The Big Show looks at the role played by cinema in British cultural life during World War One. Hammond shows how the British film industry and British audiences responded to the traumatic effects of the War, and contends that the War’s significant effect was to expedite the cultural acceptance of cinema into the fabric of British social life.
This book brings together the study of silent cinema and the study of British cinema, both of which have seen some of the most exciting developments in Film Studies in recent years. The result is a comprehensive survey of one of the most important periods of film history.