10 Tips on Getting in More Classic Film Reading
My Classic Film Bookshelves
Books Written by Classic Film Bloggers
New and Upcoming Books Roundups
My Book Journey
Book Reviews
Reviews coming (eventually):
We'll Always Have Casablanca by Noah Isenberg
Fritz Lang: The Nature of the Beast by Patrick McGilligan
Giant: Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Edna Ferber, and the Making of a Legendary American Film by Don Graham
Hooked on Hollywood: Discoveries from a Lifetime of Filmdom by Leonard Maltin
Book Reviews
- Aline MacMahon: Hollywood, the Blacklist, and the Birth of Method Acting by John Stangeland (interview)
- American Titan: Searching for John Wayne by Marc Eliot
- Ann Dvorak: Hollywood's Forgotten Rebel by Christina Rice
- Anne Bancroft: A Life by Douglass K. Daniel
- Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations by by Peter Evans and Ava Gardner
- Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan
- Cagney by Cagney by James Cagney
- Camera Man: Buster Keaton: The Dawn of Cinema, and the Invention of the 20th Century by Dana Stevens
- Cecil B. DeMille: The Art of the Hollywood Epic by Cecilia de Mille Presley and Mark A. Vieira
- Charles Boyer: The French Lover by John Baxter
- Charles Walters: The Director Who Could Make Hollywood Dance by Brent Phillips
- Charlie Chaplin: A Brief Life by Peter Ackroyd
- Christmas in the Movies: 30 Classics to Celebrate the Season by Jeremy Arnold
- Classic Hollywood Style by Caroline Young
- Colorization: One Hundred Years of Black FIlms in a White World by Wil Haygood
- Conversations with Classic Film Stars: Interviews from Hollywood's Golden Era by by James Bawden and Ron Miller
- Danger on the Silver Screen: 50 Films Celebrating Cinema's Greatest Stunts by Scott McGee
- Dangerous Rhythm: Why Movie Musicals Matter by Richard Barrios (Interview)
- Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir by Eddie Muller
- The Dawn of Technicolor: 1915-1935 by James Layton and David Pierce
- Dervish Dust: The Life and Words of James Coburn by Robyn L. Coburn
- The Disenchanted by Budd Schulberg
- Dolce Vita Confidential: Fellini, Loren, Pucci, Paparazzi, and the Swinging High Life of 1950s Rome by Shawn Levy
- Dynamic Dames: 50 Leading Ladies Who Made History by Sloan De Forest (written and video review) (Interview)
- Elizabeth Taylor: A Passion for Life by Joseph Papa (interview)
- Engulfed: The Death of Paramount Pictures and the Birth of Corporate Hollywood by Bernard F. Dick (podcast episode: fast forward to 13:40)
- The Entertainer: Movies, Magic, and My Father's Twentieth Century by Margaret Talbot (Interview)
- Ernie: The Autobiography by Ernest Borgnine
- Errol & Olivia: Ego and Obsession in Golden Era Hollywood by Robert Matzen
- The Essential Directors: The Art and Impact of Cinema's Most Influential Filmmaker by Sloan De Forest (interview)
- Every Frenchman Has One by Olivia de Havilland
- Fay Wray and Robert Riskin: A Hollywood Memoir by Victoria Riskin (video review)
- The Female Gaze: Essential Movies Made by Women by Alicia Malone
- Finding Zsa Zsa by Sam Staggs
- The First King of Hollywood: The Life of Douglas Fairbanks by Tracey Goessel
- Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War by Mark Harris
- Forbidden Hollywood: The Pre-Code Era (1930-1934) When Sin Ruled the Movies by Mark A. Vieira (written and video review)
- Frank: The Voice by James Kaplan (about Frank Sinatra)
- The Genius of the System by Thomas Schatz
- George Sanders, Zsa Zsa and Me by David R. Slavitt
- The Girl on the Balcony: Olivia Hussey Finds Life After Romeo & Juliet by Olivia Hussey with Alexander Martin
- Girls on Film: Lessons from a Life of Watching Women in Movies by Alicia Malone
- The Good, the Bad and Me: In My Anecdotage by Eli Wallach
- Groucho Marx and Other Short Stories and Tall Tales edited by Robert S. Bader (Interview)
- Hail, Hail, Euphoria!: Presenting the Marx Brother sin Duck Soup, The Greatest War Movie Ever Made by Roy Blount Jr.
