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Shirley Clarke - The Passionate Life And Radical Works Of An Exceptional Filmmaker

by Laurence Kardish

~~38,41€~~ 34,57€ 10% OFF

 Shirley Clarke (1919–1997) was an American independent filmmaker, electronic media pioneer, and teacher who resisted the norm wherever life brought her. A decade after receiving her first camera as a wedding present, Clarke launched her film career with the short Dance in the Sun (1953). Her documentary Skyscraper (1959) garnered an Academy Award nomination, and her first feature film, The Connection (1961), adapted from Jack Gelber's off-Broadway play portraying artists with heroin addictions, sparked attention when the State of New York censored it for obscenity. While Clarke's documentary Robert Frost: A Lover's Quarrel with the World (1963) won an Oscar, she is perhaps best known for directing Portrait of Jason (1967), which features an interview with a gay Black man openly discussing his life as an entertainer and sex worker, his successes, and his experiences with discrimination. Until now, Clarke's legacy has been largely pushed to history's margins.In Shirley Clarke, author Laurence Kardish presents a vivid portrait of a filmmaker whose life was often at odds with the societal expectations of a privileged woman born in twentieth-century New York City—a woman who admitted to being deeply conflicted about motherhood and who advocated for reproductive rights. Frequently allowing Clarke to speak through her diaries, this biography traces her life from birth to modern dance training, personal relationships, struggles with mental illness, video adventures on the roof of the Chelsea Hotel, and collaborations with creatives like Agnès Varda, Sam Shepard, and Ornette Coleman. Kardish offers an up-close account of a rebel who battled convention to depict the raw truth on screen, a filmmaker whose countercultural impact and innovations in diverse media deserve wider attention.
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A Century Of Hitchcock - The Man, The Myths, The Legacy

by Tony Lee Moral

~~28,76€~~ 25,88€ 10% OFF

 For over a century, Alfred Hitchcock has remained one of cinema's most influential directors. Known as the Master of Suspense, this visionary filmmaker directed more than fifty films over six decades. His thriller The Lodger (1927) marked the start of his signature style, which was later exemplified in classic films like Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960), and The Birds (1963). Hitchcock's work received tremendous success and critical acclaim. While he never won the competitive Academy Award for Best Director, he received five Oscar nominations, two Golden Globes, the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, a BAFTA Fellowship, multiple lifetime achievement awards, and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Nine of his films are preserved in the United States National Film Registry. His mastery of tension, innovative camera techniques, and psychological depth continue to inspire and influence modern filmmakers such as Christopher Nolan, Jordan Peele, and Bong Joon Ho. Drawing on new archival research, previously unpublished interviews, and a rigorous examination of key biographies, A Century of Hitchcock challenges the long-standing narratives that have shaped Hitchcock's legacy. Author Tony Lee Moral revisits controversial claims regarding Hitchcock's alleged abuses, scrutinizing biographer Donald Spoto's interpretations—particularly Spoto's portrayal of the director's relationship with actress Tippi Hedren. With his analysis of Spoto's 1980 interview of Hedren, Moral reveals for the first time how one key document contradicts decades of exaggeration. In this comprehensive reappraisal of Hitchcock's career, Moral encourages readers to explore the complexities of creative collaboration and the risks of relying on a single biographical narrative. Marking one hundred years since Hitchcock's first film, The Pleasure Garden, and fifty years since his last film, Family Plot, Moral reexamines the director's cinematic brilliance, storytelling mastery, creative partnerships, and controversies, offering a fresh perspective on Hitchcock's legacy in the post-#MeToo era.
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Sydney Pollack - Collected Interviews

~~33,61€~~ 30,25€ 10% OFF

 Sydney Pollack was a true actor's director—a filmmaker who came up through the ranks, starting as a bit-part TV performer before turning to directing. From his debut feature The Slender Thread (1965) to his final film, The Interpreter (2005), Pollack built a reputation for intelligent, emotionally resonant storytelling. He forged creative partnerships with stars like Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Al Pacino, Barbra Streisand, and Tom Cruise, guiding iconic performances in American films for four decades. An Academy Award winner for Out of Africa (1985) and a nominee for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) and Tootsie (1982), Pollack left behind a legacy of popular and personal films marked by their superior craftsmanship.Sydney Pollack: Collected Interviews brings together more than twenty in-depth conversations with the acclaimed director, spanning from 1970 to 2007. Sourced from a range of international publications, these interviews offer candid tales and intimate glimpses of Pollack's big-name collaborations. More than just a portrait of one man's career, the book is a wide-angle view of post-1960s Tinseltown itself: the wheeling and dealing, the creative clashes, and the evolution of American cinema. This collection revisits an immense talent who epitomized the best of Hollywood and sheds light on the nuts and bolts of moviemaking in Pollack's own words.
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Richard Fleischer - Journeyman

