Slow Fade to Black: The Decline of RKO Radio Pictures

Slow Fade to Black completes Richard B. Jewell’s richly detailed two—part history of the RKO film studio, which began with RKO Radio Pictures: A Titan Is Born, published in 2012. This second volume charts the studio’s fortunes, which peaked during World War II, declined in the postwar period, and finally collapsed in the 1950s. Drawing on hard—to—access archival materials, Jewell chronicles the period from 1942 to the company’s demise in 1957. Towering figures associated with the studio inc...