THE FILM BIOGRAPHER, August 28, 2018

5 STARS

My book review of THE MAN WHO MADE THE MOVIES: THE METEORIC RISE AND

TRAGIC FALL OF WILLIAM FOX (HarperCollins, 2017) by Vanda Krefft…..

Seldom does a film biography come along so complete in comprehensive detail and meticulous

research that it MUST be read in absolute quiet and devoured like a rich dessert. In Vanda

Krefft’s definitive THE MAN WHO MADE THE MOVIES: THE METEORIC RISE AND

TRAGIC FALL OF WILLIAM FOX (HarperCollins, 2017), the author sets down the life and

history of motion picture giant William Fox in such a thorough and significant manner that the

rest of us film biographers can only stand back and hope to accomplish the same with our future

projects.

William Fox, as the author details, came to America from Hungary only to enter the infancy of

film production with a prayer and a determination which defies comparison. Amidst the

struggles of other immigrant families at the turn of the last century, somehow this young man

assimilated to his surroundings, and achieved what he did with little to no help from others other

than himself. Throughout his life Fox sought his destiny.

Author Krefft surmounts this narrative with detailed and comprehensive social history within the

sphere of Fox’s environment and weaves a fascinating story of the early struggles and successes

of the film pioneer. This inevitably brings the reader into the very soul and mind of what

William Fox was about, and what he struggled to accomplish. Beginning as a producer with his

studio in Fort Lee, New Jersey, Fox established himself in the burgeoning film industry. By the

1910s he had contracted and starred early film actors such as Theda Bara, William Farnum, and

Annette Kellerman, and brilliant filmmakers such as Herbert Brenon, Raoul Walsh, and John

Ford, in his productions.

With his early successes came expansion (the move to California to compete with other film

makers), and innovation (by the mid-20s Fox championed the coming of sound, and he initiated

Fox Movietone). Fox’s personal direction and foresightedness revolutionized the film industry.

By the late 1920s, he signed directors Frank Borzage and F.W. Murnau, who created such classic

films as SUNRISE, SEVENTH HEAVEN, STREET ANGEL, and LUCKY STAR. William Fox

ruled the Hollywood empire. And then sadly, tragedy followed.

What author Vanda Krefft has done for film scholars is to show us a cultural history which we

can all gain knowledge. Motion picture helped create our society, and William Fox was one of

its master craftsmen. THE MAN WHO MADE THE MOVIES: THE METEORIC RISE AND

TRAGIC FALL OF WILLIAM FOX is an important book. A must for any film historian. The

author’s sympathy and understanding of her subject are apparent from beginning to end of his

story. In short William Fox is given his due. And author Krefft’s stunning research and

definition of Fox’s contribution to the history of film are well put in her compelling narrative.

BRAVO Ms. Krefft….

THE FILM BIOGRAPHER, August 28, 2018

4 STARS

My book review of GRANT WILLIAMS (BearManor Media, 2018) by Giancarlo Stampalia…..

In my mind and fond memory, actor Grant Williams will always be remembered for his work in

four Universal films – WRITTEN ON THE WIND (1956), FOUR GIRLS IN TOWN (1957),

THE MONOLITH MONSTERS (1957), and the brilliant sci-fi classic THE INCREDIBLE

SHRINKING MAN (1957). His later work on TV’s “Surfside Six” and “Hawaiian Eye” in the

early 60s is where and when I truly recall recognizing the actor. Gifted with handsome features,

and a cerebral, moody approach to acting, Williams was film material. He may not be

remembered today (except maybe for THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN which has gained

an almost cult status), but thankfully in GRANT WILLIAMS (BearManor Media, 2018) author

Giancarlo Stampalia allows us to explore the man and his career.

Born in 1931, Williams apprenticed after serving in WWII at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon,

VA, and later studied under the auspices of Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio in New York.

Stage work in New York followed soon after as Williams learned his craft. When television

started making inroads into the entertainment world in the 1950s, Grant was almost a staple on

live broadcasts. When Hollywood beckoned he followed pursuit.

