"Contents: v. 1, Film titles; v. 2, Directors' filmography and indexes. Attempts to provide 'a comprehensive index to films by title and director on a worldwide basis.'--Pref. Vol. 1 lists some 232,000 'master' titles and alternate titles representing 177,000 films of all types--full-length, short, documentary, animated, serial, made for television--of the silent and sound eras. Master title entries give year of release, director(s), other credits (where director has not been established), type of film, country of origin, alternative titles. Filmographies for 25,000 directors in v. 2 show directing credits chronologically (codirecting and uncredited contributions are usually omitted here, although they are noted under film titles in v. 1). Type of film is indicated, as are the director's nationality and (where determined) dates. Indexes of directors by country and animated film directors. Select bibliography of sources consulted." (Balay, Guide to reference books, 11th ed, 1996)

"Contents: v. 1, The casts, A-L; v. 2, The casts, M-Z. Index of directors; v. 3, Index of actors. Lists performers and their character names for about 10,000 selected films (classics, award winners, financial successes, representative silent and foreign films, etc.) released 1912-91. Films are entered alphabetically in v. 1-2, giving year, studio, director, and cast (generally limited to 15 players). Director and actor indexes show film titles and dates. Full coverage of films of some major stars and directors; for others, because of the selective nature of the compendium, filmographies may not be complete." (Balay, Guide to reference books, 11th ed, 1996)

"Similar in purpose [to A Cast of Thousands] and more comprehensive for the 1949-74 period ... covering 8,000 feature-length films 1949-64; and the continuation volume by Andrew A. Aros, An actor guide to the talkies, 1965-1974...Cast and role lists, with performer indexes; director credits are not included." (Balay, Guide to reference books, 11th ed, 1996)

continuation of An actor guide to the talkies by R.B. Dimmitt