by Jason A. Ney

~~38,41€~~ 34,57€ 10% OFF

 When it came to filmmaking, Richard Fleischer had big shoes to fill. His father, Max, was one of America's most influential animators. However, Richard's own passions led him not to the animator's desk but to the director's chair.After garnering an Academy Award for Best Documentary with Design for Death (1948), Fleischer became known for an eclectic mix of pictures such as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), Fantastic Voyage (1966), Doctor Dolittle (1967), The Boston Strangler (1968), Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), Soylent Green (1973), and Conan the Destroyer (1984), directing such luminaries as Orson Welles, Kirk Douglas, Charlton Heston, Joan Collins, Lee Marvin, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.In Richard Fleischer: Journeyman, author Jason A. Ney reveals how Fleischer navigated Hollywood's shifting standards, kept a good-humored outlook on his career, and earned lasting appreciation from those who worked with him. In addition to drawing on Fleischer's archived personal papers, Ney conducted interviews with his family members and dozens of his professional collaborators, taking the reader behind the scenes. This comprehensive biography is the story of a genre-spanning director, a son of a pioneering animator, and a multifaceted man whose art continues to influence filmmakers today.
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Ethel Barrymore - Shy Empress Of The Footlights

by Kathleen Spaltro

~~53,00€~~ 47,70€ 10% OFF

 Born in Philadelphia in 1879, Ethel Barrymore would eventually prove herself a vital actor who was suited to radio, stage, and screen. After breaking out with Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines (1901), she performed in many plays, including Alice-Sit-by-the-Fire (1905), Declassee (1919), and The Corn Is Green (1943), before investing her energies in films such as The Spiral Staircase (1946) and Portrait of Jennie (1949). Barrymore ultimately won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in None but the Lonely Heart (1944) opposite Cary Grant. She knew Hollywood's fickle nature all too well, and she remained committed to the Drew and Barrymore stage acting legacy up until the time of her passing in 1959.Ethel Barrymore: Shy Empress of the Footlights emphasizes how Barrymore's career was born from "duty, not desire." Kathleen Spaltro traces Barrymore's story back to her Drew grandparents' emergence as a tour de force in nineteenth-century US theater. Along the way, Spaltro examines the multifaceted relationship the "First Lady of the American Theater" had with stardom, detailing such disappointments as having to relinquish her childhood dream of being a concert pianist in order to pursue acting. Spaltro also pulls directly from interviews to illustrate how Barrymore, often misinterpreted as demure, was exhausted by the stage she so masterfully commanded.With far more depth than a typical "rise and fall" narrative, Ethel Barrymore paints an empathetic picture of the struggles Barrymore faced, from her ascension to stardom to her "abdication of the throne." Spaltro's comprehensive and nuanced approach recontextualizes Barrymore's career, showcasing just how much her dogged allegiance to the Drew-Barrymore legacy cost her.
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Yves Montand - The Passionate Voice

by Joseph Harriss

~~71,55€~~ 64,40€ 10% OFF

 Once described by the New York Times as "the quintessential French Romantic, half adventurer, half-intellectual," actor, singer, and political activist Yves Montand won the hearts of audiences around the world with a charisma and talent that transcended physical and linguistic borders. Born in Italy as Ivo Livi, Montand achieved international recognition for his singing and performances in films such as Salaire de la Peur (1952) and Let's Make Love (1960) with Marilyn Monroe, with whom he had a passionate but short-lived affair. An Oscar and BAFTA Award winner who was also twice nominated for a Cesar Award for best actor, Montand's success was not limited to his work in film. Discovered and mentored by Edith Piaf, his interpretations of French songs were intense and intoxicating. His mellow baritone voice led to Broadway stardom and sent him on tour, making him one of the best-known entertainers of his day. Yves Montand: The Passionate Voice profiles Montand's complex, dynamic, and extraordinary life. From his birth in an Italian village near Florence in 1921 to his "accidental" immigration to France, his international success as an actor, singer, and activist to his sudden death from a heart attack in 1991, Joseph Harriss covers every aspect of Montand's life and career. Drawing on foreign-language biographies, Montand's autobiography, specialized studies, interviews, and other archival materials, Yves Montand is a riveting and multidimensional account of Montand's story and legacy.
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John Ford

