BURT LANCASTER: AN AMERICAN LIFE

BURT LANCASTER: An American Life. Kate Buford. Knopf; 2000. 

Tracing his pathway from the rough streets of New York's Harlem to a stint as an acrobat to his making his mark in motion pictures rather quickly, pretty much attaining stardom in his first film The Killers, this well-written and very absorbing biography offers a fascinating portrait of a complex individual. Lancaster was driven to succeed, something he achieved, but not without cost. Some friends and co-workers describe him with lavish affection while to others he was cold, distant, and occasionally cruel. While his wife nearly drank herself to death, Lancaster apparently did little or nothing to help her while he had numerous affairs and a long-time mistress (a passed-out spouse can be a convenience). On the plus side, Lancaster was dedicated to his art and tried his best to make worthwhile pictures instead of just appearing in junk for money (although eventually he would have to do that as well). 

Although Lancaster was not a kid when he became a bona fide movie star, he was young enough -- and it happened quickly enough -- for such rapid success to go to his head. There was one shocking report of violence against women while under the influence. The term "bisexual" is used over and over again in the book, but  Buford never really deals with it head on or provides any solid evidence of homosexual relationships, although eyebrows were raised in certain instances. Lancaster did have several gay friends and co-workers, and did an ad for AIDS awareness -- "Think Before You Act -- Don't Get Aids." Lancaster had several children but his relationship with his children isn't really examined that significantly (and we never learn the contents of his will). 

Whatever good or bad points Lancaster had, he made some memorable, or at least, famous motion pictures during his career, and gave some solid performances. From Here to Eternity, Come Back Little Sheba,  The Swimmer (my favorite Lancaster film and performance), A Child Is Waiting, Elmer Gantry, and many, many others. However Buford is not a film critic, so don't expect in-depth analysis of his films, although she does go behind the scenes of many of the movies. 

Verdict: Imperfect but notable bio that delves a bit more than others into the life of this enduring star. ***1/2. 

MYRNA LOY: THE ONLY GOOD GIRL IN HOLLYWOOD

MYRNA LOY: THE ONLY GOOD GIRL IN HOLLYWOOD. Emily W. Leider. 2011; University of California Press.

This absorbing, well-written and well-researched biography of Loy traces her roots in Montana, her early years doing movie after movie, often cast as "exotic" Orientals [The Mask of Fu Manchu], her indentured servitude working for studios that hardly ever gave her a day off, her eventual emergence as a major star with a wider range than expected who commanded some respect from fellow filmmakers, and her final days when she turned to the theater and became a character actress in a few late movies [Midnight Lace]. Along the way we meet Loy's four husbands, most of whom treated her badly (and most of whom were plug-ugly, although Leider refers to one potato-head as "catnip to women!"). Loy had liberal politics, seemed to care about people other than herself (which alone makes her different from most movie stars) and decided after her fourth divorce that it was not so terrible not to have a husband. The bio also delves into Loy's many friendships with people famous and not so famous, her relationships with various family members, and analyzes most of her films and her approach to her roles, which included co-starring in the Thin Man movies, The Best Years of Our Lives, Cheaper by the Dozen, The Animal Kingdom, and many, many others.

Leider resuscitates this business about Loy possibly having had some kind of relationship with Montgomery Clift while they were making Lonelyhearts and after (first brought up in Patti Bosworth's bio of Clift). Loy denied this vehemently in her own memoir, and also denied it (in my presence) to Lawrence Quirk, who wrote The Films of Myrna Loy. Considering that she was no longer married to her husband at that time years later, it makes little sense to deny it if it were true. Also, Clift was essentially gay, Loy was 15 years older, and as this book makes clear, she was not the type to sleep around indiscriminately or cheat on her husband. (I also knew Jim Kotsilibas-Davis, who worked on Loy's memoirs with her.)

Verdict: Excellent biography and quite possibly the last word on Loy. ***1/2. 

JANE WYMAN: A BIOGRAPHY

JANE WYMAN: A BIOGRAPHY. Joe Morella and Edward Z. Epstein. Delacorte; 1985.

Jane Wyman had a distinguished career with one Oscar win, several nominations, and Emmy awards for her work on the TV series Falcon Crest. It has been suggested that the fact that her ex-husband Ronald Reagan became president had a lot to do with her late-in-life success -- even this book makes that point -- but the book also makes clear that Wyman had quite a body of work and a long list of achievements that would have made her a major Hollywood figure no matter whom she was married to.

This book goes on a bit too much about Reagan, which is not necessary considering the life and career enjoyed by Wyman. But it also looks at Wyman's other marriages, her toiling as a contract player in numerous forgettable movies where she was the wise-crackng blonde, then her emergence as a serious player in such films as Johnny Belinda, Miracle in the Rain, The Blue Veil, All That Heaven Allows and others. Many were surprised that Wyman, who continued making (mostly minor) movies, fled to television for her own anthology series a la Loretta Young, when her movie career was going much, much better than Young's. Wyman, however, felt that her type of picture was on its way out. The series, Jane Wyman Theatre, lasted several seasons.

Wyman had two children via Reagan, Maureen and Michael (who was adopted), upon whom Wyman would use a riding crop when he misbehaved, although he apparently never held it against her. Wyman's show Falcon Crest, in which she was excellent as the scheming Angela Channing, lasted for nearly a decade. Her last credit was on an episode of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. A conservative Republican like her ex-husband (whom she probably divorced because she found his constant yakking about politics boring beyond belief), Wyman refused to play "ax murderers or lesbians" (!) when she was offered scripts with same.  Wyman was a private woman, and the book has no major interviews with insiders who knew her well. Still, it manages to be a good read.

Verdict: Solid if sometimes superficial study of a very talented movie star. ***. 

KANOPY VIDEO

The Watch List on Kanopy

KANOPY VIDEO.

There's a new free streaming video service available, and all you need is a library card (U.S.) and to belong to a library that is linked to the Kanopy service. Kanopy has literally thousands of films available for watching on line, and it includes everything from gory grind house zombie movies to classy and well-known foreign films by famous international directors and everything in between. Movies I've recently watched on Kanopy include Mario Bava's Five Dolls for an August Moon, the Israeli LGBT short Summer Vacation, a documentary on Debra Paget and Sudden Fear with Joan Crawford, among others. The service is free, but you are only allowed to look at ten movies per month

The next time you go to your library's web site, or go there in person, you can either look for or ask about the link to Kanopy. When you search for a movie, you may also see "e-video" and an arrow, which generally indicates that you can watch the movie online.

So check and see if your library offers Kanopy. If it does, all you need do is enter your card number and start an account with your email and password. And then you can watch Purple Noon, The 400 Blows, Ashes and Diamonds and The Bicycle Thieves, not to mention Italian giallo films, weird exploitation movies, Hollywood star documentaries, and much, more more.