Even though Grant Williams never became a “star” in any media, he did achieve “cult star”

status with his appearance as “Robert Scott Carey” in director Jack Arnold’s THE INCREDIBLE

SHRINKING MAN. And lucky for us, author Giancarlo Stampalia has thoroughly researched

and documented every project Williams participated in.

Not a typical “soup-to-nuts” biography, the author has included numerous interview and

publicity comments throughout, GRANT WILLIAMS is still a fascinating read, a complete

story, and a beautiful tribute to a much neglected actor.

THE FILM BIOGRAPHER, August 28, 2018

3 STARS

My book review of SEX IN THE CINEMA: THE PRE-CODE YEARS (1929-1934),

(BearManor Media, 2017) by Lou Sabini…..

Though a bit misleading in its title, SEX IN THE CINEMA: THE PRE-CODE YEARS (1929-

1934), (BearManor Media, 2017) by Lou Sabini is nevertheless a light, comfortable read

highlighting little known anecdotes of some 100+ “Pre-Code” films produced during

Hollywood’s early talkie and transition period. With a Forward by Richard Barrios, it is worth

noting most of these films are yet available for viewing, and all deserve a look.

Each chapter, denoting a particular film, comes with a cast and crew listing and brief insight to

the making or history of the picture. Most of the films author Sabini chronicles are more than

familiar, from classics (42ND STREET, CAVALCADE, DINNER AT EIGHT, QUEEN

CHRISTINA), to rare gems (FREAKS, STOLEN HEAVEN, BROADWAY THRU A

KEYHOLE). But the author turns his favorites into thoroughly enjoyable vignettes of an era

long gone.

SEX IN THE CINEMA: THE PRE-CODE YEARS (1929-1934), (BearManor Media, 2017) is a

delight. Though not a complicated, in-depth social study of the era, Lou Sabini nonetheless

gives us a simple read, and a totally enjoyable experience.

THE FILM BIOGRAPHER, August 28, 2018

3 STARS

My book review of PAMELA TIFFIN: HOLLYWOOD TO ROME 1961-1974 (McFarland &

Co., 2015) by Tom Lisanti…..

Pamela Tiffin is most likely a name few of today’s filmgoers may remember. A movie ingenue

in the early 1960s, she rose to prominence in such mainstream Hollywood films as SUMMER

AND SMOKE (1961), STATE FAIR (1962), COME FLY WITH ME (1963), and THE

PLEASURE SEEKERS (1964). Never achieving major success in this country, Tiffin headed to

Europe and starred in several Italian films which gained her a strong and steady popularity there

lasting throughout the 1970s.

Author Tom Lisanti, whose love and infatuation with the movie femme fatales of the 60s is

evidenced in his many popularly enjoyable books on the subject, has now given us a singular

biography and career study of one of Hollywood’s more promising starlets in PAMELA TIFFIN:

HOLLYWOOD TO ROME 1961-1974.

Not a heavy, in-depth biography per se, but more a movie history of the films, TV, and acting

projects which Ms. Tiffin participated, Lisanti’s book nevertheless gives us a true cultural

overview of what was happening in the film industry in the mid-60s when Tiffin came onto the

scene. Her rise to prominence in Europe is no surprise as the actress possessed physical and

acting attributes more appreciated overseas than in the US. The times were “a changing,” and

possibly Tiffin represented a passing homage to a bygone era at least in American public taste

and consciousness.

At any rate her story deserves telling. And author Tom Lisanti does a fair enough job with her

career chronology and overview. PAMELA TIFFIN: HOLLYWOOD TO ROME 1961-1974 is

an easy, breezy read, and terribly fascinating too to many of us who remember the times and the

actress.

THE FILM BIOGRAPHER, August 28, 2018

4 STARS

My book review of MIRIAM HOPKINS: LIFE AND FILMS OF A HOLLYWOOD REBEL

(University Press of Kentucky, 2018) by Allan R. Ellenberger…..

