A FRONT ROW SEAT Nancy Olson Livingstone

A FRONT ROW SEAT: An Intimate Look at Broadway, Hollywood, and the Age of Glamour. Nancy Olson Livingstone. University Press of Kentucky; 2022. 

Books written by second and third tier celebrities have to rely on a lot of name-dropping to create reader interest, and Livingstone certainly does a lot of that. She can be forgiven because she did, after all, have a good part in the famous Sunset Boulevard (as Nancy Olson) and was married to lyricist Alan Jay Lerner of Lerner and Loewe fame (My Fair Lady, Brigadoon, etc.). So the lady has plenty of anecdotes to share, including her impressions of the Beatles, whom she met through her second husband, record executive Alan Livingstone. However, she really doesn't go into much detail about Sunset Boulevard or any of her other movies, which include such Disney films as Pollyanna and The Absent-Minded Professor. She seems to be more interested in telling how JFK made passes at her and taking pot shots at Joan Crawford. Her anecdotes about Arthur Laurents and closet queen Moss Hart are not so much homophobic as naive and dated. However, she admirably exposes the anti-Semitism of the period. This overlong tome could have been reduced by a quarter if all of Livingstone's detailed descriptions of the clothing she wore were excised. Initially interesting, I eventually found the book rather tedious. 

Verdict: Some interesting passages to be sure, but hardly essential reading. **1/2. 

THE QUEEN OF TECHNICOLOR: MARIA MONTEZ IN HOLLYWOOD

THE QUEEN OF TECHNICOLOR: MARIA MONTEZ IN HOLLYWOOD. Tom Zimmerman. University Press of Kentucky; 2022. NOTE: This review based on uncorrected galleys. 

Born in the Dominican Republic to a well-heeled family, Maria Montez married a much-older man whom she up and left flat after seven years to pursue her dreams of a career as an actress -- this despite having no discernable talent. Montez lived off a wealthy man's yacht for months, then during her stay in Manhattan managed to secure Bob Hope's agent "Doc" Schnurr. based solely on her looks. She was attractive but had to be carefully photographed, as her features could come off as heavy and unflattering. In general she looks much better in her technicolor movies than she does in still photographs. 

Montez made up so many stories about herself that no one believed her when she claimed to be engaged to a fighter pilot in the British air force -- people assumed he was a fictional entity -- but the man actually existed and did have a relationship with Montez, although they may or may not have been engaged. 

One critic wrote that Montez had "the regality of an
usherette." Once she began actually starring in movies (for a big but still second-string studio, Universal) Montez wanted to be "taken seriously." Her chief attribute when it came to thesping was radiating a haughty superiority, but she was no Hepburn. Refusing to appear in a western that she thought was too similar to her other films, Montez went on suspension even as Yvonne De Carlo replaced her and was groomed, in fact, to be her replacement at the studio. Universal eventually offered her a bone, the lead role in Tangier, but the picture was considered a stinker and those certain qualities that Montez exhibited in her earlier films were missing -- as Zimmerman puts it, she was merely "ordinary." She parted company with Universal and moved to France with her new husband Jean-Pierre Aumont and the two appeared in the terrible Siren of Atlantis. Zimmerman suggests that Montez showed some genuine acting ability in her later independent films, but she was still trading in on her trademark haughtiness. Montez  died in her bathtub at age 39.

Maria

The Queen of Technicolor is not always well-organized, with the earlier chapters jumping back and forth in time and covering the same material more than once as if the book needed to be padded. A chapter on Montez' home front activities during WW2 seems to go on forever. The book improves with the later chapters, but occasionally reads like a fan boy's career study instead of a serious bio, although  Zimmerman has, admirably, done a lot of research. Was Montez a heartless opportunist who got breaks in Hollywood that should have gone to much more talented people, or should she be admired as someone who tenaciously went after her goal and succeeded for a time, although now she is basically a half-forgotten Hollywood footnote? You can decide. In any case, her Arabian Nights is a genuinely good movie. 

Verdict:  For obsessive Maria Montez fans primarily, but also an interesting slice of Hollywood life. ***. 

BUZZ

BUZZ: THE LIFE AND ART OF BUSBY BERKELEY. Jeffrey Spivak. University Press of Kentucky; 2010. 

In this well-written and interesting account of Busby Berkeley, we learn that the man responsible for so many knock-out and eye-popping production numbers in vintage musicals was not a choreographer in the classic sense, but came up with often startling ideas to incorporate into -- or overpower -- the song and dance routines. Berkeley also directed numerous films, including Forty Little Mothers and Babes on Broadway. 

