A silent siren song : the Aitken brothers' Hollywood odyssey, 1905-1926 /

Producers often get short shrift in the annals of film history, and they do so here, albeit inadvertently. Harry and Roy Aitken, businessmen in the silent film era, were above all, facilitators. Under the rubric of such companies as the Triangle Corporation, for which they are perhaps best known, they brought together talented people (most famously, D.W. Griffith) and streamlined the film industry by controlling production, distribution, and exhibition. Well-known risk-takers, the Aitkens have been accused elsewhere of mismanagement. Unfortunately, journalist Nelson (Reader's Digest, Esquire) and public relations CEO Jones fail to restore the subjects they champion to their "rightful place." The authors' effort is marred by inconsequential details and somewhat specious claims, especially when they try to assert Aitkens "firsts" although these brothers were working at a time of creative ferment when many people had similar ideas almost simultaneously. Also, although the book makes tenuous allusions to contemporaneous figures and events, it ultimately lacks cultural context and synthesis, and the dramatic device of telling the reader what the characters are thinking is uneven and inappropriate. Readers will have to wait for a more critical assessment of the Aitkens' contributions.ÄJayne Plymale, Univ. of Georgia, Athens (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.