Mary Astor-read

Regardless of how long you have been visiting here, my voracious appetite for classic-movie-related literature is probably quite apparent. I purchase books quite frequently, and without discretion or forethought, simply if they bear the name of an erstwhile celebrity, and thus, I came to acquire a hardbound 1968 fiction novel penned by silent film star Mary Astor out of pure curiosity (and, perhaps, a latent desire to become more well-schooled in movie trivia than the revered Robert Osborne).

Astor, long celebrated as one of the few actresses to segue seamlessly from silent films to talkies in the late 1920's and early '30's, is notable in that her lengthy career encompassed roles of advancing ages as she herself aged, rather than being passed over in favor of younger starlets of her day. She was a rare actress who was sought to play the sexy ingenue in the 1920's, a thirty-something woman in the 1930's, and a parent with adult children in the 1940's (she's a memorable mama in both 1944's Meet Me in St. Louis and 1949's Little Women). Few had her versatility or longevity of appeal. Oh, and she wrote, too.

A Place Called Saturday is as much a meditation on the issue of fidelity, equality, and abortion as it is a reasonably engaging dramatic fiction. The last of her six novels (she also penned two autobiographies), Saturday begins at the scene of a violent sexual crime committed in a small American town, and follows the development of its aftereffects on the once-complacent marriage of its protagonist young couple. Astor is decidedly adept at conveying ambience with lush imagery, and she crafts complex characters through fine attention to idiosyncratic behaviors and selective descriptions of their intimate interactions; her writing is often the only element that keeps the story buoyant when a core character fails to provide the pre-denoument tension necessary to make this book truly satisfying. While it is poignant and by no means a poor read, Saturday is perhaps more considerable as an well-crafted opinion on such a touchy topic as abortion in light of its time of publication, than it is a literary achievement.


A Place Called Saturday is available in used condition through online retailers such as Amazon.com and Half.com.

Audreylightful

   If the myriad of posts on the subject didn't cue you in to the fact that I adored Life Magazine's Remembering Grace issue - the vibrant, glossy, picture-packed special edition devoted entirely to actress and princess Grace Kelly's timeless glamour - then you probably won't fathom how rabidly I received the news that Life has accorded like treatment to her sister icon, the inimitable Audrey Hepburn.

   Fifteen years after her death of cancer at the age of 64, the life of The Gamine Girl of the 1950's and 60's is celebrated in page after page of photos by her trusted photographer Bob Willoughby, many of which were unpublished until now. And though captions are sparse in the 144-page tribute, they are nearly unnecessary when coupled with such lush imagery over the span of Audrey's life: instant and lasting stardom in Hollywood at the start of her career, two saddeningly tumultuous marriages, and two sons who saw her through to the charity work she participated in until her illness became debilitating. Even if each phase isn't depicted within these covers, Aud's essence shines through in the impressive array of pictures, whether she's being dirtied on the set of My Fair Lady or riding her bicycle around the studio lot with her Yorkshire Terrier in its wicker basket: she is at once kind and compassionate, self-conscious and slight. She is simply stunning.

Remembering Audrey. As if we could ever forget.

Photo Source

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The January 8, 2008 magazine reportedly retails for 12.99, just like Grace's, and is available on newsstands through April (it is not, however, available online).

One Week Left!

A week left to get the newsstands-only Remembering Grace, a photographic tribute to the late and lovely Grace Kelly, that is. The exclusive publication features previously-unreleased photos of Grace by her career-long photographer and close friend Howell Conant, mostly dazzling candids and rare family images surrounding her engagement and marriage to Prince Rainier of Monaco in 1956. Don't let the $10.95 cover price deter you - this is a worthwhile collection that's a simple, elegant, and simply elegant as Miss Kelly herself.

Life's Remembering Grace commemorative issue will remain on shelves until December 10, 2007.

Candid Candice

When you hear the name Candice Bergen, what do you think of?

Murphy Brown? Boston Legal? That one lady from Miss Congeniality?

For most - us classic film connoisseurs included - these are legitimate, and accurate, references, so entrenched in recent pop culture is this brazen blonde with an ample arsenal of witty banter and a stunning ability to articulate it for comedic effect. But Bergen's sphere of relevance spans far beyond groundbreaking television and cameos in feature films, as proven by her 1984 autobiography, the aptly-titled Knock Wood.

