What are you reading?

[MissGoddess]

I finally finished Scott Eyman's biography of Louis B. Mayer, The Lion of Hollywood. It's very well researched and very fair and probably should go far in presenting a more balanced view of the "Hollywood Mogul" than has been the norm since the death of the studio system. However, if there is any downside to the book, it's simply that Mayer isn't as compelling a figure to me personally as, say, to keep it in the executive ranks, Irving Thalberg. Eyman does well to restore some of the deserved credit to Mayer which has traditionally been heaped upon Thalberg, but it's odd how in spite of this, Thalberg still comes off as infinitely more interesting as a person.

What impressed me the most about Mayer was his passionate and sincere belief in his ideals---and how very much he adored movies, not just making money. How novel! In fact, he was downright cute sometimes in how upset he could get when people would try to tear down his ideals, poor thing.

Eyman stated in his Acknowledgements that he had never started a book project with more trepidation. I wonder what his trepidations were?

I'm not sure yet what my next book will be, I may jump ahead of myself (I have a stack of possibilities) and buy the recent Joan Crawford biography by Charlotte Chandler. It would be too wonderful if SSO could nab her for a guest spot because she actually knew many of her subjects (Davis and Crawford in particular).

[feaito]

April,

Did you read "Merchant of Dreams"? It's a Louis B. Mayer biography that was written by Charles Higham. I read it some years ago and I recall that I enjoyed it a lot, although I'm not able to state if it was well researched or not. I can only remember that I was very amused by it, and that I read it very fastly while on vacation in Sunnyvale CA.

I'm asking you because I have Eyman's Mayer biography, on the queue "to be read" and I have the impression that Eyman is regarded as more serious and better author than Higham, and thus his book on Mayer should be superior. Am I right?

[MissGoddess]

Hola Feo!

I have not read the Higham biography, but after having read several others by Eyman at this point, I feel very comfortable with his lack of bias, thorough research and ability to land interviews with people exceptionally close to the subject. He also obeys my cardinal biography rule in avoiding the sensational. If you are really into reading about Mayer and the history of MGM---and how a studio like that operated---I recommend it highly. I wouldn't say it's "breezy" reading, though. I hope that is of help.

[CharlieT]

Finished Michener's The Source and am beginning The Judas Strain by James Rollins.

[feaito]

Hola Feo!

I have not read the Higham biography, but after having read several others by Eyman at this point, I feel very comfortable with his lack of bias, thorough research and ability to land interviews with people exceptionally close to the subject. He also obeys my cardinal biography rule in avoiding the sensational. If you are really into reading about Mayer and the history of MGM---and how a studio like that operated---I recommend it highly. I wouldn't say it's "breezy" reading, though. I hope that is of help.

Thanks for the very helpful feedback April. Currently I'm reading "Tab Hunter Confidential", which I'd describe as an honest, readable autobiography.

[MissGoddess]

Right now I'm reading Charlotte Chandler's biography of Joan Crawford (Not the Girl Next Door) and it's a peach. I didn't realize she was so close to Joan and had recorded all these amazing, indepth interviews because the book is largely told in Joan's own words. It's great so far.

[charliechaplinfan]

I've looked at this book on Amazon and someone has given it 1 star which seems incredibly harsh. The complaint of the reviewer is that it is a sanitised version because it is in Joan's own words and it avoids dealing with her 'wierder antics'.

I'd be really interested in what you think of it, I'm not interested in an author who just wants to rake muck but I would be interested in Joan's own view of her career.

[MissGoddess]

Hi CCfan---I certainly will let you know. So far, I can say I think she's been as candid as I expect her to be and the author interviewed her first husband, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr as well as her children (I haven't come to that part yet) and I'm prepared to take what they say at face value. But then, personally, I always prefer the "sanitized" version until it's been proven to me the person lied.

[egolden]

Right now I'm reading Charlotte Chandler's biography of Joan Crawford (Not the Girl Next Door) and it's a peach. I didn't realize she was so close to Joan and had recorded all these amazing, indepth interviews because the book is largely told in Joan's own words. It's great so far.

I call shenanigans on that book. Chandler never cites her sources--where and when did she do all these interviews? Her work has been called into question in her other books too. I would view those so-called interviews with extreme skepticism.

[MissGoddess]

Right now I'm reading Charlotte Chandler's biography of Joan Crawford (Not the Girl Next Door) and it's a peach. I didn't realize she was so close to Joan and had recorded all these amazing, indepth interviews because the book is largely told in Joan's own words. It's great so far.

I call shenanigans on that book. Chandler never cites her sources--where and when did she do all these interviews? Her work has been called into question in her other books too. I would view those so-called interviews with extreme skepticism.

