Recently released by the University Press of Kentucky is
Pola Negri: Hollywood's First Femme Fatale, by Mariusz Kotowski. This 320 page book is, I believe, the first English language biography of Polish-born silent film superstar. I am about half-way through it, and am enjoying it well enough. I hope to write a fuller eeview at a later time. [BTW: A few vintage recordings by Pola Negri can be heard on
RadioLulu.]
From the publisher: "Pola Negri (1897–1987) rose from an
impoverished childhood in Warsaw, Poland, to become one of early
Hollywood’s greatest stars. After tuberculosis ended her career as a
ballerina in 1912, she turned to acting and worked under legendary
directors Max Reinhardt and Ernst Lubitsch in Germany. Negri preceded
Lubitsch to Hollywood, where she quickly became a fan favorite thanks to
her beauty, talent, and diva personality. Known for her alluring
sexuality and biting artistic edge, she starred in more than sixty films
and defined the image of the cinematic femme fatale.
Author
Mariusz Kotowski brings the screen siren’s story to English-speaking
audiences for the first time in this fascinating biography. At the
height of her fame, Negri often portrayed exotic and mysterious
temptresses, headlining in such successes as
The Spanish Dancer (1923) and
Forbidden Paradise
(1924), before returning to Europe in the 1930s. The devastating
effects of World War II soon drove her back to the United States, where
she starred in
Hi Diddle Diddle (1943) and pursued her vaudeville career before retiring from the entertainment industry.
Kotowski
also illuminates Negri’s dramatic personal life, detailing her numerous
love affairs—including her engagement to Charlie Chaplin and her
romance with Rudolph Valentino—as well as her multiple marriages. This
long-overdue biography not only paints a detailed portrait of one
classic Hollywood’s most intriguing stars and the film industry’s
original Jezebel, but also explores the link between Hollywood and
European cinema during the interwar years."
-----
By
and large, this is a full account of the Negri legend. It’s all
here—from the jewels, the husbands, and the misadventures in Nazi
Germany to the trumped-up feuds, the adoring fans, and the pet cheetah
that, allegedly, was Negri’s companion at home, on the streets, and
inside the studios. Kotowski tells the story with finesse. -- Leonard J. Leff, author of Hemingway and His Conspirators
"This
is a very special book written on a very special movie star--the kind
they don't make any more, and actually, the kind they never did make
except for her. Mariusz Kotowski has done a fantastic job of bringing to
life the full story, both on and off screen, of a wonderfully talented,
colorful, and fascinating woman. His dedication to Negri's career
deserves everyone's respect. Pola Negri deserves attention, and this
book brings it in just the right way. Highly recommended."-- Jeanine
Basinger, author of I Do and I Don't: A History of Marriage in the Movies