While her contribution to classic film is somewhat underwhelming, it is her personal history and frame of reference that prove relevant to one interested in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Born in 1946 to famed ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his wife, model and actress Frances Westerman, Candice was blessed from the start: before the age of five, she attended parties at Walt Disney's house, made friends of celebrity offspring like Vicki Milland and Cheryl Crane (daughters of Ray Milland and Lana Turner, respectively) and dressed up in studio-gifted reproduction dresses during afternoons at pal Liza Minnelli's house. But the intelligent child was soon aware of the singular elements of her upbringing that, she felt, contributed to the ease with which she acquired elite privileges like private education, extensive travel, popularity, social prestige, and opportunity - namely, her wealth, influence, and beauty. The unrest accompanied her into young adulthood, and amongst European boarding schools, modeling contracts, college courses and the inevitable movie career, Bergen strove to seek out diversity, to estrange herself from the conservative politics and principles of her parents, to establish herself as a photographic and literary talent, and to familiarize herself with the struggles of others, all the while feeling that she could never fully extricate herself from the position of privilege she was born into, nor did she deserve it. Her struggles to find herself worthy of such entitlements speak to her depth and character and give a dimension to her words that is almost completely anachronistic in the genre of celebrity autobiography; additionally, she writes of her extended eschewing of adult responsibility, her long and isolated travels across the globe, her obstinance in personal relationships, and her continued seeking of her father's approval, traits at total contradiction with her public bubbly, California-girl, movie-star persona.

In essence, Knock Wood has a savory dichotomy in its every page: the adventures of a young woman coming of age in the turbulent 1960's and who strives to find balance, relevance, and fulfillment in the decades that followed, and the dealings of the entertainment business, the demise of the studio era, and the complete lack of acknowledgment of once-beloved entertainers of her father's WWII generation (Bergen's father, dejected at the idea of having faded into relative obscurity, died while on a farewell tour in Las Vegas in the late 1970s).

Pick up Knock Wood for an exceptionally honest, expertly-crafted, personalized view of life in Hollywood, looking out with dazzling deprecation over the manicured hedges of a swank Bel-Air mansion and set amongst the larger-than-life personalities of those who populated Tinseltown in our favorite era. After Charlie McCarthy and before Murphy Brown there was just Candice, and her story as a woman is well worth a read.

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Knock Wood is out-of-print, but I recommend buying a used copy from Betterworld.com. You'll pay only a few dollars, skip the shipping fees, and help fund local, national, and global charities with your online purchase.

Remembering Grace

Aside from the whole made-love-to-Cary-Grant-repeatedly-in-To Catch A Thief aspect of her movie-star life - that was also the film were she was devastatingly rich, wore fabulous Edith Head gowns, exceeded the speed limit along the coast of France in her sporty convertible and carried a picnic basket of chicken and beer to entice swarthy men like Grant's character, John Robie - posh Philadelphian actress Grace Kelly truly did have a pretty enviable life, cut short though it was by tragedy. The softspoken blonde beauty, best known for her roles in Hitchock classics like Rear Window and the aforementioned Thief (her chemistry with Grant is incendiary), attended the Academy for Dramatic Arts and cracked into stardom in only her second film, High Noon, at age 22. The movie was a blockbuster, and Grace, opposite perpetual American hero Gary Cooper, was vaulted into the hallowed halls of Hollywood superstardom, an instant and unforgettable icon who would only make 9 more films in the course of her career. (In case you aren't jealous of her resume yet, she won an Academy Award at the age of 25 for only her sixth film role ever and, less than a year later, married the Prince of Monaco, thereby becoming one of America's first princesses.)

Despite the obvious attractive elements of her fame, position and dramatic talent (not to mention the whole Cary Grant thing), the point is inarguable that Grace Kelly is absolutely and astonishingly beautiful, her lithe frame and delicate features a perfect complement to the chic, understated, fitted-and-full styles of her era; every aspect combines to create the epitome of effortless elegance that she embodies in so many of her films. Her propensity for being tirelessly photogenic would be intolerable were it not so enchanting, even decades later - a modern goddess in a Helen Rose creation.