Wow, really? That's the first I've heard of that. She mentions the publicist's name who introduced her to Joan and I thought she related some background to how she became friendly with the star in the article Vanity Fair printed recently with excerpts from the book. I haven't checked the website run by Joan's grandson who I think was also interviewed, it may have more info. Thanks, Eve, I'll certainly keep your cautionary words in mind. Like I said, I prefer what I'm reading so far to any of the more scandalous stuff I've heard about in other biographies. It's more like a transcript from an interview, or series of interviews, than a straight biography, which is different. Maybe the lack of sources being cited is because it mainly contains only the words of the interviewees? Oh well, at least she's not writing anything harmful which is refreshing.

[egolden]

Wow, really? That's the first I've heard of that. She mentions the publicist's name who introduced her to Joan and I thought she related some background to how she became friendly with the star in the article Vanity Fair printed recently with excerpts from the book. I haven't checked the website run by Joan's grandson who I think was also interviewed, it may have more info. Thanks, Eve, I'll certainly keep your cautionary words in mind. Like I said, I prefer what I'm reading so far to any of the more scandalous stuff I've heard about in other biographies. It's more like a transcript from an interview, or series of interviews, than a straight biography, which is different. Maybe the lack of sources being cited is because it mainly contains only the words of the interviewees? Oh well, at least she's not writing anything harmful which is refreshing.

I recently read Chandler's book, and as grateful as I was for a pro-Joan book, the whole thing smelled to me. Nowhere does she say where or when or why she conducted these so-called interviews. Did she remember them, word for word? Why would Joan open up like that to a total stranger, or even to a new young interviewer? Were they done for a newspaper or magazine? Then why did they never appear anywhere else? Why does Chandler never fill in any background on these interviews?

I'm not saying outright she made them up . . . but if she didn't make them up, she left herself open to those charges by never saying where she got all those long, long quotes. I have friends who have read her books on Marx and Davis, who consider Chandler to be a female Boze Hadleigh. The fact that amazon deleted all the negative readers' comments does not speak well for the book, either.

[charliechaplinfan]

Hello Eve,

Does Amazon sometimes remove negative feedback? That's a little unfair, after all if it is going to remove negative feedback from one author it should be even handed and remove it from other author's works.

I've just read Bombshell The Life and Death of Jean Harlow by David Stenn (sorry Eve it was a gift, I'd have much preferred yours)

Years ago I'd read Irving Schulman's book and he has perpetuated some of the biggest untruths that surround the Harlow legend. David Stenn doesn't wrote in a sensational manner and both the death of Paul Bern and Jean Harlow are presented factually and the myths debunked.

Although we will never know, the evidence presented by Stenn supports the theory that Paul Bern shot himself after being confronted by Dorothy Millette. Jean was probably in the house when Dorothy came and shortly after left it to go to her mothers, or was in the house when he shot himself and then went to her mothers. Her whereabouts at the time isn't crystal clear. MGM did their usual job of trying to cover the facts, nearly implacating Harlow herself in the process. He does present evidence that shows that Paul Bern wasn't the most mentally stable man and carried a gun and owed more than one gun. He comes down heavily on the side of suicide because the revolver was found under Berns body with his hand still clutched around it.

Jean's death was very sad, I think Eve said here on the forum that by six months before her death she was doomed. Poor Jean, it wasn't the chemicals put on her hair, or her boozing, or her abortions. It was a infection she'd caught years before, before she was famous that started attacking her kidneys. Mama Jean did have doctors for the whole period of her illness, she did suffer from misdiagnosis from the first doctor brought in who gave her glucose which was the worse thing, the fluid spread her infection. Her death was long and painful, so sad.

William Powell doesn't come out of this biography smelling of roses, quite the opposite. He almost seemed cruel in the way he treated her.

My criticism of the book is that it doesn't concentrate on Jean's illustrious film career that much and that's what I would have liked to have found out more about.

I'm off to find Eve's book , I'm sure she'll fill in the gaps.

[MissGoddess]

Those are all very good questions, Eve, and I certainly would like the answers myself---I haven't looked at the acknowledgements so I didn't realize there was never going to be an explanation. I just assumed she was fairly well known and respected journalist. But if she's another "Boze Hadleigh" that's not good, I didn't like his stuff on Bette.

[egolden]

Gosh, I really sound like I am calling Chandler a flat-out liar, which I am not . . . I just . . . hmmm . . . Wish she made her quotes sound more believable and cited her sources. You have to do that as a biographer and historian, and she should know that by now.

As for Mr. Stenn's book, I have not read it, but I do agree that Paul Bern probably killed himself after being confronted by Dorothy Millette (poor Dorothy Millette!). I also suspect his "dearest dear" suicide note was meant for Dorothy as much as for Jean.

I hope you like my book, if you find it!