Summer Reading Challenge - Second Round-Up

Photo Source: Vanessa of Superveebs

We've all been busy bees this summer (or winter!) diving into our classic film books and soaking up all that knowledge (or being entertained if you're reading novels!). I'm so impressed by how many wonderful reviews have come through so far. This has been the most active and the most consistent summer reading challenge to date! And we hit a new milestone with our first ever podcast entry thanks to Carl over at the Movie Palace Podcast (I'm on the episode too!).

Here is the second batch of reviews. I encourage you to read them and share them far and wide.

If you're participating in the challenge, please make sure you submit your reviews to the link form on the summer reading page! Only submitted reviews count for the challenge.

Happy Reading!


Andy of AndyWolverton.com
Ice Station Zebra by Alistair MacLean
Reinventing Hollywood: How 1940s Filmmakers Movie Storytelling by David Bordwell




Carl of The Movie Palace Podcast
(all three are discussed in the podcast)
Hollywood Black by Donald Bogle
Dynamic Dames by Sloan De Forest
Forbidden Hollywood by Mark A. Vieira


Erin at Always Classic
Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse

Lee at Hooks and Pages on YouTube
The Groucho Letters by Groucho Marx
Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination by Neal Gabler

Photo Source: Welcome to Classic Mollywood

Molly of Welcome to Classic Mollywood
Forbidden Hollywood by Mark A. Vieira

Raquel of Out of the Past
Hollywood Black by Donald Bogle

Rich from Wide Screen World
Banished from Memory by Mary Sheeran

Photo Source: Robby on Instagram

Robby on Instagram
Frank Capra: The Catastrophe of Success by Joseph McBride
Gregory Peck: A Biography by Gary Fishgall

Samantha of Musings of a Classic Film Addict
Seen from the Wings: Luise Rainer. My Mother, The Journey by Francesca Knittel Bowyer (plus interview!)

Sarah on Goodreads
Dark Pages by David Goodis

Steve on Goodreads
An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood by Neal Gabler
We'll Always Have Casablanca: The Legend and Afterlife of Hollywood's Most Beloved Film by Noah Isenberg

Vanessa of Super Veebs
Dark Star: The Untold Story of the Meteoric Rise and Fall of Legendary Silent Screen Star John Gilbert by Leatrice Gilbert Fountain
Dynamic Dames by Sloan De Forest

Walter of Walts Popcorn Bytes
The Making of Casino Royale (1967) by Michael Richardson

Cinema Shame: Tom Horn (1980)

This post is sponsored by DVD Netflix. 

The completist in me has spoken and I must finish Steve McQueen's filmography. Even if that means watching a terrible movie like Tom Horn (1980). And yes it is indeed terrible. 

This film is part of my Cinema Shame Challenge for 2019 in which I watch 10 movies from my birth year 1980. If you want to participate in your own Cinema Shame challenge whether it by theme, month, year, whatever, visit the official website for more details.

Tom Horn (1980) was directed by Don Siegel. Then Elliot Silverstein. Then James William Geurcio. Then eventually Steve McQueen took over but because the Directors Guild of America (DGA) didn't allow actors to take director's credit after the film had already started, William Wiard was brought on to finish things up and give the film a final director's credit. The end result of that complicated production was a total mishmash of scenes. This aimless Western didn't capture my attention or my interest.

This was Steve McQueen's second to last film and he was already ill from the cancer that would eventually kill him in 1980. In fact McQueen died the same month I was born so I feel this weird connection with him. In Tom Horn, McQueen stars as the title character, a frontier scout with a legendary reputation. He worked for the Teddy Roosevelt administration, for the Pinkerton agency, was known for catching Geronimo, etc. He waltzes into town and gets off on a bad foot when boxer Jim Corbett beats him up. He's eventually hired by cattle farmer John C. Coble (Richard Farnsworth) to help catch (well, kill really) the cattle thieves that are a plague on other farmers. While he's cleaning up the joint, he meets Glendolene (Linda Evans), a local schoolteacher who is instantly smitten with him and the two have a sweet romance. Unfortunately Tom Horn is causing too much destruction and in an effort to get rid of him someone frames Tom for the murder of a young boy. The film follows Tom as he goes to trial for a crime he most likely did not commit. The real life Tom Horn was convicted yet later exonerated for the murder in 1993, 90 years after his death.

