There are a number of just out and forthcoming film biographies which I am looking forward to. If you like biographies or works of film history, you will want to check out each of these titles. I haven't had a chance to read any of them yet, but plan on doing so. A couple I have dipped into. The description that follows is from the publisher. [I just got my copy of
Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film, and it looks great. Curtiz, of course, is the director of the 1931 Louise Brooks film,
God's Gift to Women, and the book does mention the actress. The Miriam Hopkins should also be a great read. I loved the author's earlier biography of Ramon Navarro.]
Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film by Alan K. Rode
University Press of Kentucky
Academy Award–winning director Michael Curtiz (1886–1962)―whose best-known films include
Casablanca (1942),
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942),
Mildred Pierce (1945) and
White Christmas
(1954)―was in many ways the anti-auteur. During his unprecedented
twenty-seven year tenure at Warner Bros., he directed swashbuckling
adventures, westerns, musicals, war epics, romances, historical dramas,
horror films, tearjerkers, melodramas, comedies, and film noir
masterpieces. The director's staggering output of 180 films surpasses
that of the legendary John Ford and exceeds the combined total of films
directed by George Cukor, Victor Fleming, and Howard Hawks.
In
the first biography of this colorful, instinctual artist, Alan K. Rode
illuminates the life and work of one of the film industry's most complex
figures. He begins by exploring the director's early life and career in
his native Hungary, revealing how Curtiz shaped the earliest days of
silent cinema in Europe as he acted in, produced, and directed scores of
films before immigrating to the United States in 1926. In Hollywood,
Curtiz earned a reputation for his explosive tantrums, his difficulty
communicating in English, and his disregard for the well-being of
others. However, few directors elicited more memorable portrayals from
their casts, and ten different actors delivered Oscar-nominated
performances under his direction.
In addition to his study of the
director's remarkable legacy, Rode investigates Curtiz's dramatic
personal life, discussing his enduring creative partnership with his
wife, screenwriter Bess Meredyth, as well as his numerous affairs and
children born of his extramarital relationships. This meticulously
researched biography provides a nuanced understanding of one of the most
talented filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age.
Barbara Lamarr: The Girl Who Was Too Beautiful for Hollywood by Sherri Snyder
University Press of Kentucky
Barbara La Marr's (1896–1926) publicist once confessed: "There was no
reason to lie about Barbara La Marr. Everything she said, everything she
did was colored with news-value." When La Marr was sixteen, her older
half-sister and a male companion reportedly kidnapped her, causing a
sensation in the media. One year later, her behavior in Los Angeles
nightclubs caused law enforcement to declare her "too beautiful" to be
on her own in the city, and she was ordered to leave. When La Marr
returned to Hollywood years later, her loveliness and raw talent caught
the attention of producers and catapulted her to movie stardom.
In
the first full-length biography of the woman known as the "girl who was
too beautiful," Sherri Snyder presents a complete portrait of one of
the silent era's most infamous screen sirens. In five short years, La
Marr appeared in twenty-six films, including
The Prisoner of Zenda (1922),
Trifling Women (1922),
The Eternal City (1923),
The Shooting of Dan McGrew (1924), and
Thy Name Is Woman
(1924). Yet by 1925―finding herself beset by numerous scandals, several
failed marriages, a hidden pregnancy, and personal prejudice based on
her onscreen persona―she fell out of public favor. When she was
diagnosed with a fatal lung condition, she continued to work,
undeterred, until she collapsed on set. She died at the age of
twenty-nine.
Few stars have burned as brightly and as briefly as
Barbara La Marr, and her extraordinary life story is one of tempestuous
passions as well as perseverance in the face of adversity. Drawing on
never-before-released diary entries, correspondence, and creative works,
Snyder's biography offers a valuable perspective on her contributions
to silent-era Hollywood and the cinematic arts.
