Eve Miller identified as Patrice Wymore.  Otherwise, this is a meticulously produced book which will be enjoyed by both serious and casual film fans. It will invite longtime film lovers to revisit old favorites and inspire newcomers to check out many titles for the first time.

WARNER BROS.: 100 YEARS OF STORYTELLING is 360 pages, including a bibliography and index. It’s published on glossy paper and is fairly heavy, clocking in around four pounds, but the weight didn't stop me from enjoying reading the book poolside on my recent summer vacation!

Thanks to TCM and Running Press for providing a review copy of this book.

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