Whatever the man's sexual orientation, Berkeley avoided MPs in the red light district by dressing in drag; his first wife considered him a mama's boy and most of his marriages did not last long; and early in his career he eagerly took the role of a campy queen in a Broadway show. Who knows? 

His personal life had other problems, including a propensity for drink. After three trials Busby was acquitted of vehicular manslaughter in the deaths of three people. His defense team argued that regardless of his inebriation at the wheel, a tire blow-out caused the accident. (But a sober driver might have been able to handle the car after the blow out.) While some of the people who worked with Busby had positive things to say about him, others considered him a rather vile and unpleasant individual. 

Frankly Buzz will not have you admiring the man but it does help you to admire his artistry, which is well-documented in this informative and engaging tome. 

Verdict:  Solid bio of a influential and creative Hollywood figure. ***1/2. 

OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND: LADY TRIUMPHANT

OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND: LADY TRIUMPHANT. Victoria Amador. University Press of Kentucky; 2020.

The author of this bio, a life-long De Havilland fan, tracked the actress down in Paris, begged to meet and interview her, and even showed up at de Havilland's doorstep without an invitation (eventually she was invited). Normally I'm very wary of bios written by obsessive fans, questioning their objectivity, but to be fair to Ms. Amador, her portrait of the reclusive Miss De. Havilland seems fair and balanced for the most part. The book looks at the actor's youth, her rather quick ascent in Hollywood, her most famous roles (such as Miss Melanie, of course) and movies, and insightfully examines her acting style and approach to different parts -- when De Havilland was less than special she's not afraid to say so. The book also recounts her ultimately successful legal battles with the studio. her famous "feud" with her sister, Joan Fontaine (which actually gets its own chapter), and her marriages and affairs (according to the diva herself, she did not sleep with Errol Flynn although she certainly wanted to). 

The portrait that emerges of De Havilland is not without warts, as the lady has often come off as quite affected and too oh-so-proper to be believed.  However this book will give the interested reader the basic facts and then some behind the career and life of the actress whose most interesting aspect was her appearances on film in such movies as Hush ... Hush, Sweet Charlotte, The Heiress, Lady in a Cage, The Dark Mirror, and many, many others. Inexplicably Amador supports De Havillamd's foolish, ill-advised and ultimately unsuccessful lawsuit against the producers of Feud: Bette and Joan. Admittedly she was portrayed, briefly, by an actress who was nothing like her and she would never have made comments about her sister in public, but that is hardly suit-worthy, and trying to change the laws about public figures would have been opening a can of worms that would have had terrible repercussions for journalists -- and biographers. Amador has added a new chapter after her subject's death that goes on and on and on perhaps a bit too much.

Verdict: Very good read for De Havilland fans and Hollywood observers in general. ***1/2. 

ANNE BANCROFT: A LIFE

ANNE BANCROFT: A LIFE. Douglass K. Daniel. University Press of Kentucky; 2017. 

Anne Bancroft was typical of a lot of what we might call "second tier celebrities." Bancroft was accomplished and celebrated, an Oscar-winner, and had a highly successful career, yet for most of her life she was not really "bankable." Her husband, Mel Brooks, may have even become the bigger "name" at one time. In spite of this, Bancroft managed to amass many credits on TV, on the stage, and in films, with her most famous movies being The Miracle Worker (recreating her stage role) and The Graduate. This excellent biography covers her entire life and career from girlhood to death, and does so with intelligence and sensitivity. Author Daniel also analyzes Bancroft's technique in different roles, and doesn't shy away from recording times when she was off her game, at least according to certain critics. Bancroft toiled in B movies like Gorilla at Large and The Girl in Black Stockings, before entering a new phase and new admiration on Broadway and elsewhere. On the stage Bancroft tackled challenging roles in works such as The Devils and Mother Courage. The book is bolstered with many comments from people who knew and worked with the woman. Bancroft's first movie was Don't Bother to Knock, where she was upstaged by Marilyn Monroe but gave the better performance. She wisely turned down such projects as Myra Breckinridge and Mommie Dearest. 

Verdict: Excellent on every level and a good read as well. ****. 

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO ORSON WELLES? Joseph McBride

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO ORSON WELLES? A Portrait of an Independent Career. Joseph McBride. University Press of Kentucky. 

