Introduction

Part I: Mythic Cities

Prologue: Mythic Cities

Chapter 1
Sidewalk Moments: Filming the City: 1896-1928

First Glimpses
New York Stories
Moments Captured

Chapter 2
Dreaming the City:
New Yorkers in Hollywood

Going Hollywood
Goddamn Lotus Land
The Lost City

Chapter 3
Building the Dream:
The Studio Production System

The Dream Factory
City of Parts
Fulfilling the Dream

 

Part II: On the Town

Prologue: Establishing Shot

Chapter 4
Emerald Cities:
Skylines of Fantasy

City of Giants
A Town of the Future
Spook Central

Chapter 5
Something Big:
Skyscraper and Office Building

Something Big
Conflict of Forms
Ordinary Policy
Have a Powerful Day

Chapter 6
Street Scene:
Row House, Tenement, and Housing Project

New York Street
Houses of Memory
Street Scene
Cradle of Crime
Eyes on the Street
One Little Part of the World

Chapter 7
Domestic Elaborations:
Mansion, Apartment, and Loft

Some Sort of Residence
It’s So Convenient
One Big Family
People Live Here?

Chapter 8
Worlds of Difference:
Dead End and Rear Window

Distant Neighbors
Fifty Windows

Chapter 9
Lofty Perches:
Penthouse, Terrace, Rooftop, and Nightclub

The Nearest Thing to Heaven
Moonlight and Love
Rooftops
Top of the Town

Chapter 10
Edge of the City:
Waterfront, Train Station, and Grand Hotel

On the Waterfront
The Big Send-Off
Grand Hotels

Chapter 11
Broadway and Times Square:
The Great White Way

Broadway Babies
The Show Goes On
Stage Struck
That’s Show Biz



Part III: Eight Million Stories

Prologue: Hot Summer Pavements
Hot Summer Pavements
Easterns

Chapter 12
On Location:
Filming in the City After 1945

Levels of Meaning
Shooting Wide
Urban Villages

Chapter 13
Nighttown:
The Dark Side of the City

Horror City
All That Frantic Motion
That Dangerous City of the Imagination

Chapter 14
Changing City:
Renewal and Preservation

A Tiny Bit of Construction
Vital Structures
You Call This an Apartment?
We’re Neighbors

Chapter 15
A Heightened Reality:
Street Meets Stage

The World’s Biggest Backlot
The Magic Club
Stand By


Afterword and Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Selected Filmography
Index