What are you reading?

[charliechaplinfan]

Birdy, I read this a few months ago and couldn't put it down. I was firmly of the opinion that she was done in by Lucky Luciano and couldn't decide how much West knew. She came across very differently than I'd imagined, you'd think that anyone associating with gangsters would be hard but she wasn't, it seems she got involved with them because of her husband and Luciano so wanted a film star mate, she got caught in his web and couldn't get out. It sounds like it couldn't have ended any other way.

I've read the book he did on Roscoe Arbuckle, that was very good, he's also wrote a book on Virginia Hill.

[Birdy]

I agree, it was really compelling. I didn't go looking for this book, it just showed up and couldn't resist a juicy 30s backstory. I would like to see more of Thelma's movies and shorts and I will watch for the other books you mentioned. Thanks.

[charliechaplinfan]

I've seen her in a handful of films, enough to see that she had a comic talent, her best performance that I've seen is that in Speak Easily with Buster Keaton, looking on the imdb she has been in lots of films, although I think in the earlier ones she might be difficult to spot. She's in Counsellor at Law and Mary Stevens MD, sometimes played on TCM. Her last movie was in The Bohemian Girl with Laurel and Hardy although her role was substantially cut down after her death.

[charliechaplinfan]

I finished Marilyn Monroe Private and Undisclosed, I bought this after a recommendation, it's no rehasing of Marilyn's life and death but the story of her life interspersed with memories from fans, co workers, friends, people who knew her in childhood, many of whom as well as donating their memories have also donated pictures from their private collection. Michelle Morgan is chairman of Marilyn's UK fanclub but is objective about Marilyn, it seems that lots of people loved her and she could be an absolute darling but to some she could be mean spirited, there are comments from both. A book I'd recommend.

[CharlieT]

Last three books that I've read are The Cider House Rules by John Irving, Man on the Flying Trapeze, the Life and Times of W.C. Fields by Simon Louvish and The Colorado Kid by Stephen King.

[charliechaplinfan]

I'm part way through reading My Father Charlie Chaplin, it's tells of many of Chaplin's follibles, including his reading crime stories at bedtime for relaxation. He obviously adores his father, it shines through but it does tell more about Chaplin than he'd likely to have revealed about himself, I can't help wondering what Charlie thought about it.

My other reading matter is French Women Don't Get Fat, it's borrowed from a friend who thinks I should read it. I'm not expecting any miracles, I expect it will be pay attention to portion sizes, eat freshly made food and not fastfood or oven ready meals, take a bit more exercise etc. If there is a special secret there I'll let you all know

[ChiO]

I suppose that one advantage of lay-overs and long flights is a chance to read, so I finished The Magic World of Orson Welles (1989, new edition) by James Naremore. He provides a sketch of Welles' pre-CITIZEN KANE key episodes, then focuses on the films. An unabashed admirer, he notes on the first page that:

Even if Kane did not exist Welles would still be included in the pantheon of American filmmakers, but having made that picture at an early age, he created expectations for his career that probably no one could have fulfilled.

Additional research on Welles and his movies since the new edition, some of it by Naremore, makes some of writing on the films' contexts out-dated, but his analysis of the films themselves are never less than enlightening.

I also read Orson Welles Interviews (2002), edited by Mark W. Estrin. "Interviews" is not entirely an accurate term in that it also includes articles about Welles based on interviews. I'd previously read a couple of the pieces when originally printed (Kenneth Tynan's 1967 Playboy interview and Gore Vidal's 1989 "Remembering Orson Welles" from The New York Review of Books), but the rest of the fifteen articles/interviews were new for me. The first is a 1938 pre-"War of the Worlds" article from the New York Times and the last is Vidal's piece. The reason for buying: the two 1958 interviews by Andre Bazin for Cahiers du Cinema. They spar, with Welles not always agreeing with Bazin's underlying assumptions about what makes a "good" film, the importance of directors, or what Welles was intending in a film. It is fascinating as one reads each interview how Welles' responses to similar questions are sometimes consistent (almost rehearsed), sometimes slightly different, and sometimes seemingly contradictory. One comes away with a sense that what Welles said about Hollywood in a 1960 interview for the BBC is equally applicable to him: anything you say about Hollywood is true, good and bad; there's no extreme statement that doesn't apply. Reading Welles in his own words is an absolute joy.

[charliechaplinfan]

I was interested in a book that was cited in the Private and Undisclosed book about Marilyn it is called the DD Group an online investigation into the death of Marilyn Monroe. One thing I like almost as much as movies are whodunnits and Marilyn's death does a myriad of theories relating to it and numerous sources and authors who often have their own agenda. What really interested me about this book was that it is authored by a forum, much like ours with contributors from all walks of life with idffereing opinions and temprements who have sifted through the various theories and tracked down the sources that are still alive. They have done an hour by hour account of what went on on that last Saturday of Marilyn's life. So far I've only read the forward and my interest is thoroughly picqued.

[Ann Harding]

I have been re-reading Being and Becoming, Myrna Loy's memoirs. This book is a must read for anybody interested in classic pictures. Myrna no-nonsense approach takes you behind the camera and allows you to discover life in Hollywood from the 20s to the 60s. This is probably the most down-to-earth person you'll ever encounter in this era. I also like her personality. She was totally dedicated to a cause and went all the way to support her ideas. Her book also highlights the place of women in society at the time. A great lady.