What Ever Happened to Orson Welles? is not a biography of the famous actor and director, but rather a study of his career and an attempt to correct misconceptions about the man that have proliferated both before and after his death. McBride is often successful at this, and sometimes not, and the book -- while well-written and well-researched -- occasionally has a petulant "fan-boy" tone to it. Film buff McBride became acquainted with Welles and was even cast in The Other Side of the Wind as a nerdy film geek (a talented writer, the less said about his acting the better), and spoke and dealt with him on and off over the years. McBride argues against some of the assertions made against Welles, but at other times makes clear that these assertions are often true. Welles clearly was a narcissist, and clearly expected those under his spell to do what he wanted, come hell or highwater. However, McBride argues that Welles was not some corpulent figure of fun but an artist who not only made some successful and brilliant films, but, like a true artist, kept on working right up to the very last minute of his life. McBride dissects many of Welles's lesser-known film projects, and does make it clear that Welles's career did not begin and end with Citizen Kane. One suspects he's just too close to The Other Side of the Wind to see how really bad it is. To his credit, McBride doesn't shy away from examining Welles's flaws, and even goes into the man's ambivalent feelings about his sexuality. 

Verdict: Whatever you think of Welles, this is an interesting and thought-provoking read. ***. 

CHARLES BOYER: THE FRENCH LOVER John Baxter

CHARLES BOYER: THE FRENCH LOVER. John Baxter. University Press of Kentucky; 2021. 

This is an absorbing study of the life and career of Charles Boyer, a balding and stocky man, married to one woman for many years, who nevertheless became a Great Lover on the screen. Boyer's career in Hollywood began with him doing foreign versions of American productions, and he maneuvered as much as he could to become tied to a Hollywood studio. Eventually Boyer starred and gave wonderful performances in such films as Algiers, A Woman's Vengeance, History is Made at Night, Gaslight, and many, many others. Boyer wasn't always at the top of his game, as shown in Arch of Triumph, but generally he graced every production he was in. Baxter writes that Boyer outwardly accepted but inwardly resented being given supporting parts as he grew older, but his career was kept alive thanks to these roles and to TV appearances, but no matter how small the role he was always a star (witness The Happy Time, for instance). His final years were troubled by the death of his son, his wife's terminal illness, and his own health problems. Also recommended: Charles Boyer: The Reluctant Lover by Larry Swindell. 

Verdict: Absorbing read on the great star and actor. ***. 

HITCHCOCK AND THE CENSORS

HITCHCOCK AND THE CENSORS. John Billheimer. University Press of Kentucky; 2019. 

This fascinating volume looks at the work of the brilliant Alfred Hitchcock, and focuses on how his films -- and the episodes of his TV shows that he directed -- fared with the censors. The book is divided into sections on his British films; his films with Selznick; the films he did after he ended his association with the producer; his golden period, which included such as Vertigo and North By Northwest; the TV years; and the final period when he regained some lost ground with the critics with Frenzy (but who also did such interesting works as Marnie and Torn Curtain). 

After going into the formation of the production code, the book relates the censors' initial reaction to scripts that Hitch submitted and the changes they recommended, as well as the often clever way that Hitch would get around those changes. Censors were especially worried by the lengthy kisses of Notorious, the depiction of a toilet flushing in Psycho, possible lesbianism in Rebecca, the too-efficient Nazi of Lifeboat, the gay murderers of Rope, a potentially suicidal priest in I Confess, and much more. While examining the censorship of Hitch's films and both its positive and negative effects on the movies, Billheimer takes a fresh and interesting look at the Master's films in general. 

Verdict: Excellent tome for the serious Hitchcock admirer and film enthusiasts in general. ***1/2.  

THE BRIEF, MADCAP LIFE OF KAY KENDALL

THE BRIEF, MADCAP LIFE OF KAY KENDALL. Eve Golden with Kim Kendall. University Press of Kentucky; 2002.

Since most if not all of the major stars have been covered ad nauseam, many publishers have come out with books on 2nd, 3rd and 4th tier celebrities. British actress and comedienne Kay Kendall [Les Girls; Wings of Danger), who did indeed have a brief life and career, fits into the lattermost of those categories. Kendall was talented and tragic, dying young of leukemia, which her husband and family tried very hard to keep her from knowing until nearly the end. Her husband was Rex Harrison, and Kendall would have probably been forgotten by all but her most obsessive fans, however many, if it had not been for that association with a much bigger star. Kendall's marriage to Harrison played out during a time when the latter was ascendant due to his triumphs in both the stage and screen versions of My Fair Lady. Eve Golden's entertaining and page-turning book won't necessarily have you admiring Kendall's character, although she was probably no worse than a lot of other husband-stealing, rather "trampy" and superficial starlets; Kendall also became full of herself. (Kendall stole Harrison from Lilli Palmer, who had herself broken up an earlier marriage to Harrison. Harrison claimed that he primarily married Kendall only because she was dying.) Kendall was great friends with Dirk Bogarde and his partner, Anthony Forwood. Biographer Golden does a very good job dissecting Kendall's films and performances while never neglecting her interesting personal life. 