- Hank and Jim: The Fifty-Year Friendship of Henry Fonda and James Stewart by Scott Eyman
- Hedy's Folly: The Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, the Most Beautiful Woman in the World by Richard Rhodes
- Hitchcock by Francois Truffaut
- Hollywood Beach Beauties by David Wills
- Hollywood Black: The Stars, the Films, the Filmmakers by Donald Bogle (video)
- Hollywood Digs: An Archaeology of Shadows by Ken LaZebnik
- Hollywood Divided: The 1950 Screen Directors Guild Meeting and the Impact of the Blacklist by Kevin Brianton
- Hollywood Godfather: The Life and Crimes of Billy Wilkerson by W.R. Wilkerson III
- Hollywood Hates Hitler! by Chris Yogerst
- Hollywood in Kodachrome: 1940-1949
- Hollywood Tiki: Film in the Era of the Pineapple Cocktail by Adam Foshko and Jason Henderson
- Hollywood Victory by Christian Blauvelt
- Hope: Entertainer of the Century by Richard Zoglin
- The Ice Cream Blonde: The Whirlwind Life and Mysterious Death of Screwball Comedienne Thelma Todd by Michelle Morgan (Interview)
- I Do and I Don't: A History of Marriage in the Movies by Jeanine Basinger
- I Loved Her In the Movies: Working with Legendary Actresses of Hollywood by Robert J. Wagner Into the Dark: The Hidden World of Film Noir, 1941-1950 by Mark A. Vieira
- It's a Wonderful Life: The Official Bailey Family Cookbook
- John Huston: Courage and Art by Jeffrey Meyers
- Keep Moving by Dick Van Dyke
- King of Jazz: Paul Whiteman's Technicolor Revue by James Layton and David Pierce
- Kirk and Anne: Letters of Love, Laughter, and a Lifetime in Hollywood by Kirk and Anne Douglas
- Lana: The Lady, The Legend, The Truth by Lana Turner
- Leading Couples: The Most Unforgettable Screen Romances of the Studio Era by Frank Miller
- Learning to Live Out Loud by Piper Laurie
- Letters from Hollywood: Inside the Private World of Classic American Moviemaking by Rocky Lang and Barbara Hall
- Life Beyond Measures: Letters to My Great Grandaughter by Sidney Poitier
- A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel-True 1907-1940 by Victoria Wilson
- The Lives of Robert Ryan by J.R. Jones
- M: A Graphic Novel based on the film by Fritz Lang illustrated by Jon J Muth
- The Man Who Seduced Hollywood: The Life and Loves of Greg Bautzer, Tinseltown's Most Powerful Lawyer by B. James Gladstone (interview)
- The Many Faces of Josephine Baker by Peggy Caravantes
- Mary Astor's Purple Diary by Edward Sorel
- Mary Wickes: I Know I've Seen That Face Before by Steve Taravella
- Maureen O'Hara: The Biography by Aubrey Malone
- Mean... Moody... Magnificent!: Jane Russell and the Marketing of a Hollywood Legend by Christina Rice (Interview)
- Memoirs of a Professional Cad by George Sanders
- Missing Reels by Farran Smith Nehme
- Must See Sci-Fi: 50 Movies That are Out of This World by Sloan De Forest (Interview)
- My Judy Garland Life by Susie Boyt
- A Mysterious Something in the Light: The Life of Raymond Chandler by Tom Williams
- Nicholas Ray: The Glorious Failure of an American Director by Patrick McGilligan
- The Night of the Hunter - A Biography of a Film by Jeffrey Couchman
- Phantom Lady: Hollywood Producer Joan Harrison, The Forgotten Woman Behind Hitchcock by Christina Lane
- Photo by Sammy Davis Jr. by Burt Boyar
- The Pride of the Yankees: Lou Gehrig, Gary Cooper, and the Making of a Classic by Richard Sandomir
- The Real James Dean edited by Peter L. Winkler
- Rex Ingram: Visionary Director of the Silent Screen by Ruth Barton
- Rock on Film: The Movies That Rocked the Big Screen by Fred Goodman
- Room 1219: The Life of Fatty Arbuckle, the Mysterious Death of Virginia Rappe, and the Scandal That Changed Hollywood by Greg Merritt (Interview)
- Saul Bass: A Life in Film and Design by Jennifer Bass and Pat Kirkham
- The Savvy Sphinx: How Garbo Conquered Hollywood by Robert Dance
- Seduced by Mrs. Robinson: How The Graduate Became the Touchstone of a Generation by Beverly Gray
- Seduction: Sex, Lies and Stardom in Howard Hughes's Hollywood by Karina Longworth (podcast episode)
- She Damned Near Ran the Studio: The Extraordinary Lives of Ida R. Koverman by Jacqueline R. Braitman
- Showman of the Screen: Joseph E. Levine and His Revolutions in Film Promotion by A.T. McKenna
- The Silent Screen and My Talking Heart by Nell Shipman
- A Song in the Dark: The Birth of Musical Film by Richard Barrios