The film has a great cast: Steve McQueen, Richard Farnsworth, Linda Evans, Elisha Cook Jr. plays a stable hand at a horse ranch and Slim Pickens plays the town Sheriff who has a soft spot for Tom . The story suffers from woefully underdeveloped characters. The Evans-McQueen romance feels forced and false. There were some moments in the film where it tries to establish some personality traits for Tom Horn including a scene where he eats lobster for the first time or the different charms he carries with him that he ends up using to escape jail. In the end, Tom Horn is a flat and uninteresting character and McQueen was not in the position with both his career and his health to really invest himself in the role. If you're a Steve McQueen fan like I am, give this one a watch to check it off your list and move on.

Have you seen Tom Horn (1980)? What did you think? 

Disclaimer: As a DVD Nation director, I earn rewards from DVD Netflix. Tom Horn (1980) is available to rent on DVD.com

Hollywood Black by Donald Bogle

Hollywood Black
The Stars, The Films, The Filmmakers
by Donald Bogle
TCM and Running Press
Hardcover ISBN: 9780762491414
264 pages
May 2019

Amazon — Barnes and Noble —Powell's

“Hollywood Black presents a gallery of important talents, both in front of the camera and behind it – actors, actresses, writers, directors, producers – who struggled against the odds to make unique statements on-screen.” - Donald Bogle

If ever there was a primer on the history of African American cinema, Hollywood Black by Donald Bogle is it. This new book out from TCM and Running Press offers a comprehensive look at the contributions made by black performers and filmmakers from the birth of cinema to the present day. Bogle offers insights, breaks down misconceptions and fills in the gaps of knowledge. This book is perfect for anyone who wants to learn more about black film history whether they know little or a lot. It offers a bounty of information without being overwhelming. The hybrid format of a coffee table book meets non-fiction history book makes it as approachable as it is educational.

For me context is key and Hollywood Black offers that it in its chronological approach to telling the history of African American cinema. We learn about the trends, the milestones, the movements, the struggles and how far we've come and how far we still have to go. Each chapter is devoted to a particular decade from the silent era to modern day. We learn about how black representation in film changed and evolved through the Great Depression, WWII, the Civil Rights movement, etc. Within each chapter are themed essays with a focus on one or two particular players.

Subjects discussed include:
Stepin Fetchit
Bill Bojangles Robinson
Hazel Scott
Theresa Harris
Herb Jeffries
Clarence Muse
Hattie McDaniel
Lena Horne
Dorothy Dandridge
Ruby Dee
James Edwards
Ethel Waters
Sidney Poitier
Harry Belafonte
Eartha Kitt
Sammy Davis Jr.
Cicely Tyson
Pamela Grier
Melvin Van Peebles
etc.

Each decade is given equal amount of coverage which becomes a problem when we get to the 1970s and beyond because there are many more movies and filmmakers to discuss. However it's necessary to include every decade to appreciate the depth and breadth of this history.

Hollywood Black features a foreword by the late, great John Singleton which I found to be quite touching. This is book would serve as a fine addition to any home library but could also be great for an introductory course to African American cultural or film studies.

If you want to learn more about how the book is structured, watch my video book review below. And make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel! I'm trying to reach the milestone of 1,000 subscribers and every little bit helps!

You can hear me chat about Hollywood Black and other film books with Carl Sweeney host of The Movie Palace Podcast here.




Thank you to TCM and Running Press for sending me a copy of Hollywood Black to review.

This is my third review for the Summer Reading Challenge.