Verdict: Good read for those interested in this talented if minor British actress. ***. 

JAYNE MANSFIELD: THE GIRL COULDN'T HELP IT

JAYNE MANSFIELD: THE GIRL COULDN'T HELP IT. Eve Golden. University Press of Kentucky; 2021. 

Let's face it. Jayne Mansfield, a triumph of tenacity and publicity, didn't have much of a career. She did only a couple of films for major studios, but the rest of her film "career" consisted of a few Grade B to Grade D stinkers, each one more embarrassing than the one before. Focused almost exclusively on being famous for being famous, she loved her children without necessarily being a great mother, and was said to be kind to everyone, although the wives of the men she had affairs with would probably disagree. Had she lived she would undoubtedly have descended into a morass of alcohol and sleaze or wound up on Dr. Phil in her dotage. 

Biographer Eve Golden makes a case that Mansfield was her own worst enemy. Using her most obvious assets, she became a publicity-hound of the first order, and it was this that eventually turned her into a national joke, a boob not just in name only. Her own frenetic publicity-seeking ensured that no one would ever take her seriously, and the very few performances that some people thought had merit were either ignored or not even seen by her detractors. Although she was often compared with Marilyn Monroe, Monroe managed to give some fine performances in genuinely memorable pictures, and she was too adorable to be really vulgar. This was not the case with Mansfield. Frankly, Mansfield has more in common with Anna Nicole Smith than Monroe. Her marriage to Micky Hargitay was based more on hormones and press clippings than anything else, although it may be true that he, at least, genuinely loved Jayne or at least became attached to her. Can narcissists ever really love anyone but themselves? 

Mansfield died in a horrible accident in which two others were killed (but rarely mentioned), the teen boy who was driving (and who had a child and fiancee), and Mansfield's latest boyfriend, a ground slug who left his crippled wife to be with the blond boob. But her life had pretty much become a disaster even before the accident -- she spent more time opening supermarkets than appearing in movies, her nightclub act was seen as a joke by most sensible people, and her brief days of stardom at 20th Century-Fox, the studio that dropped her, were long since over. For much of this book you have to slog through pages and pages of Mansfield's appearances at store openings and other venues to get to the meat, but in spite of that the book is generally entertaining and readable. While clearly being a fan, Golden maintains some objectivity, tries to explain Mansfield's motives and character, separates facts from fan press fiction, and does her best to present the actress as someone deserving of a certain sympathy if not a reappraisal. If some readers may feel that she doesn't quite succeed at some of these goals, it's not for lack of trying. 

Verdict: Interesting, rather exhaustive (and sometimes exhausting), look at a show business casualty and tireless self-promoter. ***. 

MIRIAM HOPKINS: LIFE AND FILMS OF A HOLLYWOOD REBEL

MIRIAM HOPKINS: LIFE AND FILMS OF A HOLLYWOOD REBEL. Allan R. Ellenberger. University Press of Kentucky; 2018.

Miriam Hopkins is long overdue a serious biography, and at last we've got one. Hopkins never quite made the front rank of stardom -- like such ladies as Bette Davis and Joan Crawford -- but she was a highly gifted actress who appeared in many notable films and gave some excellent performances in them. Hopkins first made her mark on Broadway, and like many actors during this period, had some reservations about "going Hollywood." Seen as incredibly sexy in her twenties ( a sexiness that faded out rather early), she was cast in a number of crappy melodramas, such as the terrible 24 Hours, but also did The Smiling Lieutenant with Maurice Chevalier and starred in more than one movie for Ernst Lubitsch. Although she gave an uneven performance as a rape victim in The Story of Temple Drake, the film brought Hopkins a lot of attention, and she was excellent in William Wyler's These Three. (Years later Hopkins also scored in Wyler's remake of this, The Children's Hour, which stuck more closely to the original plot of Lillian Hellman's play.)

Although the media has made (too) much of the alleged "feud" between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, there was much more of a feud -- if that's what you want to call it -- between Davis and Hopkins. The two appeared together in The Old Maid and Old Acquaintance, and there was decided tension on the set. Hopkins felt sure that Davis had had a fling with Hopkins' then-husband Anatol Litvak, and she was also furious that Davis had played her part in the film version of the stage play Jezebel. Hopkins also infuriated other actors and directors with her scene-stealing and other antics. As Hopkins grew older, she concentrated more on the stage, although she had one of her best roles in another brilliant William Wyler film, The Heiress. Also as she aged, Hopkins never quite understood that she was not really the mega-star that, say, Davis was, and never attracted that kind of obsessive fan attention. This excellent book also examines Hopkins' other films and stage roles; her marriages and many affairs; her adopted son, Michael; behind-the scenes on-set experiences; and Hopkins' relationship with Tennessee Williams during and after her starring in his play Band of Angels; amused by her yet respecting her talent, Williams called her a "magnificent bitch." Well-researched and with plenty of interviews.