by Joseph Mcbride e Michael Wilmington

~~41,74€~~ 37,57€ 10% OFF

 Orson Welles was once asked which directors he most admired. He replied: "The old masters. By which I mean John Ford, John Ford, and John Ford." A legend in his own time, John Ford (1894-1973) received a record four Academy Awards for best director, and two of his World War II documentaries won Oscars for the US Navy. He directed 136 films in a career that lasted from the early silent era through the late 1960s. Ford is celebrated throughout the world as the cinema's foremost chronicler of American history, the leading poet of the Western genre, and a wide-ranging filmmaker of profound emotional impact. His classic films-including Stagecoach (1939), The Grapes of Wrath (1940), How Green Was My Valley (1941), The Quiet Man (1952), The Searchers (1956), and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)-remain widely popular, and he has been acknowledged as a major influence on filmmakers such as Jean Renoir, Ingmar Bergman, Akira Kurosawa, Howard Hawks, Frank Capra, Samuel Fuller, Elia Kazan, Sidney Lumet, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas.In this groundbreaking critical study, Joseph McBride and Michael Wilmington provide an overview of Ford's career as well as in-depth analyses of key Ford films. Analyzing recurring Fordian themes and relating each film to his entire body of work, the authors insightfully explore the full richness of Ford's tragicomic vision of history. This new and revised version includes a study of the twenty-seven Ford silent films now known to survive in whole or in part (more than double the number available when the original edition was published); essays on three controversial aspects of Ford: his tragicomic sensibility, his views of race, and the influence of his Irish heritage; and an expanded version of McBride's interview with Ford on the last day of his career.
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Strictly Dynamite - The Sensational Life Of Lupe Velez

by Eve Golden

47,70€ + 10% CARD

 Before Salma Hayek, Eva Longoria, and Penelope Cruz, there was Lupe Velez-one of the first Latin-American stars to sweep past the xenophobia of old Hollywood and pave the way for future icons from around the world. Her career began in the silent era, when her beauty was enough to make it onto the silver screen, but with the rise of talkies, Velez could no longer hope to hide her Mexican accent. Yet Velez proved to be a talented dramatic and comedic actress (and singer) and was much more versatile than Greta Garbo, Katharine Hepburn, Gloria Swanson, and other legends of the time. Velez starred in such films as Hot Pepper (1933), Strictly Dynamite (1934), and Hollywood Party (1934), and her popularity peaked in the 1940s after she appeared as Carmelita Fuentes in eight Mexican Spitfire films, a series created to capitalize on Velez's reputed fiery personality.The media emphasized the "Mexican Spitfire" persona, and by many accounts, Velez's private life was as colorful as the characters she portrayed on-screen. Fan magazines mythologized her mysterious childhood in Mexico, while mainstream publications obsessed over the drama of her romances with Gary Cooper, Erich Maria Remarque, and John Gilbert, along with her stormy marriage to Johnny Weissmuller. In 1944, a pregnant and unmarried Velez died of an intentional drug overdose. Her tumultuous life and the circumstances surrounding her early death have been the subject of speculation and controversy. In Strictly Dynamite: The Sensational Life of Lupe Velez, author Eve Golden uses extensive research to separate fact from fiction and offer a thorough and riveting examination of the real woman beneath the gossip columns' caricature. Through astute analysis of the actress's filmography and interviews, Golden illuminates the path Velez blazed through Hollywood. Her success was unexpected and extraordinary at a time when a distinctive accent was an obstacle, and yet very few books have focused entirely on Velez's life and career. Written with evenhandedness, humor, and empathy, this biography finally gives the remarkable Mexican actress the unique and nuanced portrait she deserves.
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Warner Brothers

by Chris Yogerst

45,05€ + 10% CARD

 One of the oldest and most recognizable studios in Hollywood, Warner Bros. is considered a juggernaut of the entertainment industry. Since its formation in the early twentieth century, the studio has been a constant presence in cinema history, responsible for the creation of acclaimed films, blockbuster brands, and iconic superstars. These days, the studio is best known as a media conglomerate with a broad range of intellectual property, spanning movies, TV shows, and streaming content. Despite popular interest in the origins of this empire, the core of the Warner Bros. saga cannot be found in its commercial successes. It is the story of four brothers-Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack-whose vision for Hollywood helped shape the world of entertainment as we know it. In The Warner Brothers, Chris Yogerst follows the siblings from their family's humble origins in Poland, through their young adulthood in the American Midwest, to the height of fame and fortune in Hollywood. With unwavering resolve, the brothers soldiered on against the backdrop of an America reeling from the aftereffects of domestic and global conflict. The Great Depression would not sink the brothers, who churned out competitive films that engaged audiences and kept their operations afloat-and even expanding. During World War II, they used their platform to push beyond the limits of the Production Code and create important films about real-world issues, openly criticizing radicalism and the evils of the Nazi regime. At every major cultural turning point in their lifetime, the Warners held a front-row seat. Paying close attention to the brothers' identities as cultural and economic outsiders, Yogerst chronicles how the Warners built a global filmmaking powerhouse. Equal parts family history and cinematic journey, The Warner Brothers is an empowering story of the American dream and the legacy four brothers left behind for generations of filmmakers and film lovers to come.
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Mavericks - Interviews With The World'S Iconoclast Filmmakers