- Son of Harpo Speaks by Bill Marx (Interview)
- Spencer Tracy by James Curtis
- A Star is Born: Judy Garland and the Film That Got Away by Lorna Luft and Jeffrey Vance
- Stella!: Mother of Modern Acting by Sheana Ochoa (Interview)
- Stepin Fetchit: The Life and Times of Lincoln Perry by Mel Watkins
- Sterling Hayden's Wars by Lee Mandel
- Steve McQueen: A Biography by Marc Eliot
- Steve McQueen: A Passion for Speed by Frederic Brun
- Summer Movies: 30 Sun-Drenched Classics by John Malahy
- Tony and Me: A Story of Friendship by Jack Klugman
- Tough Without a Gun: The Life and Extraordinary Afterlife of Humphrey Bogart by Stefan Kanfer
- Trumbo by Bruce Cook
- The Unconscious Actor: Out of Control, In Full Command by Darryl Hickman
- Unsinkable: A Memoir by Debbie Reynolds
- Viva Hollywood: The Legacy of Latin and Hispanic Artists in American Film by Luis I. Reyes
- Warner Bros: The Making of an American Movie Studio by David Thomson
- Warren William: Magnificent Scoundrel of Pre-Code Hollywood by John Stangeland (Interview)
- Weddings and Movie Stars
- West Side Story: The Jets, the Sharks, and the Making of a Classic by Richard Barrios
- William Cameron Menzies: The Shape of Films to Come by James Curtis
- Young Man with a Horn by Dorothy Baker
Features:
Bluffton: My Summers with Buster Keaton by Matt Phelan (Interview)
Film Noir: Light and Shadow edited by Alain Silver and James Ursini
Miss D & Me: Life with the Invincible Bette Davis by Kathryn Sermak and Danelle Morton
Guest Reviews:
James Bond FAQ by Tom DeMichael (Interview)
Michael Douglas: A Biography by Marc Eliot
Bluffton: My Summers with Buster Keaton by Matt Phelan (Interview)
Film Noir: Light and Shadow edited by Alain Silver and James Ursini
Miss D & Me: Life with the Invincible Bette Davis by Kathryn Sermak and Danelle Morton
Guest Reviews:
James Bond FAQ by Tom DeMichael (Interview)
Michael Douglas: A Biography by Marc Eliot
Classic Film Collective Patreon reviews (coming to the blog in 2023)
Laura by Vera Caspary
Olivia de Havilland: Lady Triumphant by Victoria Amador
The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick by Mallory O'Meara
Nazimova: A Biography by Gavin Lambert
Buzz: The Life and Art of Busby Berkeley by Jeffrey Spivak
Topper by Thorne Smith
Double Indemnity by James M. Cain
In a Lonely Place by Dorothy B. Hughes
Girls on Film: Lessons From a Life of Watching Women in Movies (Filmmaking, Life Lessons, Film Analysis) by Alicia Malone
All for Beauty: Makeup and Hairdressing in Hollywood's Studio Era by Adrienne L. McLean
Lawrence Tierney: Hollywood's Real-Life Tough Guy by Burt Kearns
Currently reading:
The Queen of Technicolor: Maria Montez in Hollywood by Tom Zimmerman
Tcm Underground: 50 Must-See Films From the World of Classic Cult and Late-Night Cinema by Millie de Chirico and Quatoyiah Murry
Straight Lady : The Life and Times of Margaret Dumont, "The Fifth Marx Brother" by Chris Enss and Howard Kazanjian
Competing with Idiots: Herman and Joe Mankiewicz: A Dual Portrait by Nick Davis
Truly, Madly: Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier and the Romance of the Century by Stephen Galloway
John Gilbert: The Last of the Silent Film Stars by Eve Golden
Making The Best Years of Our Lives: The Hollywood Classic That Inspired a Nation by Alison Macor
Ryan's Daughter: The Making of an Irish Epic by Paul Benedict Rowan
My Place in the Sun: Life in the Golden Age of Hollywood and Washington by George Steves, Jr.
Don Rickles: The Merchant of Venom by Michael Seth Starr
Lawrence Tierney
Reviews coming (eventually):
Fritz Lang: The Nature of the Beast by Patrick McGilligan
Giant: Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Edna Ferber, and the Making of a Legendary American Film by Don Graham
Hooked on Hollywood: Discoveries from a Lifetime of Filmdom by Leonard Maltin
This Was Hollywood by Carla Valderrama
The Battle for Beverly Hills by Nancie Clare
Hosted 2013 - 2021
Page updated September 2022
I love your blog! I'm a huge Robert Mitchum fan; he's my favorite actor so it's nice to see another young person who appreciates him. I've always loved classic movies and frankly, it's rare to find a modern movie that wows me as much as a classic film. Thanks for all of the great work!
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