Still smitten with her image decades later, LIFE Magazine has published a special full-length issue devoted to America's motion picture princess in honor of the silver anniversary of her tragic and untimely death in an auto accident - she would be 77, were she still living - and it is a lush, intimate photofest, cover-to-cover with voyeuristic views of the American princess's day-to-day life, spanning the years of her fame into the quieter, more reclusive time she spent with her family as Monaco's Royal Highness, where her films were banned and her actress past wasn't spoken of. Famed photographer Howell Conant provides the picture retrospectives which span from 1955 until Kelly's death in 1982, and his camera extracts a multitude of facets of his single subject matter - the demure, the sophisticated, the unforgettable Grace Kelly.

LIFE's "Remembering Grace" is available only at booksellers, not online, for a cover price of $10.99.

Update: I bought this magazine over the weekend and I absolutely cannot stop reading it - it was made to pore over again and again. The text may be a little lame, but the photos are simply stunning and well worth the price. Putting off my calc homework has never been so chic!

Gone with the Bind

It seems I'm always reading. Celebrity autobiographies, vintage movie magazines, heavy, photo-laden coffee table books: I'll gladly pore over all of them, stumbling over decades-old love affairs, soaking up sartorial elegance splayed across yellowing pages, and discovering backstories of Tinseltown in its glory days, as told by those who lived it themselves (or by those who, like me, yearn to live it vicariously).

Some reads, like Lauren Bacall's By Myself and Katharine Hepburn's Me: Stories of My Life, have proven to be well-written self-portraits of fascinating personalities, penned with far more depth than is traditionally attributed to, or anticipated from, "celebrity autobiographies"; others, however, are in desperate want of the research and passion necessary to craft engaging stories as unforgettable and dynamic as their celebrity subjects (Lana Wood's trashy homage to her sister, Natalie, for example, should be considered an affront to both Nat and to literate persons everywhere).
In keeping with my tradition of sifting through the tripe and presenting you with the best of the best, then, I present to you three of the most recent pieces to take up residence on my film library bookshelf:


Rita Hayworth: A Photographic Retrospective by Caren Roberts-Frenzel
Let's face it: Love Goddess or not, Rita Hayworth and her iconic pin-up presence is inarguably one of the most beautiful ever to grace film. Sultry or demure, blond, brunette or devastatingly red-haired, she is sizzlingly iconic of the 1940's, but few know of her painful shyness and insecurities, of the dissolve of five marriages, or of the devastating toll that Alzheimer's disease began to take on the Spanish beauty as early as the 1950's (Hayworth died of the disease in 1987). Author Roberts-Frenzel displays a dizzying array of photographs of the star's life culled from her own collection, one of the world's largest - and as sweet and telling as the photos are, equally valuable are the detailed captions paired with each pic, unearthing a side of Rita that the camera never picked up.



Selected works by Truman Capote - Paring off the shell of adulation that encases most biographers' writings, Capote instead crafts his portraits with keen observations and recollections of his esoteric interactions, both formal and informal, with the erstwhile celebrities he focuses on. These particular portraits follow no particular format or length (many were serialized and published in popular publications of the day); some are, in fact, comprised largely of conversation between the author and subject, the dialogue interspersed with recollections of most unconventional meetings between the two: he chaperones Marilyn Monroe to a funeral, visits Elizabeth Taylor at the apartment she shares with then-hubby Eddie Fisher, and spends a late evening in Tokyo listening to Marlon Brando vocalize his life's philosophies. The element that Capote employs that authors of similar work, like Peter Bogdanovich, do not, is his uncanny ability to absorb these people in their most natural and unguarded states; he comes to them an extrinsic party and leaves brimming with anecdotes that he so vividly translates into these portraits.For stunningly candid insights into selected stars, detailed and written in Capote's dramatic style, seek out these unflinchingly honest literary snapshots that are, perhaps, as notable as the author's 1959 novella-cum-blockbuster "Breakfast at Tiffany's".

*I recommend Capote's "The Duke in his Domain" (1957) on Marlon Brando; "Elizabeth Taylor" (date unknown); and "Beautiful Child", a portrait of Marilyn Monroe.