by Gerald Peary

~~47,70€~~ 42,93€ 10% OFF

 In the New Hollywood Era of the 1960s and 1970s, as weakening studio control granted directors more artistic freedom, the auteur theory, which regards the director as the primary artist among all those who contribute to filmmaking, gained traction. It was embraced by both the media and by directors themselves, who were glad to see their contribution so glorified. One positive was the discovery of filmmakers whose work was under the radar but virtually all the feted directors were white and overwhelmingly heterosexual-only in recent decades have the contributions of marginalized auteur filmmakers been recognized. Mavericks: Interviews with the World's Iconoclast Filmmakers amplifies the voices of a wide-ranging group of groundbreaking filmmakers, including Samira Makhmalbaf, Roberta Findlay, Howard Alk, Ousmane Sembene, and John Waters, whose identities, perspectives, and works are antithetical to typical Hollywood points of view. Author Gerald Peary, whose experience as a film studies professor, film critic, arts journalist, and director of documentaries culminates in a lifetime of film scholarship, presents a riveting collection of interviews with directors-including Black, queer, female, and non-Western filmmakers-whose unconventional work is marked by their unique artistic points of view and molded by their social and political consciousness. With contextualizing introductions and insightful questions, Peary reveals the brilliance of these maverick directors and offers readers a lens into the minds of these incredible and engaging artists.
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Eleanor Powell - Born To Dance

by Lisa Royere e Paula Broussard

47,70€ + 10% CARD

 When considering the best dancers in Hollywood's history, some obvious names come to mind-Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, and Bill Robinson. Yet often overlooked is one of the most gifted and creative dancers of all time, Eleanor Powell. Powell's effervescent style, unmatched technical prowess in tap, and free-flowing musicality led MGM to build top-rate musicals around her unique talents, including Born to Dance (1936) with James Stewart and Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940) with Fred Astaire, in which she became known as the only female tap dancer capable of challenging him. In a male-dominated industry, her fierce drive for perfection, sometimes to her detriment, earned her a place as one of the most accomplished performers in vaudeville, Broadway, and film. Powell's grace, precision, and power established her as one of the greatest American dancers. In 1943, she married actor Glenn Ford and largely stepped away from the spotlight for the duration of their tumultuous marriage. After their divorce, Powell made a courageous comeback, successfully performing in Las Vegas and on the nightclub circuit. Cancer claimed her life at the age of sixty-nine.Eleanor Powell: Born to Dance by Paula Broussard and Lisa Royere is an all-encompassing work following the American dance legend from her premature birth and upbringing by a single parent in Springfield, Massachusetts, to her first Broadway performance at age fifteen, through her days as a blazing icon in the world of Hollywood, and finally, to her inspiring comeback. With access to rare documents, letters, and production files, as well as insights drawn from their own personal relationships with Powell, Broussard and Royere offer a thoroughly researched, comprehensive, and fascinating look at an incredibly talented and unforgettable woman.
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They Made The Movies - Conversations With Great Filmmakers

by James Bawden e Ron Miller

47,70€ + 10% CARD

 For decades, James Bawden and Ron Miller have established themselves as maestros of provocative interviews, giving fans unmatched insights into the lives of Hollywood A-listers. In their fourth collection, the authors pay tribute to film pioneers who lit up Tinseltown from the 1930s through the 1960s. They Made the Movies features conversations with legendary directors who created many of film's all-time classics, including Frank Capra (It's A Wonderful Life, 1946), Richard Fleischer (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, 1954), Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho, 1960), Ralph Nelson (Lilies of the Field, 1963), Robert Wise (The Sound of Music, 1965), and Chuck Jones (How the Grinch Stole Christmas! 1966). Tantalizing firsthand details about many acclaimed films are revealed, such as the revelation of Mervyn LeRoy's first-choice of lead actress for The Wizard of Oz ("Shirley Temple... but Shirley couldn't sing like Judy [Garland]"), Billy Wilder's insights on directing ("You have to be a sycophant, a sadist, a nurse, a philosopher"), and how megaproducer Hal B. Wallis purchased an unproduced play titled Everybody Comes to Rick's and transformed it into Casablanca ("The part [of Sam] almost went to Lena Horne, but I thought she was too beautiful"). The authors also celebrate the contributions of marginalized filmmakers such as Ida Lupino, James Wong Howe, Oscar Micheaux, and Luis Valdez, who prevailed in Hollywood despite the discrimination they faced throughout their careers. They Made the Movies appeals to film and television enthusiasts of all ages.
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Charles Boyer - The French Lover

