Friday, October 13, 2017

New & Upcoming Classic Film Books (9)


If you're gearing up for holiday shopping or looking for ideas on how to spend those bookish gift cards that are coming your way then you need to check out my last of new and upcoming classic film books.

Are you new to my list? Here are the details. The title link takes you to the book's Goodreads page. I have included Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Powell's buy links for your convenience. Shopping through my links helps support my site. Thanks in advance!

Books include biographies, memoirs, scholarly texts, coffee table books and more from a variety of publishers. Publication dates range from September 2017 to March 2018. All dates are subject to change.

This might be the very first time one of my round-ups has NO Marilyn Monroe books. Shocker!

Happy shopping!



REISSUE
by Lawrence J. Quirk
William Morrow Paperbacks
624 pages – February 2018



by Michael Tapper
Columbia University Press
216 pages – September 2017



by Rebecca J. DeRoo
University of California Press
253 pages – October 2017



The Art of Horror Movies
by Stephen Jones
Applause Theatre and Cinema Books
256 pages – October 2017



by Jean Picker Firstenberg and James Hindman
Santa Monica Press
464 pages – October 2017




by Boze Hadleigh
Lyons Press
176 pages – October 2017


REISSUE
by Alain Silver and James Ursini
Taschen
648 pages – October 2017



by Christopher Frayling
Reel Art Press
208 pages – October 2017



by Jay Jorgensen and Manoah Bowman
Dey Street Books
288 pages – October 2017



Hairpins and Dead Ends
The Perilous Journey of 25 Actresses Through Early Hollywood
by Michael G. Ankerich
BearManor Media
488 pages – October 2017



by Scott Eyman
Simon & Schuster
416 pages – October 2017



by Kathryn H. Fuller-Seeley
University of California Press
392 pages – October 2017



by Richard Barrios
Running Press & Turner Classic Movies
264 pages – October 2017



by David Bordwell
University of Chicago Press
592 pages – October 2017



by George Tiffin
Head of Zeus
400 pages – October 2017



by Eliot Weisman with Jennifer Valoppi
Hachette Books
320 pages – October 2017



by Nancy Schoenberger
Nan A. Talese
256 pages – October 2017



Interviews with Stars from Hollywood’s Golden Era
by James Bawden and Ron Miller
University Press of Kentucky
394 pages – October 2017



A Jewish Life in Performance and Politics
 by David Weinstein
Brandeis
304 pages  – November 2017



Quick Takes series
by Daniel Herbert
Rutgers University Press
160 pages – November 2017



by ARRI
Hirmer Publishers
440 pages – November 2017



The Man Who Made the Movies
 The Meteoric Rise and Tragic Fall of William Fox
Vanda Krefft
Harper
896 pages – November 2017



by Alan K. Rode
University Press of Kentucky
630 pages – November 2017
Amazon – Barnes and Noble – Powells



Monitoring the Movies
The Fight Over Film Censorship in Early Twentieth-Century Urban America
by Jennifer Fronc
216 pages – November 2017
Amazon – Barnes and Noble – Powells



by Dave Kehr
University of Chicago Press
272 pages – November 2017



Producer of Controversy
Stanley Kramer, Hollywood Liberalism, and the Cold War
by Jennifer Frost
University Press of Kansas
336 pages – November 2017



Quick Takes series
by David Sterritt
Rutgers University Press
152 Pages – November 2017



by Roger Moore
Michael O’Mara
160 pages – November 2017


by Mark Ripley
Columbia University Press
224 pages – November 2017



Seduced by Mrs. Robinson
How The Graduate Became the Touchstone of a Generation
by Beverly Gray
Algonquin Books
304 pages – November 2017



by Axel Nissen
McFarland
277 pages – December 2017



The Real People Behind 400+ Fictional Movie Characters
by Hal Erickson
McFarland
277 pages – December 2017



The Girl Who Was Too Beautiful for Hollywood
by Sherri Snyder
University Press of Kentucky
454 pages – December 2017