Miriam Hopkins: Life and Films of a Hollywood Rebel by Allan Ellenberger
University Press of Kentucky
Miriam Hopkins (1902–1972) first captured moviegoers' attention in daring precode films such as
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931),
The Story of Temple Drake (1933), and Ernst Lubitsch's
Trouble in Paradise (1932). Though she enjoyed popular and critical acclaim in her long career―receiving an Academy Award nomination for
Becky Sharp (1935) and a Golden Globe nomination for
The Heiress (1949)―she
is most often remembered for being one of the most difficult actresses
of Hollywood's golden age. Whether she was fighting with studio moguls
over her roles or feuding with her avowed archrival, Bette Davis, her
reputation for temperamental behavior is legendary.
In the first
comprehensive biography of this colorful performer, Allan R. Ellenberger
illuminates Hopkins's fascinating life and legacy. Her freewheeling
film career was exceptional in studio-era Hollywood, and she managed to
establish herself as a top star at Paramount, RKO, Goldwyn, and Warner
Bros. Over the course of five decades, Hopkins appeared in thirty-six
films, forty stage plays, and countless radio programs. Later, she
emerged as a pioneer of TV drama. Ellenberger also explores Hopkins's
private life, including her relationships with such intellectuals as
Theodore Dreiser, Dorothy Parker, Gertrude Stein, and Tennessee
Williams. Although she was never blacklisted for her suspected Communist
leanings, her association with these freethinkers and her involvement
with certain political organizations led the FBI to keep a file on her
for nearly forty years. This skillful biography treats readers to the
intriguing stories and controversies surrounding Hopkins and her career,
but also looks beyond her Hollywood persona to explore the star as an
uncompromising artist. The result is an entertaining portrait of a
brilliant yet underappreciated performer.
Harry Langdon: King of Silent Comedy by Gabriella Oldham and Mabel Langdon, with a foreword by Harry Langdon Jr.
University Press of Kentucky
Among silent film comedians, three names stand out―Charlie Chaplin,
Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd―but Harry Langdon indisputably deserves
to sit among them as the fourth "king." In films such as
The Strong Man (1926) and
Long Pants (1927)
,
Langdon parlayed his pantomime talents, expressive eyes, and childlike
innocence into silent-era stardom. This in-depth biography, which
features behind-the-scenes accounts and personal recollections compiled
by Langdon's late wife, provides a full and thoughtful picture of this
multifaceted entertainer and his meteoric rise and fall.
Authors
Gabriella Oldham and Mabel Langdon explore how the actor developed and
honed his comedic skills in amateur shows, medicine shows, and
vaudeville. Together they survey his early work on the stage at the turn
of the twentieth century as well as his iconic routines and characters.
They also evaluate his failures from the early sound period, including
his decision to part ways with director Frank Capra. Despite his
dwindling popularity following the introduction of talkies, Langdon
persevered and continued to perform in theater, radio, and
film―literally until his dying day―leaving behind a unique and brilliant
body of work.
Featuring never-before-published stories and
photos from his immediate family, this biography is a fascinating and
revealing look at an unsung silent film giant.
Mr. Suicide: Henry "Pathe" Lehrman and The Birth of Silent Comedy by Thomas Reeder
BearManor Media
It was every immigrant’s dream. Within ten years of his 1906 arrival
in the U.S., Henry Lehrman had achieved both fame and fortune in the
fledgling film industry. Widely acknowledged as the creator of frenetic
comedies of unusual artistry and unparalleled mayhem, Lehrman’s guidance
and creativity ushered newcomer Charles Chaplin to international
popularity at Mack Sennett’s Keystone. Roscoe Arbuckle, Ford Sterling,
and numerous others benefited immeasurably from his direction as well,
at Keystone and later at Lehrman’s own Sterling, L-Ko, and Fox Sunshine
companies. By 1919, Lehrman’s meteoric rise led to the realization of
his dreams: full independence and artistic control with his Henry
Lehrman Comedies. And then it all collapsed. Lehrman’s career hit the
skids with the studio’s failure, followed by his involvement in the
era’s most notorious scandal: the alleged rape and subsequent death of
Lehrman’s fiancé, Virginia Rappe, at the hands of his friend Arbuckle.
MR. SUICIDE: HENRY “PATHE” LEHRMAN AND THE BIRTH OF SILENT COMEDY is a
riveting cautionary tale for all aspiring artists whose dreams exceed
their grasp.
