"The book establishes similarities and differences between national and regional tastes through detailed case study analysis of cinemagoing in Bolton and Brighton, two very different English towns, and offers an analysis of genre development. It also reveals that, although Hollywood continued to dominate the British market, films emanating from British studios also proved remarkably popular with domestic audiences. Given that their output was about a third of Hollywood's, and their budgets much smaller, this was a remarkable achievement, particularly since the industry had been in a moribund state a decade earlier." "Throughout the book, film is conceived as a commodity, placed onto the market by businesses concerned to generate a positive rate of return on their investment. Sedgwick also draws attention to the asymmetry of opportunity which prevailed between British and Hollywood producers in one another's markets, and provides an account of Gaumont-British's failed attempt on the American market between 1934 and 1935."--BOOK JACKET.