Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    The Man Who Made the Movies: The Meteoric Rise and Tragic Fall of William Fox
    Unavailable
    The Man Who Made the Movies: The Meteoric Rise and Tragic Fall of William Fox
    Unavailable
    The Man Who Made the Movies: The Meteoric Rise and Tragic Fall of William Fox
    Ebook1,774 pages28 hours

    The Man Who Made the Movies: The Meteoric Rise and Tragic Fall of William Fox

    By Vanda Krefft

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    A riveting story of ambition, greed, and genius unfolding at the dawn of modern America. This landmark biography brings into focus a fascinating brilliant entrepreneur—like Steve Jobs or Walt Disney, a true American visionary—who risked everything to realize his bold dream of a Hollywood empire.

    Although a major Hollywood studio still bears William Fox’s name, the man himself has mostly been forgotten by history, even written off as a failure. Now, in this fascinating biography, Vanda Krefft corrects the record, explaining why Fox’s legacy is central to the history of Hollywood.

    At the heart of William Fox’s life was the myth of the American Dream. His story intertwines the fate of the nineteenth-century immigrants who flooded into New York, the city’s vibrant and ruthless gilded age history, and the birth of America’s movie industry amid the dawn of the modern era. Drawing on a decade of original research, The Man Who Made the Movies offers a rich, compelling look at a complex man emblematic of his time, one of the most fascinating and formative eras in American history.

    Growing up in Lower East Side tenements, the eldest son of impoverished Hungarian immigrants, Fox began selling candy on the street. That entrepreneurial ambition eventually grew one small Brooklyn theater into a $300 million empire of deluxe studios and theaters that rivaled those of Adolph Zukor, Marcus Loew, and the Warner brothers, and launched stars such as Theda Bara. Amid the euphoric roaring twenties, the early movie moguls waged a fierce battle for control of their industry. A fearless risk-taker, Fox won and was hailed as a genius—until a confluence of circumstances, culminating with the 1929 stock market crash, led to his ruin.

    Editor's Note

    Must-read for movie buffs…

    A timely read in light of Disney’s proposed plans to acquire 21st Century Fox. While you probably have heard much about Walt Disney and his legacy, you probably don’t know much about William Fox, founder of 20th Century Fox. A biography any movie buff must read.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateNov 28, 2017
    ISBN9780062680679
    Unavailable
    The Man Who Made the Movies: The Meteoric Rise and Tragic Fall of William Fox

    Related to The Man Who Made the Movies

    Related ebooks

    Entertainers and the Rich & Famous For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Roger Deakins

      Oct 18, 2019

      Roger Deakins
      2 min read

    • Article

      Slow Death

      Jul 3, 2019

      Slow Death
      4 min read

    • Article

      01 Mad Max: Fury Road 2015

      Feb 9, 2020

      01 Mad Max: Fury Road 2015
      7 min read

    • Article

      Why Are They 'Stars'?

      Feb 24, 2017

      Why Are They 'Stars'?
      5 min read

    • Article

      Movie Moguls and Studio Sharks

      Jul 1, 2023

      Movie Moguls and Studio Sharks
      4 min read

    • Article

      Entertain Me!

      Jul 1, 2020

      Entertain Me!
      2 min read

    • Article

      Death Of A Major

      Mar 3, 2020

      EMPLOYEES AFFECTIONATELY DUBBED THEIR STUDIO’S logo “the monument.” Sitting atop an Art Deco skyscraper and spelling out in huge carved letters, on separate platforms, “20th” and “Century” and “Fox,” it truly is a monolith. For 85 years, matte artist

      5 min read

    • Article

      And Liberty For All

      Jul 3, 2019

      And Liberty For All
      12 min read

    • Article

      Now We're Talking

      Feb 16, 2023

      Now We're Talking
      3 min read

    • Article

      Who Were The Skouras Brothers?

      Feb 1, 2022

      Who Were The Skouras Brothers?
      1 min read

    • Article

      History’s 20 Greatest Hoaxes

      Aug 13, 2020

      History’s 20 Greatest Hoaxes
      9 min read

    • Article

      Getting Started

      Jul 1, 2023

      Getting Started
      2 min read

    • Article

      Banned

      Jul 16, 2020

      Banned
      9 min read

    • Article

      Cartoon Century

      Oct 26, 2023

      Cartoon Century
      7 min read

    • Article

      Top Picks: Journeys of Invention App, 'Last Emperor of Mexico,' and More

      Sep 29, 2017

      Add to the list of intriguing Hollywood romances the behind-the-scenes couple featured in the film 'Harold and Lillian,' the classic film 'The Princess Bride' returns to the big screen, and more top picks.

      1 min read

    • Article

      The Art Of Making It

      Apr 5, 2018

      The Art Of Making It
      14 min read

    • Article

      The Art Of Making It

      Oct 12, 2018

      The Art Of Making It
      13 min read

    Reviews for The Man Who Made the Movies

    4/5

    9 ratings2 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      I very well written and interesting read about an interesting and flawed individual. The author seems to gloss over a bit of his difficult side, but you certainly get the personality of Mr. Fox and are able to draw conclusions about why he did the things he did and the consequences of those actions. I really enjoyed this.
    • 5/5
      Long overdue biography of William Fox, the founder of the Fox Film Corporation (forerunner of 20th Century Fox). The biography is well-balanced, in that while it has a good deal of sympathy for the subject, it doesn't shy away from the character flaws the man had, nor does it flinch from describing the actions that got him into legal trouble later. The "fall," as the book's subtitle notes, was indeed tragic, and has resulted in the man virtually vanishing from film history. No small wonder, since a large portion of Fox's production during the 1915-1930 period was destroyed in a 1937 vault fire. Well-edited and well-researched; it does seem obvious that a number of contemporary sources were carefully reviewed. Warmly recommended.