Debbie: My Life by Debbie Reynolds and David Patrick Columbia - One would not be hard-pressed to dig up dozens of accolades for the divine Miss Debbie here at Hillary's Classic Cinema, such a favorite of mine is she - whether she's singing, dancing, or deftly deferring the advances of any of her amorous male leads on the silver screen, I just adore her. It is without bias, though, that I can unequivocally call Debbie: My Life a thorough and most captivating read for any fan of classic cinema.
My Life includes an impressive array of Hollywood characters as they came to intertwine with Debbie's on varying levels of professional and personal reasons, but set to the tone of Debbie's narration - candid, compassionate, naive - her story resists treading the touchy waters of a tell-all (Esther Williams' 2003 autobiography, in comparison, spares no details in dishing the dirt on anyone and everyone's personal goings-on). But the tale here is Debbie's very own, an engrossing portrait of the gifted comedienne who came from poor Texas family and entered movies with no serious intentions of ever becoming the legendary performer she is today.

Reynolds' trademark tenacity is intact from the very first page, evident as she survives a lonely childhood as a scrappy tomboy; struggles with being deserted by her first husband and the father of her two children, Eddie Fisher, for her former Hollywood classmate and box-office rival Elizabeth Taylor in 1958; through desperate financial situations, familial strains and the lifelong undercurrent of longing for unfulfilled normalcies of a non-celebrity life. Don't be mistaken, though - this ain't no sob story, it's an honest, humorous, often heartwrenching story of a young girl's rise to near-instant stardom and her tenuous, tenacious efforts to remain connected with the audience that keeps her buoyant in her fifth decade of fame. Now that's what I call unsinkable.

All of the above books are available at reasonable rates on Amazon.com, but for those with a stricter budget, I recommend browsing eBay, Half.com, or your local library for these titles. Betterworld.com, an online used-book seller, offers low prices, free shipping, and benefits charitable organizations at local and worldwide levels - I highly recommend it.

For more of my book recommendations, please click here.

Easy To Love

To be honest with you, I’m surprised Esther Williams is even alive. It’s not her age, mind you (84 is a spring chicken compared to some), or that her fame has expired in the years since her films brought her worldwide stardom (it hasn’t), but after reading of her life as MGM’s biggest swimming sensation and the numerous potentially-fatal accidents she endured in the name of glorious Technicolor spectacles, it truly is a miracle that she’s living, let alone a healthy, active businesswoman, still gracious to her legions of fans.

Williams’ 1999 autobiograpy Million Dollar Mermaid is a revelation for classic film lovers, despite the book’s tendency to gloss over such unsavory aspects as Williams’ suspension for refusal to star in the film The Opposite Sex or her rocky marriage to Fernando Lamas (truly, though, how many chapters of the Argentine brute could you bear?). From Ava Gardner to Victor Mature, Williams has a story to tell involving nearly everyone, and her engaging narrative and attention to detail will engross even the rare reader who isn’t particularly a fan.

From her modest beginnings as the youngest of five children in a rural, Midwestern family to her present-day success as a Los-Angeles-based swimwear executive and grandmother, she covers it all: her teenage swimming triumphs, the ruined Olympics bid, her failed marriages (the stormiest of which were to two other stars, Ben Gage and Fernando Lamas), the serious injuries she sustained while shooting some of her most memorable aquatic stunts, turbulent relationships with her three children, and of course, her years as one of Hollywood’s most popular stars, the irreplaceable Million Dollar Mermaid. Swimmers will love Williams' descriptions of her most intricate and stunning underwater choreography (and the sore legs and chlorine-stung eyes she earned in the process), savvy sartorial enthusiasts should savor the details of her glittering costumes and consultations with her wardrobe designers, and burgeoning fans will appreciate the synopses of her films in chronological order and the anecdotes that accompany their production. Juiciest of all, though, are Williams’ accounts of behind-the-scenes tactics at MGM, whether she’s going head-to-head with Papa Mayer over shooting details, getting locked in an underwater soundstage, or listening at the wall of Lana Turner’s dressing room – it’s a voyeuristic view of Tinseltown’s biggest backlot.

Critics of the book denounce its dialogue, as the word-for-word accounts of decades-old conversations do become tiresome and read somewhat contrivedly, but when weighed against the veritable vault of Hollywood backstories that Williams pours forth in a most absorbing fashion, this complaint is truly trivial. A hardworking star both wet and dry, Esther Williams has led a fascinating life – and her manner of telling her story makes her all the more easy to love.