Verdict: First-class look at the inimitable Miriam Hopkins. ***1/2. 

CONVERSATIONS WITH CLASSIC FILM STARS

CONVERSATIONS WITH CLASSIC FILM STARS: Interviews from Hollywood's Golden Era. James Bawden and Ron Miller.  University Press of Kentucky; 2016.

I have already posted on the sequel to this book, You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet, which came out the following year. This is Bawden and Miller's first collection of interviews with famous film folk, and frankly, this volume is superior, with some really solid and interesting interviews. There's a funny piece on the ever-eccentric Gloria Swanson in the section on silent film stars; Joseph Cotten and Melvyn Douglas being rather blunt in their pieces in the section on Leading Men; everyone from Anne Baxter to Dorothy Lamour to Anna Lee and Jane Wyman are covered in Leading Ladies; Audrey Totter and Marie Windsor have their say in Queens of the Bs; and we've got the Singing Cowboys, Gene Autry and Roy Rogers; plus a piece on Bob Hope, and a final section  on not-quite-stars like Keye Luke, Harold Russell, Margaret Hamilton, and Diane Varsi (who did Peyton Place and then pretty much disappeared because she rebelled against her studio). Other stars interviewed include Cary Grant, Kirk Douglas and more.

The stars are frequently scathing in their assessment of other actors, with Melyyn Douglas insisting that both Spencer Tracy and Fredric March were "one-dimensional" (!) in Inherit the Wind (Douglas did a TV version). Joan Fontaine comments on her sister Olivia De Havilland ("it takes two to feud"). You'll also learn that Jane Wyman got so sick of former movie goddesses being hired for her series Falcon Crest, that she laid down the law: "No more international harlots!" I didn't know that beautiful Jane Greer was once married to Rudy Vallee nor that Margaret Hamilton was nearly killed playing the witch in The Wizard of Oz and spent some time in the hospital. The book gets across that most self-absorbed movie stars are simply not normal people.

Verdict: Fun, informative book that is hard to put down. ***1/2.  

YOU AIN'T HEARD NOTHIN' YET: INTERVIEWS WITH STARS FROM HOLLYWOOD'S GOLDEN ERA

YOU AIN'T HEARD NOTHIN' YET: Interviews with Stars from Hollywood's Golden Era. James Bawden and Ron Miller. University Press of Kentucky; 2017.

This is a collection of interviews by the two authors (working separately) with a variety of prominent film figures. Some of the interviews are very brief and focused on one particular film -- generally to publicize a TV movie -- but others are a little more in-depth. Interview subjects include Robert Preston, Cornel Wilde, Walter Pidgeon, Robert Young, Bette Davis, Janet Leigh, Patricia Neal, and many others. There are sections on notable movie heavies, child stars, leading ladies, and so on, as well as pieces on Jay Robinson [The Robe] and Hurd Hatfield [The Picture of Dorian Gray], who were in a sense seen as Hollywood causalities but actually had long and busy careers in spite of it. The interview with Victor Buono seems to focus mostly on his weight. Along the way there are some interesting tidbits. For instance, both Patricia Neal and Daniel Massey (who gives one of the longer and more interesting interviews in the book) both think that The Fountainhead was a stinker. Stupid moments include the section in the Anthony Perkins piece where Miller blames Perkins' being a closeted homosexual on the supposed "lack of heat" with his leading ladies (although Rock Hudson had no problem, and Perkins, be he gay or bi, later got married and fathered two children).

Verdict: Entertaining look at Hollywood from an insider's perspective. ***. 

HITCHCOCK'S PARTNER IN SUSPENSE: THE LIFE OF SCREENWRITER CHARLES BENNETT

HITCHCOCK'S PARTNER IN SUSPENSE: THE LIFE OF SCREENWRITER CHARLES BENNETT. Edited by John Charles Bennett. University Press of Kentucky; 2014.

"I hate the talk of this being a young man's industry ... Not because I am an old man, but because I hate the notion you must be young to be hot ... Experience is terribly important, a tremendous help in writing." -- Charles Bennett.