Classic Movie Fight Scenes
75 Years of Bare Knuckle Brawls, 1914-1989
by Gene Freese
McFarland
344 pages – December 2017



by Alan Nadel
Rutgers University Press
276 pages – December 2017



by Jeremy Geltzer
McFarland
277 pages – December 2017



by Pamela Hutchinson
BFI
106 pages – December 2017



edited by Gabriela Oldham
University Press of Mississippi
192 pages – January 2018



by George Hutchinson
Columbia University Press
416 pages – January 2018



The Gambler
How Penniless Dropout Kirk Kerkorian Became the Greatest Deal Maker in Capitalist History
by William C. Rempel
Dey Street Books
416 pages – January 2018



by Kyle Edwards
Wallflower Press
144 pages – January 2018



by Joshua Glick
University of California Press
254 pages – January 2018



by Allan R. Ellenberger
University Press of Kentucky
396 pages – January 2018


by James L. Neibaur
McFarland
275 pages – February 2018



Becoming John Wayne
The Early Westerns of a Screen Icon 1930-1939
by Larry Powell and Jonathan H. Amsbary
McFarland
277 pages – February 2018



by Derek Sculthorpe
McFarland
277 pages – February 2018




REISSUE
The Young Duke: The Early Life of John Wayne
by Chris Enss and Howard Jazanjian
TwoDot
224 pages – March 2018
Amazon – Barnes and Noble – Powells


Previous round-ups
New & Upcoming Classic Film Books (1)
New & Upcoming Classic Film Books (2)
New & Upcoming Classic Film Books (3)
New & Upcoming Classic Film Books (4)
New & Upcoming Classic Film Books (5)
New & Upcoming Classic Film Books (6)

New & Upcoming Classic Film Books (7)
New & Upcoming Classic Film Books (8)
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Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Beauty for the Asking (1939)


Patric Knowles, Lucille Ball and Donald Woods in Beauty for the Asking (1939)

Beautician Jean Russell (Lucille Ball) has just mastered her formula for astringent cold cream. The business and financial prospects are enough that she can finally marry her live-in beau Denny (Patric Knowles). However, it turns out Denny has his higher aims and plans to marry wealthy yet homely socialite Flora Barton (Frieda Inescort). Settling into life without Denny, Jean and her straight-talking roommate Gwen (Inez Courtney) set out to make Jean's cold cream a success. Jean barges into the office of advertising executive Jeffrey Martin (Donald Woods) determined to get his help with her product. The cold cream evolves into a whole line of beauty products and salons. When Jean and Jeffrey get backing from Denny's new bride Flora, things get awful complicated especially when Denny and Jeffrey vie for Jean's romantic attentions.


RKO's Beauty for Asking (1939) was directed by Glenn Tryon who most will recognize as the male lead in two Pal Fejos films Lonesome (1928) and Broadway (1929). The story was based on an original idea by women screenwriters Grace Norton and Adele Buffington and would then be fleshed out by Edmund L. Hartmann, Doris Anderson and Paul Jarrico.

Adele Buffington, who would later write under the names Jesse Bowers and Colt Remington, championed original stories for film instead of adaptations of plays and novels which were the norm in Hollywood. She got her start as a teenager working at as a ticket cashier at a cinema. This job allowed her to watch as many silent movies as she wanted. At the tender age of 19 she wrote her first screenplay and her journey to Hollywood began. In 1924 she wrote an article for the Los Angeles Times called Beauty and Brains Go Together, in which she fought against the stereotype that intellectuals were ugly and beautiful women were dumb.

This idea, perhaps progressive for the time, made its way into Beauty for the Asking where socialites and business women alike are known for their smarts as well as their looks. In fact the weakest character, Flora Barton-Williams, blossoms when she achieves not only self-confidence and glamour but also grows wise to the motives of her husband. Flora gets help from Jean who is not just her romantic rival but also a role model. Jean who is still smarting from Denny's betrayal is also a diligent business woman who makes a career for herself with her own invention. She didn't intend to give up her aspirations even when marriage with Denny seemed likely. She tells him:

"Why should a woman stop using her brains just because she's caught her man?" - Jean Russell

The screenwriting team was also inspired by Helena Rubinstein, the cosmetics entrepreneur who became rich off of her business. She believed in packaging, up-pricing, endorsements and the perceived power of science.  According to an article on TCM.com, screenwriter Paul Jarrico did quite a bit of research hoping to reveal the shady tricks the beauty industry employs to fool customers. A little of this remains in the movie however the focus of the story is more about the main characters relationships with each other than the beauty industry that sustains them.