Read It and Weep

...out of sheer joy, that is. As someone who considers myself a dedicated cinephile, my love for, and interest in, classic movies can't be relegated to merely watching movies themselves - it has slowly spanned into the realm of literature, as well. From cliche coffee table books on leading ladies to the most intimate of Tinseltown memoirs (I've learned all I need to know about Jane Fonda's female anatomy, thanks), these reads more than sated my voracious appetite for gaining insight on the bygone days of Hollywood and the many stars that dotted its heavens. Below is the best of what I've read in 2006:


By Myself, Lauren Bacall - The cinema star's 1978 autobiography is unusually candid, alluringly honest, and delightfully insightful. Far from a typical Hollywood recitation of Bacall's film resume, it instead paints a vivid and engaging portrait of her long and interesting life - from her strong Jewish roots in New York City to her foray into acting and her iconic marriage to Humphrey Bogart, describing in heartwrenching detail his struggle with cancer and untimely death in 1957, and touching on the subsequent relationships, career moves, and enlightening experiences she's seen since then. Bacall describes her personal loves and losses, not to mention some famous characters like Adlai Stevenson, Burgess Meredith and Frank Sinatra, in a heartfelt fashion that's refreshingly free of fanfare and makes evident her intelligence and wit. Though it's decidedly lacking in scandal - no bonafide lover of classic film would ever reproach her May-December romance with Bogie - By Myself is definitely anything but dull: it's an endearing account of a strong woman's fascinating life both in and out of the footlights of Hollywood, and its poignance lingers long after it's finished.


Kate Remembered, A. Scott Berg - Opening Berg's Kate Remembered is like gathering with distant relatives for the holiday season: it's just as rife with familiar characters, colorful ancedotes and enlightening new perspectives, only these are all centralized on the inarguably intriguing Katharine Hepburn. While Hepburn's autobiography is a book about a legend, by a legend, Berg's work is a thoughtful, loving, and most humanizing portrait of the elusive star that covers less ground biographically and focuses instead on her day-to-day existence in the final decades of her century-spanning life. As a close confidant and frequent guest of Hepburn's, the author chronicles Hep's life through her own memories and admissions, seamlessly fusing her candid musings on her family, her relationships, and her decades-spanning career with deliciously voyeuristic accounts of her everyday activities and her multitude of idiosyncracies. Dinner parties, shopping excursions, conversation-filled evenings at her private Fenwick - Berg allows the reader to sit in on them all, and the result is an effectively entertaining and moving portrait of this enduring American screen icon.


My Life So Far, Jane Fonda - When my reading of Henry Fonda's mildly interesting autobiography happened to coincide with my first viewing of his daughter Jane's Barefoot in the Park (1967), I was determined to find out more about the perky, notorious offspring of my favorite leading man and soon sought out her autobiography. I wasn't prepared, however, to read such a disarmingly honest account of this woman, forthright and intelligent, who bypasses the typical celebrity dirt-dishing to focus on cathartically examining the first 67 years of her life, including the loss of her mother at age 12, her lifelong body image issues, her marriages and perceived shortcomings at parenting, and her involvement in the political and feminist movements of the 1960s and 70s that she is so identified with. Aside from being a fixture in one of Hollywood's foremost filmmaking dynasties, Fonda is clearly an articulate woman with an engaging sense of humor who has traveled far, concocting phrases and painting recollections so vividly and with such deference to her related emotional, physical, and mental states that one can't help but be captivated by her struggles and self-awareness. With anecdotes about stars like acting coach Lee Strasberg, contemporaries like Anthony Perkins, and Fonda's idols Greta Garbo and Katharine Hepburn, My Life So Far is a truly engrossing autobiography that reveals a side to the iconic actress, activist, and fitness guru that few would have forseen - a shy, well-educated, self-conscious woman seeking peace and self-acceptance, so different from her public persona. I'm grateful as both an avid classic movie fan and a young woman that I can benefit from Fonda's insight and unabashed frankness; I highly recommend it.


Who The Hell's In It: Portraits and Conversations, Peter Bogdanovich - Comprised of dozens of intimate conversations with some of Hollywood's most celebrated names, Who The Hell's In It is like finding a forgotten scrapbook with juicy clippings from old Photoplays, except the polish of reserved formal interviews and posed photographs doesn't exist here. Each chapter - they're arranged in the general order in which the author came to know and interview each celebrity - is more engrossing than that last, and Bogdanovich's narration allows for the reader ultimate voyeurism into the lives of these larger-than-life personalities we feel we know so well.

