The product of forty-five years of research, this landmark reference stands as the first study to identify all composers who wrote background musical scores for motion pictures in the US up to 1970. In the process, film-expert McCarty also documents the authorship of approximately 20,000 film scores. More than 1,500 composers are represented in these pages, not only Hollywood professionals but also many composers of concert music-as well as popular music and other genres-whose cinematic work has never before been fully catalogued. Movies of all types are included: features, shorts, cartoons, documentaries, nontheatrical works, avant-garde films, and even trailers. Wherever possible, the information is based on the most reliable evidence, that of the manuscript scores and cue sheets (as opposed to less accurate screen credits).