by John Baxter

41,74€ + 10% CARD

 Charles Boyer: The French Lover is the first biography of Boyer to exist in English in almost forty years. Author John Baxter artfully presents the often-tragic life of this often overlooked, yet profoundly impactful French actor. Baxter relates how Boyer (1899-1978) established himself in the theater and cinema of France, confidently transitioning from silent film to sound and making a name for himself as a romantic leading man in Hollywood through the early 1940s. During World War II, Boyer put his career on hold to become politically active on behalf of his occupied home country. Upon returning to the stage and screen, Boyer adapted effortlessly to postwar character roles in both Europe and the United States. He entered television in the 1950s as both producer and performer, and then remade himself as a comedy performer in the 1960s. Nominated four times for Academy Awards, he was honored by the Academy only once-a special honorary award received for his activities on behalf of France during World War II.In an insightful analysis of Boyer's choice of roles during and after World War II, Baxter shows that the actor possessed a shrewd perception of his image. Baxter reveals how Boyer, realizing his accent would always mark him as an outsider, both embraced and subverted that identity. Far from clinging to the performances that made him famous, Boyer showed a readiness to break the mold. Yet above all, Baxter argues, Boyer's greatest achievement was becoming the embodiment of exiles everywhere.
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Jessica Lange - An Adventurer'S Heart

by Anthony Uzarowski

41,74€ + 10% CARD

 Brilliant, beautiful, driven, uncompromising, elusive, iconic-Jessica Lange is one of the most gifted and fascinating actors of her generation. From her rise to fame in Dino De Laurentiis's remake of King Kong (1976) and her Oscar-winning performances in Tootsie (1982) and Blue Sky (1994); to her Emmy-winning work in Grey Gardens (2009) and the American Horror Story series; and her Tony Award-winning turn in Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night (2016), Lange has had a long and illustrious career on-screen and onstage. She has worked with some of the most celebrated names in the business, including Jack Nicholson, Bob Fosse, Martin Scorsese, Kim Stanley, Halle Berry, and Kathy Bates.Jessica Lange: An Adventurer's Heart, the first full-length biography of Lange, presents a comprehensive study of the life and work of an exceptional actress. Beginning with her upbringing in Minnesota, author Anthony Uzarowski traces Lange's formative years as a restless soul who found solace in art and a life on the road before turning to acting. While critics initially questioned her talent, she refused to be dismissed as yet another pretty face. She continued to study her craft and immersed herself in her roles, honing the poignant and emotionally charged performances for which she is renowned.Lange was introduced to a whole new generation of fans with her acclaimed work in Ryan Murphy's anthology series, American Horror Story. Murphy later created another chance for Lange to shine with his television miniseries, Feud: Bette and Joan, costarring Susan Sarandon.This meticulously researched and wide-ranging biography also gives a glimpse into Lange's carefully guarded private life: her years as a free-spirited artist in the 1960s, her dedication to motherhood, and her legendary partnership with Sam Shepard, which was one of the most passionate, tumultuous, and secretive long-term relationships in Hollywood.
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Citizen Welles - A Biography Of Orson Welles

by Frank Brady

47,70€ + 10% CARD

 George Orson Welles (1915-1985) is considered to be among the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time. At just twenty-five years old, he cowrote, produced, directed, and starred in his Academy Award-winning debut film Citizen Kane (1941). His innovative and distinctive directorial style-nonlinear narratives, unusual camera angles, deep focus shots, and long takes-continues to be emulated by directors and cinematographers to this day. The brilliant yet provocative Welles won multiple Grammys, a Golden Globe, and the greatest honor the Directors Guild of America bestowed: the D. W. Griffith Award. His final film, The Other Side of the Wind, was released in 2018, 33 years after his death.In Citizen Welles: A Biography of Orson Welles, author Frank Brady presents a comprehensive and complete picture of the artist and auteur. Painstakingly researched, Brady delves into Welles's creative achievements, from his critically acclaimed film Citizen Kane and controversial radio broadcast "The War of the Worlds" (1938) to his starring turn on Broadway in Shaw's Heartbreak House (for which he made the cover of Time). Brady also explores other notable films, including The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), Touch of Evil (1958), and Chimes at Midnight (1965). This all-encompassing work also details the personal side of Welles's life, including his romances with Rita Hayworth and Dolores Del Rio and the confounding tragedy of his final years. Presented is a captivating and compelling encapsulation of the revered and respected artist.
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Woman Who Dared - The Life And Times Of Pearl White, Queen Of The Serials