As a friend and business associate of the majority of the stars covered in his book, Peter is not only incredibly knowledgeable of the technical aspects of the studio era, but he generously indulges in his behind-the-scenes experiences with some of Hollywood's greatest icons. He dines with Jack Lemmon and wife Felicia Farr in Los Angeles in the 1960's; visits Jimmy Stewart sporadically at his home over the course of nearly forty years; shares a plane ride with Marlene Dietrich - his interaction with these icons is endless, and covers both personal and professional fronts, from private dinner parties to huge gala ceremonies. While Bogdanovich speaks reverently of each person he has written an engaging piece on, he also sheds a most humanizing light on each - his point of view is an alluring mixture of awestruck, devoted fan and respectful, artistic contemporary. His writing is a touch objective, but one can't be critical, as this encyclopedia-like collection is more than likely the only place such a gathering of stars has ever been immortalized in print with such reverence. Check it out now!

Some other titles I hope to find under the tree and enjoy in 2007:
June Allyson by June Allyson
The Way We Wore by Marsha Hunt
Vera-Ellen: The Magic and the Mystery by David Soren
Debbie: My Life by Debbie Reynolds
The Girl Next Door and How She Grew by Jane Powell

All of the above books are available at reasonable rates on Amazon.com, but for those with a stricter budget, I recommend browsing eBay, Half.com, or your local library for these titles. You can always find a Half Price Books near you, too!

Very Fonda Fonda

Half Price Books, the only place in the world in which I would voluntarily spend enough to cause my own bankruptcy without a second thought, further tempted my wallet with a 20%-off sale this weekend - and I walked off with three used-but-like-new condition, hardcover biographies of classic movie stars totalling less than $16. Of my fantastic finds, Fonda: My Life proved an incredibly worthy read on a desperately drizzly, freezing Saturday afternoon (we don't have many days like that in southern Arizona). Written like a delicious fiction novel and based on over 200 hours worth of audio-interviews with Henry Fonda himself, Howard Teichmann's hardcover is so juicy and engrossing that I nearly finished it in the better part of a day.
The best part? Hilarious recollections of Hank's life by luminaries and stars like best friend Jimmy Stewart, former girlfriend Lucille Ball, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, Fonda's former wives, and his own children, Jane and Peter Fonda. Absolutely fascinating look at the man who became the face of stoic American integrity in movies like 12 Angry Men, The Ox-Bow Incident, and The Grapes of Wrath (Fonda's three favorite of all his films).
Check out the Half-Price Books website to find a U.S. store near you, or click the Fonda link above to order this book off of Amazon.com for much less than its retail price.

Lana, Wood You Go Away?

It must be difficult being Lana Wood. Growing up in the shapely shadow of older sister Natalie, feeling second-rate as her own career skittered along in walk-on roles on obscure television shows while the other Ms. Wood snagged movie star boyfriends and the top row on movie marquees worldwide - it couldn't have been easy on the girl. Nothing, however, justifies her authoring a tell-all book about her beautiful and effervescent sister that focuses largely on herself.

Natalie: A Memoir By Her Sister could perhaps be more appropriately titled Lana: A Self-Indulgent Narcissist Recalls Her Former Married Lovers and Talks About When Her Sister, Who Was A Famous Movie Star, Used to Hang Out with Her. The book opens with Lana's recollections of watching her big sister film the famous racing scene from Rebel Without A Cause, then reaches back to flesh out the sisters' family history up through Natalie's untimely drowning in 1981 at just 43. The insightful anecdotes and juicy inside stories Lana tells, though, are scattered amidst multi-page descriptions of her own unsuccessful film career, vivid details of her trysts with married lovers, and an in-depth portrait of her daughter's birth and infanthood. Nat fans who pick up the book to indulge in a veritable list of Natalie's fabulous wardrobe and her favorite pieces of jewelry will first have to endure pages of Lana's sexual encounters with Sean Connery and Alain Delon ('I would characterize Alain as the perfect fling'); to uncover a gem of a tale about Nat's seaside antics while on vacation (she pranked a local restaurant and convinced them they'd been held up), one would best be prepared to hear about how upset Lana was upon discovering someone had mistakenly gotten her birth-control pills wet in the bathroom. This book obviously had no editor, or if it did, it was one hypnotized by the potential for huge profits that a racy tell-all book on tragically dead Natalie Wood could reap.