I borrowed from my library a terrifying account of the life of Alma Rubens: Alma Rubens, Silent Snowbird (McFarland, 2006) This very pretty and talented actress died aged 33 of pneumonia. But, if she is ever remembered nowadays, it's as a victim of drug addiction. McFarland has reprinted a vintage life story of Rubens published in magazines in 1931. It was probably ghost-written, but the story itself is genuine. I saw Alma in two silents recently: The Half-Breed (1917) with Douglas Fairbanks Sr and The Cold Deck (1917) with Wm S. Hart. In both films, she displays real acting talent. Her life was a struggle to the top. Born in a poor family, she managed to become a famous silent actress thanks to her talent and tenacity. Alas, she fell victim to a crooked doctor who injected her some morphine. She became an addict like poor Wallace Reid. This doctor knew very well what he was doing: she was famous and had some money. And she was still very young and likely to become an addict immediately. He then peddled her drugs at huge prices. Trying to get a cure in those days was extremely difficult. At one point, she was sent for 8 months in a state asylum where she witnessed the horrific treatment given to the insane and addicted people. It really sent a chill down my spine. That's a book that shows you the other side of Hollywood. It's not pretty. And quite a few people were victims of drugs at the time: Wallace Reid, Mabel Normand, Olive Thomas and Jeanne Eagels. I realise now that they were victims of a system, trapped in a terrible ordeal where no escape was possible.

[feaito]

I agree with you Christine in relation with Myrna's autobiography, it's simply one of the best cinema-related books I have ever read and maybe the best biography. And she's indeed a very likable and down-to-earth person; she has always been a favorite of mine as an actress, star and person of the Classic Era. And I feel honored to share with her a birthday.

As for Alma Rubens, it's really dreadful what happened to her.

I've been reading some novels in Spanish released in Chile and Spain, including one "Secret Conspiracy Theory"-related book (Can't help loving them!

I also finished reading an interesting book published in England in 1929 about the Lives of Chief Justice Coke (Sir Edward Coke), his family and descendants at Holkham Hall. I got it second-hand (obviously) from Amazon marketpalce sellers and it's in great condition. Since supposedly on my mother's side we are descendants of Mr. Coke it was of great interest to me to read about that family's whereabouts and domestic details.

Currently I'm reading the very fine Edmund Goulding biography written by Matthew Kennedy with a foreword by Kevin Brownlow (no less), which has been a very enlightening and entertaining read.

[Birdy]

Stephanie Plum Fans: Sizzling Sixteen due out soon!
B

[jdb1]

Yippee! And where's the movie already? Is it ever really going to happen? How many years now have we had promises of a film version of the great comic novel "A Confederacy of Dunces" and every single project attempted so far has fallen through?

I'm almost finished with a Ruth Rendell suspense/mystery called "Adam and Eve and Pinch Me." I'm a fan of Rendell, and I like this one particularly. Her description of the activities of a character with OCD are fascinating. I expect a British-produced version of this one will show up on PBS before long.

[feaito]

I finished reading the Goulding Bio, a good read, but one thing annoyed me: a production still of Garbo and Freddie Bartholomew from "Anna Karenina" (1935) is shown as being a picture from Goulding's "Love" (1927) with Garbo and Philippe De Lacy! Editors please!!

Now I'm reading two books parallelly: "The Bennetts: An acting Family" by Brian Kellow, which I'm reading during my subway rides towards and back from my workplace and "Greta Garbo: A Cinematic Legacy" by Mark A. Vieira which I'm reading at night (since it's a Coffee Table Book, it's to heavy to carry around).

[Ann Harding]

I have just come back from a holiday in sunny Brittany. I took two books with me which I devoured very quickly.

The first one was Ladies Man, the autobiography of Paul Henreid (St Martin's Press, 1984). It proved a very interesting read full of interesting encounters and amusing anecdotes. But beyond that, Paul Henreid (born Paul von Hernried) turns out to have been the very image of integrity. Think about it: he was blacklisted by both Josef Goebbels and McCarthy. Born in a Viennese aristocratic family -though penniless- he received a very good education. He worked at first in publishing before becoming a stage actor. He was spotted by Max Reinhardt and became soon famous on the Vienna stage. He loathed the Nazis and went to London after 1938 where he was successfull on the stage again. As the war started, he managed to secure a contract in Broadway. And he soon made his way to Hollywood where he became a famous leading man at Warner's in Casablanca, Deception and Now Voyager. He fought for the First Amendment and ended up blacklisted as by 1947, he was not protected anymore by a studio contract. Realising he was unable to secure any parts, he became a director for both TV and cinema. Overall, I found Paul Henreid a delight to read. He offers a very interesting view of Hollywood. He adapted to the system with ease while avoiding completely its excesses. He was married to his wife Lisl from 1936 until his death and he never developped an oversized ego. Bette Davis had a huge respect for him as an actor and director (he directed her) and that speaks volume. On the downside, the book contains quite a few typos (particularly on German words). But that shouldn't stop you. Paul Henreid was a great gentleman.

The Search for Charlie Chaplin by Kevin Brownlow (UKA Press, 2010) tells the story of the making of the documentary Unknown Chaplin (1980-83). The production of this documentary was a real saga as finding material was like a detective story. The Chaplin estate was a hard nut to crack. And on top, most of the rushes, retakes, etc were in the hand of a collector called Raymond Rohauer who acquired them through a dodgy deal in the 50s. After many months of a complicated battle, David Gill and KB managed to get hold of an enormous amount of Chaplin material. Later, they went to Hollywood to interview Chaplin co-workers, particularly Lita Grey, Georgia Hale and Virginia Cherill. The book tells this story with the customary self-deprecating humour and includes full transcript of all the interviews. It's a terrific read and highly recommended. Now I just need to re-watch Unknown Chaplin ASAP!

[charliechaplinfan]

Paul Henried sounds the perfect actor to play Victor Laszlo.

The Chaplin book sounds so interesting, one I must buy at some point. I'm a little confused, how did the Chaplin prints find their way outside Chaplin's family? Or were these prints the best available outside the Chaplin vaults and the easiest to obtain?