by William M. Drew

59,63€ + 10% CARD

 In the early days of motion pictures-before superstars, before studio conglomerates, before even the advent of sound-there was a woman named Pearl White (1889-1938). A quintessential beauty of the time, with her perfectly tousled bob and come-hither stare, White's rise to stardom was swift; her assumption of the title of queen of American motion picture serials equally deserved. Born the youngest of five children in a small, rural Missouri farm town, White first began performing in high school. She would eventually make the decision to cut her education short, dropping out to go on the Trousdale Stock Company. A bit player in the early years of her career, she was eventually spotted by the Powers Film Company in New York. She made her film debut in 1910 and soon set herself apart from her female colleagues with her reputation for fearless performances that often involved her own stunt work. It was that same daring attitude that would put her on the map internationally as an actress. From flying airplanes to swimming across rapid rivers, to racing cars in serials like The Perils of Pauline (1914), White was undaunted by the demands of her onscreen career. She went on to star in popular serial classics such as The New Exploits of Elaine (1915), The Iron Claw (1916), The Fatal Ring (1917), and The Lightning Raider (1919). As active socially as she was professionally, White would also lend her audacious spirit to activism as she took part in the early feminist movement. Her bravery and mastery of her craft made her a positive role model for suffragettes who battled for women's rights in the United States. The Woman Who Dared: The Life and Times of Pearl White, Queen of the Serials, is the first full-length biography of this pioneering star. In this study of film history and female agency, Drew delves into the cultural impact of White's work and how it evolved along a concurrent trajectory with the social upheavals of the Progressive Era.
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Jean Gabin - The Actor Who Was France

by Joseph Harriss

41,74€ + 10% CARD

 When one thinks of the quintessential Frenchman, one likely pictures Jean Gabin (1904-1976). The son of music hall performers, the Paris-born actor grew up in the entertainment business. His onscreen debut in the 1930's marked the beginning of many memorable roles in films such as La Grande Illusion (1937) and Emile Zola's La Bete Humaine (1938). His performances would earn him international recognition and establish his reputation as one of the greatest stars of film noir.Pausing his performances on screen, Gabin joined the Allied struggle of WWII. Serving under General Charles De Gaulle in the Free French Forces as a tank commander, Gabin was awarded several medals for his service. Upon his return to acting after the war, he became the embodiment of the uniquely French spirit-a persona that would define his future roles. In Jean Gabin: The Actor Who Was France, Joseph Harriss tells the story of this French icon. This well-researched biography documents Gabin's life from his start as a reluctant singer and dancer in Parisian music halls to his rise to film superstardom. Harriss recounts the actor's multi-faceted persona, including his famously fiery temper, his tumultuous love affairs-including a six-year relationship with the German star Marlene Dietrich-and his military valor. With this enthralling work, film enthusiasts can gain an appreciation of France's quintessential movie star and his lasting impact on world cinema during its Golden Age.
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Front Row Seat - An Intimate Look At Broadway, Hollywood, And The Age Of Glamour

by Nancy Olson Livingston

41,74€ + 10% CARD

 From her idyllic childhood in the American Midwest to her Oscar-nominated performance in Sunset Boulevard (1950) and the social circles of New York and Los Angeles, actress Nancy Olson Livingston has lived abundantly. In her memoir, A Front Row Seat, Livingston treats readers to an intimate, charming chronicle of her life as an actress, wife, and mother, and her memories of many of the most notable figures and moments of her time. Livingston shares reminiscences of her marriages to lyricist and librettist Alan Jay Lerner, creator of award-winning musicals Paint Your Wagon, Gigi, and My Fair Lady (which was dedicated to her), and to Alan Wendell Livingston, former president of Capitol Records, who created Bozo the Clown and worked with legendary musical artists, including Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, the Beach Boys, the Beatles, the Band, and Don McLean. One of the last living actors of the Golden Age of Hollywood, Livingston shares memorable encounters with countless celebrities-William Holden, Billy Wilder, Bing Crosby, Marilyn Monroe, and John Wayne, to name a few-and less pleasant experiences with Howard Hughes and John F. Kennedy that act as reminders of women's long struggle for equality. Entertaining and engrossing, A Front Row Seat deftly interweaves Livingston's life with her observations of the artists, celebrities, and luminaries with whom she came in contact-a paean to the twentieth century and a treasure for readers enamored with a bygone era.
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Aline Macmahon - Hollywood, The Blacklist, And The Birth Of Method Acting