Here's a sample of Lana's 'Me too!' style of writing:

"Natalie wore a jacket and a skirt of green and gold cut velvet...She looked stunning. I wore a plain black dress with long sleeves and an open back that was draped to the waist. I looked stunning too." (190)

Wow...riveting. I guess I shouldn't expect Tennyson-like prose or deep, thought-provoking passages from a juicy, scandal-soaked celebrity memoir fished from the dollar bin at my local library, but I am floored by the phenomenal self-centeredness of its author. Insecure, overshadowed and discouraged, this younger sister of a still-brilliant star is too close to the story's heart to give a focused homage - and too selfish to even try. Buy it secondhand (or relieve a disgusted owner of it) for the photos, then burn the rest of this drivel before it sours your love for Natalie Wood.

Bogged Down in Bogdanovich

I usually don't take blog space to fill you in on a current read, but I am so bowled over by Peter Bogdanovich's comprehensive Who The Hell's in It: Portraits and Conversations that I feel I must scatter the seeds of recommendation far and wide. Knowing Peter solely from his turn as host of American Movie Classic's Sunday Morning Shootout, I was a touch hesitant to pull out the broad spine of the book bearing his name as I browsed a newly-discovered neighborhood library this week. But the book's jacket boasted intimate conversations with stars like Henry Fonda and Cary Grant, Jack Lemmon and John Wayne...how could I resist at least glancing over it?
Reading Bogdanovich's book is like finding a forgotten scrapbook with juicy clippings from old Photoplays, except the polish of reserved formal interviews and posed photographs doesn't exist here. Each chapter - they're arranged in the general order in which the author came to know and interview each celebrity - is more engrossing than that last, and Bogdanovich's narration allows for the reader ultimate voyeurism into the lives of these larger-than-life personalities we feel we know so well.

As a friend and business associate of the majority of the stars covered in his book, Peter is not only incredibly knowledgeable of the technical aspects of the studio era, but he generously indulges in his behind-the-scenes experiences with some of Hollywood's greatest icons. He dines with Jack Lemmon and wife Felicia Farr in Los Angeles in the 1960's; visits Jimmy Stewart at his home over the course of nearly forty years; shares a plane ride with Marlene Dietrich - his interaction with these icons is endless, and covers both personal and professional fronts, from private dinner parties to huge gala ceremonies. While Bogdanovich speaks reverently of each person he has written an engaging piece on, he also sheds a most humanizing light on each - his point of view is an alluring mixture of awestruck, devoted fan and respectful, artistic contemporary.

Whether you possess a stunning faculty of classic movie trivia or are the kind of person who "maybe saw Casablanca....a long time ago", Who The Hell's In It is a stellar selection for a poolside read this summer. Thank you, Peter!

Who The Hell's In It also features essays on legends like Humphrey Bogart, Marlon Brando, Charlie Chaplin, Audrey Hepburn, Jerry Lewis, and Sidney Poitier, among others.

An Ardor for Autobiographies

I'll admit it: since our valleywide drought of nearly six months was washed away in March, gray-sky weekends have become more prevalent - and I don't need any more encouragement to delve into reading than a sunless afternoon. Not skimming-textbook-reading, but total, engrossing reading, just the way I relished it before all of this wonderful, adult responsibility became mine (not that I assume
most of it). And since that same day that I braved surface street floodwater to peruse the bookshelves at my favorite bargain bookseller, Half Price Books, I have soared through three autobiographies on three separate, drizzly days, each book as poignant, as informative, and as humorous as the next (and one, a bit more scintillating than I'd hoped.)

Thing is, now I'm hooked. I'm set for the next few days, but once I polish off my current read, I hope to have another at the ready. Have you read any lengthy books on the personal life or philosophy of your favorite actor? What are some great cinema- or celebrity-related biographies or autobiogs you've read?

Update, 04/05: I snagged Lauren Bacall's By Myself at the campus booksale today for a cool $1. If its gorgeous black-and-white pictures and incredibly candid and engaging style of writing are any indication of how good this book is, I will let you know how much I loved it - tomorrow. Still, recommend me some more! I've got a knack for bargains and a voracious appetite for all these Hollywood stories and scandals!