Miriam Hopkins was never a great beauty, and she certainly was never one of this reviewer’s

favorite film stars. But she was a star, an actress of discernable talent on both the stage and

screen, a favorite of many filmgoers, and notoriously difficult to work with. All this adds up to a

woman of interest. Author Allan R. Ellenberger gives Hopkins the full biography treatment in

his enjoyable MIRIAM HOPKINS: LIFE AND FILMS OF A HOLLYWOOD REBEL

(University Press of Kentucky, 2018).

Hopkins starred in numerous Broadway plays such as “An American Tragedy” (1926), “Excess

Baggage” (1928), “Jezebel” (1933), and “Look Homeward Angel” (1958). Her reputation was

marked as difficult from the start. But in Hollywood she gained renowned stardom in such films

as Lubitsch’s three classic features THE SMILING LIEUTENANT (1931), TROUBLE IN

PARADISE (1932), and DESIGN FOR LIVING (1933). She also earned a following of

admirers for her Pre-Code gems DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1931) and THE STORY OF

TEMPLE DRAKE (1933). (Hopkins also starred in the first 3-strip Technicolor feature film

BECKY SHARP, which earned her an Academy Award nomination.)

Hopkins latter career was seasoned with controversy; her outspokenness, politically and

privately, oftentimes did not settle well with many of her colleagues. Her romantic involvements

were many and complicated. And her cinematic feud Bette Davis was legendary. Their two

films together, THE OLD MAID (1939) and OLD ACQUAINTANCE (1943), are still worth a

look and author Ellenberger’s backstories on both these pictures is worth the price of the book

alone.

Hopkins may not be remembered fondly today, but her reputation, career, and life make a

fascinating read. MIRIAM HOPKINS: LIFE AND FILMS OF A HOLLYWOOD REBEL

(University Press of Kentucky, 2018) by Allan R. Ellenberger is a satisfying read about a most

intriguing actress.

THE FILM BIOGRAPHER, August 28, 2018

4 STARS

My book review of HERBERT MARSHALL: A BIOGRAPHY (BearManor Media, 2018) by

Scott O’Brien…..

I am partial….I will read ANYTHING by author Scott O’Brien (author of major biographies of

Kay Francis, George Brent, Ann Harding, Ruth Chatterton, Virginia Bruce, and Sylvia Sidney).

A dedicated scholar, a thorough researcher, O’Brien never fails to deliver a readable, interesting

biography and screen criticism of film actors of merit. Now with HERBERT MARSHALL: A

BIOGRAPHY (BearManor Media, 2018), he delivers us yet another rich, delicious treat.

Marshall’s career, begun on the stage in England in the early 1920s, brought him to Hollywood

just as sound was coming in; his rich, cultured baritone suited the cinema well. One of his early

motion pictures was Paramount’s 1929 talkie THE LETTER, filmed in New York and starring

the tragic Jeanne Eagels. As Eagles’ fated lover who writes “the letter” he is quickly killed off

early in the film, only to resurrect in 1940 as the husband of Bette Davis in the Warner Brothers

remake.

Bart (as he was called by his friends) Marshall’s film career, which lasted from 1927 to 1965,

included his starring in such classic pictures as Lubitsch’s TROUBLE IN PARADISE (1932)

opposite Kay Francis and Miriam Hopkins, BLONDE VENUS (1932) opposite Marlene

Dietrich, Goldwyn’s THE DARK ANGEL (1935) with Fredric March and Merle Oberon, THE

LITTLE FOXES (1941) again with Davis, and Selznick’s DUEL IN THE SUN (1946) with

Lillian Gish and Jennifer Jones. His leading ladies included Ruth Chatterton, Barbara Stanwyck,

Claudette Colbert, and Sylvia Sidney, Kay Francis, and Virginia Bruce.

Author O’Brien walks the reader through Marshall’s complete cannon of work, writing

extensively as well of his personal life, marriages, romances, and the painful secret he lived with

throughout his adult life. The late Robert Osborne once felt compelled to comment, “Marshall’s

personal story is a fascinating one.” And it is. O’Brien’s approach to his subject matter is

concise and sensitive.

With HERBERT MARSHALL: A BIOGRAPHY (BearManor Media, 2018), the author has

given us another landmark publication of one of Hollywood’s best loved actors.