This very interesting tome is essentially the memoirs of screenwriter Charles Bennett, with added chapters written by his son, John Charles Bennett. Bennett did several screenplays for Alfred Hitchcock -- Blackmail (from Bennett's play), The Man Who Knew Too Much, Foreign Correspondent etc. --  and much more work for the movies and television, along with plays and novels. While never denying Hitchcock's talent, both Bennetts seem to feel, rightly or wrongly, that the elder Bennett didn't get enough credit, and like many screenwriters, feels that directors walk off with the lion's share of the attention whether they deserve it or not. Bennett felt that Hitch was a great director, not a great writer. Bennett spends a lot of pages writing about his wartime experiences, in which he admits that he had it much better than most because of his wealth at the time. Bennett's first marriage ended when his wife left him for another man; she knew he had had numerous affairs with other women. His second disastrous marriage went on the rocks quickly but continued for many, many miserable years. The most affecting chapter in the book is one in which his son describes in heart-wrenching detail and effective prose how his childhood was all but ruined by his mother's alcoholism and emotional issues and his father's comparative neglect. Soldier, spy, writer and lover boy, the narcissistic Bennett remains a fascinating figure, but sadly, he wasn't much of a father, and the emotional scars endured by his son have clearly not quite healed. Charles Bennett, who did some wonderful screenplays for such films as Night of the Demon and Where Danger Lives, doesn't emerge for the most part as an especially likable character, but his comments on the age discrimination of Hollywood are well-taken. The chapters which describe his struggles to be taken seriously despite his advanced years make him a more sympathetic figure, at least during that period. For money, Bennett did several entertaining screenplays for Irwin Allen [The Lost World; Voyage of the Bottom of the Sea], which Allen would invariably muck around with to their detriment. When Bennett was in his nineties he was hired to write a remake of Blackmail, but the film was never made, although he briefly became a name again.

Verdict: Excellent bio-memoir from a Hollywood insider's pov and a highly interesting slice of film history. ***1/2. 

THE LOST ONE: A LIFE OF PETER LORRE

THE LOST ONE: A LIFE OF PETER LORRE. Stephen D. Youngkin. University Press of Kentucky; 2005.

It was to the eternal frustration of much-admired actor Peter Lorre that he was forever seen as some sort of "horror star," and never quite got the kind of roles that he wanted, and that would have lifted him into a more exalted category. Of course, nowadays most film enthusiasts who are familiar with Lorre's work in various genres have come to recognize his dramatic ability as his numerous fine performances certainly attest to. This lengthy, in-depth biography of the actor covers his life as a Jewish emigre from Austria to his move to the United States, details his coming to international attention thanks to his starring role in Fritz Lang's M, looks into his Hollywood career and the frustrations it engendered, and examines his private life, including his three marriages and serious, life-long drug addiction. Along the way he appeared in such notable films as the first version of Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much, Mad Love, Crime and Punishment and Casablanca, starred in a series of Mr. Moto movies, and directed his one and only picture, the controversial Der verlorene ("The Lost One"). In his later years he appeared in everything from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea to Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, along with a Jerry Lewis film, The Patsy, and Roger Corman's The Raven and Tales of Terror. The Lost One is a solid bio, although I wish it was perhaps a bit more entertaining; the passages devoted to Lorre's relationship with Bertolt Brecht eventually become tedious and there are other dry stretches. The details of Lorre's divorce from his first wife, Celia Lovsky, with whom he remained close, are never quite made sufficiently clear. Otherwise, this is a good book on an important film figure.

Verdict: Possibly not the last word on Lorre, but he certainly deserves this exhaustive look at his life and career. ***. 

CHARLES WALTERS: THE DIRECTOR WHO MADE HOLLYWOOD DANCE

CHARLES WALTERS: THE DIRECTOR WHO MADE HOLLYWOOD DANCE. Brent Phillips. University Press of Kentucky; 2017.

This excellent biography looks at the life and work of Charles Walters, who started out as a dancer, became a choreographer for both stage and film, and then directed many notable movies at MGM and elsewhere. Walters lived with a male partner, his agent, for many years, was good friends with everyone from Judy Garland to Esther Williams to Lucille Ball (working with the latter on TV specials as well as Du Barry Was a Lady, for which he did the choreography), and by all accounts was a likable and amiable Hollywood presence. The movies Walters directed include Good News, Easy to Love, Summer Stock, Jumbo, Lili, Torch Song with Joan Crawford, High Society, The Glass Slipper, and The Unsinkable Molly Brown, among others. Well-researched and bolstered with interviews, this bio has amusing behind-the-scenes anecdotes a'plenty,and also explores Walters' approach.to "cine-dance" -- dance in the movies. 

Verdict: First-rate look at an unsung Hollywood figure. ***1/2.

HE'S GOT RHYTHM: THE LIFE AND CAREER OF GENE KELLY

HE'S GOT RHYTHM: THE LIFE AND CAREER OF GENE KELLY. Cynthia Brideson and Sara Brideson. University Press of Kentucky; 2017.

