Examines the treatment of space and narrative in a selection of classic films including "My Darling Clementine," "It's a Wonderful Life," and "Vertigo." Deborah Thomas employs a variety of arguments in exploring the reading of space and its meaning in Hollywood cinema and film generally. Topics covered include the importance of space in defining genre; the ambiguity of offscreen space and spectatorship, and the use of spatially disruptive cinematic techniques such as flashback to construct meaning.