A Passion for Page-Turners

Bargain-hunting for books has never been easier, thanks to both the internet and to the fact that, surprisingly, few people attach sentimental or monetary value to titles like Doris Day: Her Own Story (they're missing out, I know, but that's where you get a great deal). I have compiled a list of the best and most reliable resources for quality reading at low prices. And please, trust my recommendations, because let's be honest: any girl who can get Kitty Carlisle's mint-condition autobiography for 25 cents can be deemed a seasoned book-buyer, can she not?

Here are your best bets for book collecting:

Non-Retail Resources
eBay - The online auction site offers an inventory as diverse as the millions of sellers who list new auction items every day, so while finding a title may take a week or two, there is still the very real chance that its starting price will be a penny. Sign-up is simple, bidding is a breeze, and paying for purchases is swift and secure with PayPal, a service that transfers money between parties' bank accounts.
Hillary says: I've used eBay for nearly a decade, and it's aided in the acquisition of many a vintage video, long out-of-print book or hard-to-find Hollywood artifact at ridiculously low prices. Be wary, though, and bid with patience - be sure to compare prices between sellers to guarantee the lowest possible price on good-to-mint condition books, and you should always be satisfied.
Noteworthy: Always consider three essential parts of any auction: the seller's feedback score, which is fairly indicative of their reliability and trustworthiness (it can be found as a percentage following the seller's name on the auction page, and feedback from their prior transactions is available by clicking on it). Secondly, review the methods of payment the seller allows - most popular is Paypal, the free money-transfer service that eliminates check-writing and money orders - to avoid issues with cashier's checks or cash transactions, which are never recommended. And finally, always factor in the shipping cost of any item, as it may be so significant that you'll be paying more than had you purchased it at any old retailer - that Esther Williams Collection won't be such a steal once you add $17 shipping (we're scoping out deals, remember?). Be sure to sign up for Paypal, too, as a means of payment; it insures your purchases and tracks your transaction, and is invaluable in holding the rare deadbeat seller accountable for what you're owed.
Best Deal: Jane Fonda's My Life So Far, hard cover with dust jacket in brand-new condition: $2.00 with $2.50 shipping.


Your Local Library: The beauty of the local library is two-fold: it not only houses an enviable collection of books, films, and other resources for weeks-long rental, but it may also sell used books as a means of re-circulating titles, ridding shelves of underused or duplicate copies, or fundraising. This is an excellent opportunity to snag superb issues of old books that may really only be available from a library collection.
Hillary says: My local college town library has an area devoted to selling donated books collected from all over our community, and they ask for monetary donations in return. As a result, I've amassed an amazing assortment of vintage celebrity auto- and biographies that would have taken years to find by other means, all for the price of what I'm able to give - generously, but within my college-student means.
Noteworthy: Call or visit your closest libraries to see what their policy is on bookselling. Even if they don't continually offer books at discounted prices, many will hold book sales at regular intervals, or will conduct such sales in conjunction with community fundraising efforts.
Best Deal: Kate Remembered by A. Scott Berg, 50 cents; Kitty Carlisle Hart's Kitty: An Autobiography, 25 cents.


Goodwill, Savers, and Thrift Stores: The name will vary depending on where you live, but chances are you're familiar with a local store that profits from the selling of donated items.
Hillary says: Be patient when shopping thrift stores. The merchandise is cycled through rather quickly, so it is likely displayed haphazardly and with no particular method of ordering, but don't let that discourage you: devoting a few minutes to scanning shelves can result in a most rewarding discovery.
Noteworthy: Books are often donated in large quantities from estates or private collections, so it is likely that if you locate one hard-to-find title in the pile, similar titles will be lurking about. Even if one search yields nothing, try stopping in at regular intervals to get a feel for how frequently new items become available for purchase.
Best Deal: The Films of Henry Fonda, The Films of Gary Cooper, The Films of Gene Kelly, The Films of Spencer Tracy, all softcover, three excellent condition and one fair condition, $1.00 each.

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The bottom line is, of course, this: with even the least substantial of budgets and an inventive approach to shopping, an expanded library is within reach - just be sure to save a few of those dollars for some Asti and a good chocolate cake, because you're going to be spending a lot more time curled up with some engrossing reads.

This post was part one in a two-part article on shopping suggestions; next week's counterpart will detail recommended retail outlets.