He's Got Rhythm explores the life and work of Gene Kelly, who could act, sing, choreograph, and direct, but always considered himself primarily a dancer. And boy could be dance! This lengthy and fairly exhaustive bio looks at his often contradictory nature; his perfectionism, which occasionally put him at odds with co-workers and frequent collaborators, such as Stanley Donen [Royal Wedding]; his three marriages, to actress Betsy Blair [A Delicate Balance] and others; his friendly "rivalry" with Fred Astaire [Carefree]; and his persistent championing of dance throughout his long life. His marriage to Blair ended in divorce when she fell in love with another man; his second wife, who had formerly worked for him, died of leukemia; and his third wife, who was working with him on his autobiography, was a much younger woman who took over his life and, according to the book, separated him from his close friends and family even as he lay dying. The authors examine every project that Kelly was involved or nearly involved in, including his star turn as Joey in the original Broadway production of Pal Joey; his plans to star in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a movie that was ultimately canceled; his turn behind the camera with Hello Dolly and other movies; his TV specials that celebrated the dance; and his appearances in such classics as Singing in the Rain and On the Town. Kelly's low-budget dramatic films such as The Devil Makes Three, are mentioned only in passing in comparison. But this book is an excellent tribute to Kelly, which makes a strong case for his art and his enduring popularity.

Verdict: First-class bio. ***1/2.

SWING IT! THE ANDREWS SISTERS STORY

SWING IT! THE ANDREWS SISTER STORY. John Sforza. University Press of Kentucky; 2000.

Petty squabbles, sibling rivalry, bad marriages, lawsuits and counter suits against each other, and even suicide attempts -- this was all part of the Andrews Sisters' story. However, it is just part of the story. True, two of the sisters, Patti and Maxene, did not even speak or look at one another in the last few years of  their lives -- Maxene died some years before Patti did -- but author Sforza suitably spends more time detailing the careers (both together and as individuals) and personal triumphs of the singing group than their trials and tribulations -- but he leaves nothing out. The author looks at other girl groups and explains why the very versatile Andrews Sisters were at the top of the heap and the reasons for their longevity. The gals were of Greek descent, and one could not say they were raving beauties, but they generally looked much more attractive in real life than in their movies. LaVerne, the oldest, looked like a witch in Hold That Ghost, but still shots in this heavily-illustrated tome show her looking much prettier and with a more becoming hairstyle in later years. The sisters did several films with Abbott and Costello, then a series of mediocre films for Universal, who didn't seem to know just what to do with them, and then there was their work for the USO. When Patti and Maxene did their successful Broadway show, Over Here!, it highlighted the sisters' comedic abilities. Their hit songs included "Rum and Coco-Cola;" "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree;" "Boogie Woogie Buigle Boy;" and many, many others. The group split up in the early fifties, then forgave each other and reunited, until there was another, longer split between Patti and Maxene (LaVerne had passed away by then) over Over Here! The Andrews Sisters remain the "best-selling female vocal group" of all time, and had more Top Ten Billboard hits than either the Beatles or Elvia Presley! In addition to many great photos, the book also has a lengthy, annotated discography as well as lists of their film, radio and TV appearances.

Verdict: This is an excellent biography and career study of three talented women who became symbols of WW2 but whose careers spanned many decades. ***1/2.

PATRICIA NEAL: AN UNQUIET LIFE

PATRICIA NEAL: AN UNQUIET LIFE. Stephen Michael Shearer, University Press of Kentucky; 2006.

This well-researched and well-written biography looks at the life and career of unusual movie star, Patricia Neal. Unusual, in that, while her career was important to her, it wasn't necessarily the end-all and be-all of her life. Neal shot to stardom with The Fountainhead, and she had a painful affair with her married leading man, Gary Cooper. Going from one extreme to another, Neal married the plug-ugly author Roald Dahl, almost as if she wanted to get as far away from a Cooper-type as she could. Neal's marriage to the arrogant and unsympathetic Dahl managed to last for thirty years, although it wasn't really a happy union, and he eventually left Neal for a younger woman. Just as big a challenge was Neal having a stroke, due to an aneurysm, when she was only in her thirties (during this difficult time, Dahl stood by her). Periodically returning to the stage, Neal became a highly respected actress even after her relatively brief period of Hollywood stardom was over. During her long career she appeared on the stage in everything from The Children's Hour revival to Another Park of the Forest, where she originated the role of the younger Regina from The Little Foxes. Neal's movies include The Day the Earth Stood Still (which the author wildly overpraises), The Breaking Point, Bright Leaf (also with Gary Cooper), Three Secrets (one of her favorite films), The Hasty Heart, and A Face in the Crowd; she won an Oscar for her performance in Hud with Paul Newman. Along the way the book goes behind the scenes of many of Neal's movies as well as her other romantic entanglements, such as with the actor Peter Cookson.

