Friday, May 29, 2020

Hollywood Godfather: The Life and Crimes of Billy Wilkerson

Hollywood Godfather
The Life and Crimes of Billy Wilkerson
by W.R. Wilkerson III
Chicago Review Press
352 pages
Hardcover ISBN: 9781613736609
September 2018

Amazon — Barnes and Noble — Powell's

"All his life Billy was in love with the impossible." — Joe Pasternak


Billy Wilkerson’s biggest dream was to be his own boss. He accomplished that in spades when he founded The Hollywood Reporter in 1930. The first issue ran September 3rd of that year and up until the day he died Wilkerson would be heavily involved in the day-to-day operations and would write 8,320 daily editorials himself. His success with The Hollywood Reporter came from constant innovation, aggressive tactics to sell ad space and the shrewd buildup of influence. At one time, Billy Wilkerson was the most powerful man in the entertainment industry.

A medical school drop out, Wilkerson transitioned to film and wore many hats in his early days in the industry. He worked in sales, marketing promotion, film criticism and journalism, all of which gave him wisdom and experience to make The Hollywood Reporter a success. In New Jersey he owned a Nickelodeon and a luxe theater. He eventually moved to Hollywood with dreams of becoming a filmmaker. He worked with his friend Joe Pasternak and with actor El Brendel on a film project called Help Yourself. He shopped it around but no one bit. Hollywood had rejected Wilkerson and it hurt. Badly. He exacted revenge in a monumental way by going after the studio moguls with the first daily trade paper for the film industry.

Wilkerson went on to have other business ventures including the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas and the Cafe Trocadero and Ciro in Hollywood. Many of his business ventures were innovative but ultimately failed him financially or personally. Wilkerson was tight-fisted with money and very demanding of his employees. He was a devout Catholic but also a man of many vices. He was a reckless gambler and had a severe Coca Cola addiction that ruined his health. Wilkerson was vehemently anti-communist and used his power, his connections with Howard Hughes and the public platform of The Hollywood Reporter to take down perceived communists in the industry. He could be very cruel, was unapologetic about his actions and used his mob connections to his advantage. The only thing that could truly be admired about Wilkerson is his business acumen and innovation. He was always thinking on his feet.

"The most successful figures in the entertainment industry... shared a sense of determination, an ability to weather massive misfortune." - W.R. Wilkerson III
Billy Wilkerson and his son W.R. Wilkerson III - Photo Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Billy Wilkerson: Photo Source: The Hollywood Reporter


Hollywood Godfather: The Life and Crimes of Billy Wilkerson effectively chronicles the life of a difficult man who had a profound influence on the film industry in its early days. The biography is written by Wilkerson's son. I'm always a bit cautious about biographies written by family members. However, while reading the book I kept forgetting that the book was written by Wilkerson’s son. It felt very unbiased and thorough. The author leaves no stone unturned and is not afraid to explore the ugly side of his father's life story. And there was plenty of dirt to dig up. Perhaps the most shocking was Wilkerson's involvement with the Hollywood Blacklist. Even after the fact, Wilkerson was unapologetic about what he had done.

This biography offers a comprehensive look at Wilkerson's life and career, with a particular focus on the later, and his dealings with close friends including Joe Schenck, Joe Pasternak, Greg Bautzer (his lawyer), Howard Hughes, Johnny Rosselli (a mobster) and Lana Turner. The author conducted extensive interviews with his father’s right hand man George Kennedy who helped supply much of the information found in the book. Many people refused to be interviewed and it's a testament to the author's efforts that he pursued as many avenues and angles as he could to offer such a thorough biography.

 Thank you to Chicago Review Press for a copy of Hollywood Godfather for review.

Please note that this book review is not an entry into my summer reading challenge.

Monday, May 25, 2020

2020 Summer Reading Challenge





It's that time again! I'm very happy to announce this year's Summer Reading Challenge (or Winter for those of you on the Southern Hemisphere)! We're all spending way more time at home this year and that means plenty of time for reading. And what's the best kind of reading? Classic film reading!

I'm keeping the challenge the same but I encourage you to do additional posts including sharing your TBR stack of books, your shelfie (a selfie of your book collection), favorite place to read, favorite classic film books you've read in the past, etc. Keep the hashtag #ClassicFilmReading going all summer long with classic film book posts!

Please remember that in order to participate you must follow each of the rules below. The three most important ones are signing up, using the hashtag and submitting your review links.

If you don't read all 6 books that's okay! You can participate with one or two books if that's all you have time for. 

All of the details and the forms are on the main hub for the Summer Reading Challenge. Here is an overview of the rules.

Summer Reading Challenge Rules

  • Sign up for the challenge on the official page.
  • Read a classic film book
  • Write a review and post it on your Blog, Instagram or Goodreads profile
  • Use hashtag #classicfilmreading
  • Submit your review link  on the official page.
  • Repeat until you have read and reviewed 6 books!
  • Review 6 and be automatically entered to win a prize.

Challenge runs from June 1st until September 15th, 2020. Sign-up before July 15th.



If you complete all 6 reviews by September 15th you’ll be eligible to win one single disc DVD-MOD from the Warner Archive Collection, film of your choosing. # of winners to be determined.

Open internationally.

HAPPY READING!

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Olivia (1950) on OVID




Directed by Jacqueline Audry, Olivia (1950) is a little-known French drama about an English student who, while attending a French finishing school, falls in love with her headmistress. The film is based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Dorothy Bussy and stars Marie-Claire Olivia as the title character. The young English teen struggled to fit in at her previous school and finds the new school more welcoming. The girls at the new school are separated into two cliques: one clique favors Mademoiselle Julie (Edwige Feuillere) and the other favors Mademoiselle Cara (Simone Simon). Mademoiselle Julie is a competent headmistress. However Mademoiselle Cara is volatile, emotionally manipulative and suffers from a mysterious ailment that may be a figment of her imagination. When Mademoiselle Julie whisks Olivia away for a private field trip to Paris, Olivia's feelings for her headmistress deepen. Back at the finishing school, tensions arise. Secrecy, jealousy, tragedy. What will become of Mademoiselle Julie and Olivia?

Olivia (1950) is a rare gem. A lesbian drama directed by a woman is not unusual to find these days but back in 1950 it was virtually unheard of. Olivia is not the best film. It's overblown and a bit convoluted. Simone Simon is in her element as the temperamental and pouty Mademoiselle Cara. Feuillere and Olivia are  dutifully restrained in their performances. But if you've seen such films as Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019), which is a masterpiece in its own right (you can read my review here), and want to watch an equivalent from a different era, Olivia is a good companion film. I had never heard of this film before discovering it on OVID.tv, a newer streaming service that I've been having a great time exploring. Olivia was recently restored and is currently distributed through Icarus Films. I highly recommend you seek out this rarity if you get a chance.




OVID streams a variety of independent and foreign films. Visit OVID.tv for more information about their offerings.

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