by John Stangeland

47,70€ + 10% CARD

 American actress Aline MacMahon's youth was spent honing her talents while performing at local events in New York City. After popular stage success on Broadway, she headlined a touring company in Los Angeles, where she was discovered by legendary Hollywood director Mervyn LeRoy and put under contract to Warner Brothers.During the 1930s and 1940s, MacMahon starred in countless films and was among the most influential actors of the era, her talent revered as highly as peers Katherine Hepburn, Paul Muni, and Bette Davis. Her pioneering use of a new acting style brought to America from Russia by Konstantin Stanlisavsky-now widely known as the Method-began a revolution on the screen and made her an industry darling. Although popular with audiences and widely lauded for her versatile, naturalistic style, MacMahon's despair at the lack of challenging roles and fallout from her political activism would soon dim her star in the most tragic of ways. Blacklisted during the Communist Red Scare of the 1950's she became the subject of covert FBI surveillance and was denied work for many years.John Stangeland's biography of this unique actress, Aline MacMahon, offers an insightful look into the life and oeuvre of this largely overlooked talent and how the atmosphere of Hollywood's golden age created an inescapable blueprint for a career nearly destroyed by politics and fear.
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Ernest Lehman - The Sweet Smell Of Success

by Jon Krampner

59,63€ + 10% CARD

 A Hollywood screenwriting and movie-making icon, Ernest Lehman penned some of the most memorable scenes to ever grace the silver screen. Hailed by Vanity Fair as "perhaps the greatest screenwriter in history," Lehman's work on films such as North by Northwest, The King and I, Sabrina, West Side Story, and The Sound of Music helped define a generation of movie making. But while his talent took center stage, the public knew little of Lehman himself, a native of Manhattan's Upper West Side and the Five Towns of Long Island devoted to his wife of 50 years. His relentless perfectionism, hypochondria and all-night writing sessions fueled by tequila and grilled cheese sandwiches were some of the quirks that made Lehman a legend in the Hollywood community. In Ernest Lehman: The Sweet Smell of Success, author Jon Krampner lays bare the life of this lauded yet elusive character. Moving seamlessly from post-production meetings to sound stages and onto the locations of Lehman's greatest films, Krampner's extensive biography brings to life the genius and singularity of the revered screenwriter's personality and the contributions he made to the world of cinema.Find out more at ernestlehmanbio.com
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Hollywood Motion Picture Blacklist - Seventy-Five Years Later

by Larry Ceplair

33,13€ + 10% CARD

 Seventy-five years ago, the Hollywood blacklist ruined lives, stifled creativity, and sent waves of proscription and censorship throughout United States culture. When the Hollywood Ten refused to answer the questions of the House Committee on Un-American Activities about their membership in the Communist Party, they were sentenced to prison, the five who were under contract were fired by their studios, and all were blacklisted from reemployment until they "purged themselves of their communist taint." By the 1950s, this blacklist publicly stigmatized nearly three hundred other Americans in the entertainment industry who invoked the First and Fifth Amendments in their refusal to apologize for their Communist ties or provide the names of other members. Dozens of others were graylisted as the result of rumors.The Hollywood Motion Picture Blacklist: Seventy-Five Years Later offers new insights on the origins of the blacklist, the characteristics of those blacklisted, and the probability of future proscriptions of the blacklist type. Author Larry Ceplair draws on previously published work while introducing new material to vigorously recount the events that took place between the US government, Hollywood unions, and motion picture studios. Ceplair thoroughly examines the role of Jewish identity in many anti-communist efforts-a concept that has never been fully examined by scholars-and analyzes the actions of subpoenaed witnesses who were forced to choose between cooperating with the House Committee or joining the blacklist. This fascinating book is an illuminating examination of a dark period in American history and the fragility of our rights to free speech and due process.
ENGLISH

My Place In The Sun - Life In The Golden Age Of Hollywood And Washington

by George Stevens Jr.

59,63€ + 10% CARD

 The son of a celebrated Hollywood director emerges from his father's shadow to claim his own place as a visionary force in American culture. George Stevens, Jr. tells an intimate and moving tale of his relationship with his Oscar-winning father and his own distinguished career in Hollywood and Washington. Fascinating people, priceless stories and a behind-the-scenes view of some of America's major cultural and political events grace this riveting memoir. George Stevens, Jr. grew up in Hollywood and worked on film classics with his father and writes vividly of his experience on the sets of A Place in the Sun (1951), Shane (1953), Giant (1956) and The Diary of Anne Frank (1959). He explores how the magnitude of his father's talent and achievements left him questioning his own creative path. The younger Stevens began to forge his unique career when legendary broadcaster Edward R. Murrow recruited him to elevate the Motion Picture Service at the United States Information Agency in John F. Kennedy's Washington. Stevens' trailblazing efforts initiated what has been called the "golden era" of USIA filmmaking and a call to respect motion pictures as art. His appointment as founding director of the American Film Institute in 1967 placed him at the forefront of culture and politics, safeguarding thousands of endangered films and training a new generation of filmmakers. Stevens' commitment to America's cultural heritage led to envisioning the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors and propelled a creative life of award-winning films and television programs that heightened attention to social justice, artistic achievement, and the American experience.Stevens provides a rare look at a pioneering American family spanning five generations in entertainment: from the San Francisco stage in the 19th century to silent screen comedies, Academy Award-winning films, Emmy Award-winning television programs and a Broadway play in the 21st century. He reveals the private side of the dazzling array of American presidents, first ladies, media moguls, and luminaries who cross his path, including Elizabeth Taylor, Sidney Poitier, the Kennedys, Yo-Yo Ma, Cary Grant, James Dean, Bruce Springsteen, Barack and Michelle Obama, and many more. In My Place in the Sun, George Stevens, Jr. shares his lifelong passion for advancing the art of American film, enlightening audiences, and shining a spotlight on notable figures who inspire us. He provides an insightful look at Hollywood's Golden Age and an insider's account of Washington spanning six decades, bringing to life a sparkling era of American history and culture.
ENGLISH