Verdict: Thorough, engaging look at the life of Patricia Neal. ***1/2.

CRAWFORD!

Crawford, of course

The "Essential" Biography: Quirk; Schoell

JOAN! (and I don't mean Joan Collins)

This week on the FX network begins a new series on the supposed life-long "feud" between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, which has been greatly exaggerated, to say the least. The two women were not good friends, did not especially like each other, but a "feud" is over-stating things. Crawford was not crazy about the fact that Davis got nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? while she didn't; and Davis was not at all thrilled when she lost said Oscar to an absent Anne Bancroft, and as arranged,  Crawford accepted the statuette for her. So there was Crawford getting the (second-hand) applause from the crowd while Davis could only watch in disappointment. Joan was always annoyed that Davis considered herself the better, more serious actress while Davis, who fancied herself more down-to-earth than Joan, disliked what she saw as Joan's diva-like ways. In truth, both women were major movie stars who were more alike than they were different. The two women were to be re-teamed on Hush ... Hush, Sweet Charlotte, but Joan discovered she had no great desire to work with a grumpy, unpleasant Davis anymore (it was she who had come to Davis with the book "Baby Jane?") and she feigned sickness to get out of the assignment; Olivia De Havilland replaced her.

Cut out of her will because Joan felt she had supported her daughter long enough, and angry that Joan couldn't help the modestly talented young lady get anywhere in her career, Christina Crawford decided to get even and make money by writing "Mommie, Dearest," which even her siblings found "fake and fictional." Ever since that time Crawford has been turned into a joke, with every single thing she's said or done being re-interpreted as proof that she was some kind of monster. She has been subjected to perpetual sniggering by those who believed every single word of Christina's tome .Much has been made of Crawford's "phoniness," such as her being "sick" on Oscar night when she was nominated (and won) for Mildred Pierce, In one interview, co-star Ann Blyth intelligently explained Joan's reasons for this, but the persistent interviewer kept trying to make something more out of it, Sheesh -- is anyone really that surprised that old-time movie stars (or even current ones) can be "phonies" at times?!

All movie stars are difficult to deal with, and Crawford may have had imperfections as both mother and woman, but both the one-sided book and the film adaptation make her out to be utterly grotesque. It's almost become impossible to look at her life or career in an objective manner. I and my co-author Lawrence J. Quirk, who knew Joan well for years, attempted to redress that wrong in our book, Joan Crawford: The Essential Biography. The book doesn't necessarily whitewash Joan, but it does expose a lot of the crap that has been written and said about her, and provides a more objective look at her life and career. The book was published by the University Press of Kentucky in 2002 and is available in various editions, including kindle, on amazon and elsewhere.

Here's a review of the book from Library Journal.

"She wasn't the greatest actress of the silver screen, but was there ever a bigger star than Joan Crawford? Who else had made ten films with Gable, danced with Fred Astaire, won an Academy Award for best actress (in 1945, for Mildred Pierce), outlasted her contemporary Greta Garbo by nearly three decades ... ? And just as she was fading from memory, she got a new lease on notoriety with the publication of adopted daughter Christina's Mommie Dearest. In a dual preface, Quirk (The Films of Joan Crawford), a personal friend of the actress, rejects much of that highly unflattering account, while Schoell (Martini Man: The Life of Dean Martin) debunks it entirely. Their study is a thoroughgoing, evenhanded review of Crawford's life and work, which in tone is neither academic nor gossipy but rather confessional, as if they are eager to set the record straight. It should go a long way toward restoring Crawford's reputation as a hardworking professional who lived for her fans and managed to slap almost every leading man who ever played opposite her. In Sunset Boulevard, Gloria Swanson's character famously observed, "I'm still big; it's the pictures that got small." Perhaps the same could be said of Crawford. Recommended for all film collections in public and academic libraries".Edward Cone, New York.

So, this week GREAT OLD MOVIES looks at the television work of Joan Crawford: telefilms, dramatic series, anthologies, and westerns. We also take another look at the film version of Mommie, Dearest. And to round it out, a critique of the television remake of Baby Jane with Lynn and Vanessa Redgrave!

*Ann Blyth was interviewed in 2006 at a San Francisco showing of Mildred Pierce and was asked questions by the happily gesticulating host, who kept referring to "this crowd" and indulged in some Joan-bashing (saying she was the last person he would want to have dinner with but that Ann and Eve Arden would top the list). Try as he might to get Blythe to say something bad about Joan, she wouldn't do it, probably because she had no nasty stories to tell.