 Beauty for the Asking is a darling little movie. Pair this in a double bill with The Women (1939) and it would serve as a nice little appetizer for that main course. As many classic movie lovers know, 1939 was a great year for the film industry. This doesn't only include the big pictures but for B-movies too.


Beauty for the Asking and The Women (1939)
 Beauty for the Asking is available on DVD-MOD from Warner Archive.You can purchase the DVD from the WB Shop. Use my buy links to shop and you will help support this site. Thanks!

Warner Archive Wednesday - On (random) Wednesdays, I review one title from the Warner Archive Collection. Thank you to Warner Archive for sending me a copy of Beauty for the Asking (1939) to review!
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Monday, October 9, 2017

Alias Nick Beal (1949)


Alias Nick Beal (1949) poster


It's a story as old as time. A mortal sells his soul to the devil for what he really wants only to suffer the consequences later. Bargaining with evil always comes at a cost.

"I'd give my soul to nail him." - Joseph Foster

Joseph Foster (Thomas Mitchell) is a good man by all accounts. He's devoted to his wife Martha (Geraldine Wall). He runs an athletic club for wayward boys with his good friend Reverend Thomas Garfield (George Macready) and takes on a particular tough case with Larry Price (Darryl Hickman). As district attorney, he seeks to put a criminal in jail but just needs the proof.  And this is when his troubles begins. When he proclaims he would sell his soul for evidence needed in the case, a mysterious figure by the name of Nick Beal (Ray Milland) shows up. He's a strange man. He appears and disappears seemingly out of the blue. He's conjures up the much needed evidence and helps Foster run for governor. Then things start to spiral out of control. Foster develops a wandering eye when Beal hires prostitute Donna Allen (Audrey Totter) to play the role of dutiful campaign secretary and temptation to Foster. Then people start to question how Foster was able to get that evidence that had once been destroyed. Foster can't seem to shake the shadowy figure who haunts him day by day. Who exactly is Nick Beal and what does he want from Foster? Can Foster save his marriage, his career, his life?

Directed by John Farrow, Alias Nick Beal (1949) is a terrific Film Noir with a fantastic cast, captivating story, ominous music, beautiful and eerie cinematography. It's everything a film noir should be: dark, brooding and captivating. Based on an original story by Mindret Lord and adapted for the screen by Jonathan Latimer, Alias Nick Beal is a modern story in the tradition of Goethe's Faust. It's a morality tale with a clear warning against "trading principles for personal glory."

Audrey Totter and Ray Milland in Alias Nick Beal
Audrey Totter and Ray Milland in Alias Nick Beal

If you came to Alias Nick Beal for Ray Milland, you won't be disappointed. A few years after his Academy Award winning performance in The Lost Weekend, Milland wanted to strengthen his acting muscles with different types of characters. Nick Beal presented him with a chance to play a villain, a captivating one at that. Audrey Totter has a fantastic role as Donna who transforms from a lowlife to a career woman. She's a complex character who begins to doubt her newfound role. Totter is always amazing to watch on screen and I love her in this sort of two-part role. One of my favorite actors of all time Darryl Hickman has small but memorable role as a tough kid from the streets who becomes the recipient of Foster's benevolence. Cast members looked back on this film kindly. John Farrow and Audrey Totter both proclaimed it as one of their best films. Farrow could be tough on actors but he seemed to get on swimmingly with Milland.

Watching Alias Nick Beal, I couldn't help but feel like it came from a parallel universe. Another old Hollywood where many movies like this existed and this one just happened to sneak through to the other side. Perhaps it's the fact that this film is so highly sought-after and hard to get that makes it that way. This movie aired recently on TCM as part of their Summer Under the Stars tribute to Ray Milland. It was the first time they had ever screened the moment making it one not to miss. This film, along with many others, are part of the Paramount library owned and tightly controlled by MCA. If you find yourself with an opportunity to watch Alias Nick Beal, do so. Who knows when you'll get another chance.

Update: According to this article in The Hollywood Reporter, the last film Hugh Hefner screened at the Playboy Mansion, nine days before he passed away, was Alias Nick Beal. Did he tape it off of TCM?!
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