Queen Of Technicolor - Maria Montez In Hollywood

by Tom Zimmerman

47,70€ + 10% CARD

 Best known for her appearances in the six Technicolor "Neverland" movies, Maria Montez is a film icon. Growing up as one of ten children in the Dominican Republic, her rise as a film star in the United States seemed unlikely. In 1939, Montez set off on her own to New York City to fulfill her aspirations of movie stardom. Despite having no substantial acting experience, Montez managed to sign with major agent Louis Schurr who helped her secure a contract with Universal Studios before she moved out to Hollywood.Following her arrival in Los Angeles, Montez began cultivating the larger-than-life persona for which she is known. Her beauty, personality, and series of publicity antics, including dramatic restaurant entrances, endeared her to the press. She even created her own fan club-The Montez for Stardom Club. Her ambitious self-promotion bolstered the success she found with her first big lead in Arabian Nights, released in 1943. From then on, the studio referred to her as "The Queen of Technicolor."Author Tom Zimmerman puts Montez's life in historical context, including her role as a cultural icon and a living representation of the United States' Good Neighbor Policy with Latin American countries. With her thick Dominican accent, Montez struggled to make herself intelligible to an American audience. However, unlike some of her Latin contemporaries, she did not present a caricature of her culture or use her accent for comedic purposes, giving her credibility with a Latin American audience. Zimmerman skillfully recounts the story of Montez's fiery ambition and her ascent to Hollywood fame, giving her the opportunity to live on in public memory.
ENGLISH

Lionel Barrymore - Character And Endurance In Hollywood'S Golden Age

by Kathleen Spaltro

~~47,70€~~ 42,93€ 10% OFF

 Once called "the most gifted character actor of our time" by Broadway theater producer Arthur Hopkins, Lionel Barrymore (1878-1954) was part of the illustrious Barrymore acting dynasty. Although he garnered success on stage and screen and was a talented actor, writer, director, visual artist, and composer, he never quite escaped the shadow of his family members-including his brother, John, famous for his leading roles. Barrymore won the Academy Award for Best Actor in A Free Soul (1931) and was nominated for Best Director for Madame X (1930). However, he is best known for his role as Mr. Potter in It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and as the voice of Ebenezer Scrooge in radio broadcasts of A Christmas Carol from 1934 to 1953. He spent the last two decades of his career playing versions of his signature character-the curmudgeonly but lovable gentleman-in a variety of films from You Can't Take It With You (1938) to Key Largo (1948). Barrymore worked alongside some of Hollywood's most recognizable names, including Humphrey Bogart, James Stewart, Frank Capra, Lauren Bacall, Clark Gable, and Ava Gardner, and his legacy is enshrined at the Hollywood Walk of Fame, where he has two stars-one for radio and one for film. In Lionel Barrymore: Character and Endurance in Hollywood's Golden Age, Kathleen Spaltro examines Barrymore as an individual rather than just a supporting cast member of the famous dynasty. This comprehensive study divides Barrymore's life into three compelling acts. Act One follows Barrymore's early days-his failed endeavor as a visual artist, his performances in the family vaudeville acts, his first silent motion pictures, and his greatest successes and failures on the stage. Act Two details Barrymore's establishment as a fixture at MGM, his foray into directing, his success as the first actor to thrive in the talkies, and his estimable Oscar-winning performance. Finally, Act Three expounds on Barrymore's curation of his trademark character-the endearing grouch-his exploits in radio, and his fateful final years. Spaltro also unearths Barrymore's personal challenges, recounts his difficulties with-and sometimes estrangement from-members of his family, and delves into the devastating losses Barrymore suffered: his divorce, the deaths of his two daughters, and later, the death of his second wife and the accidents that eventually led to permanent disabilities requiring the use of a wheelchair. Lionel Barrymore is a detailed, multifaceted portrait of a brilliant character actor.
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