Sunday, July 3, 2022

New & Upcoming Classic Film Books (19)

It's that time again! I've poured over countless publisher catalogs to find some classic film book gems so you don't have to. Here is another robust list of new and upcoming releases with something for every classic movie enthusiast.

Are you new to my list? Here are the details. The books include biographies, memoirs, scholarly texts, coffee table books and more from a variety of publishers. For any scholarly books I make sure the ones included are affordable. There are also some reissues added to the bunch. Publication dates range from July to December 2022 and these are subject to change.

Links go to Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Powell's. I receive a small commission if you shop through some (not all) of my buy links. 




JULY




Agent Josephine
American Beauty, French Hero, British Spy
by Damien Lewis
PublicAffairs
496 pages — July 2022




All for Beauty
Makeup and Hairdressing in Hollywood's Studio Era 
by Adrienne L. McLean
Rutgers University Press
326 pages — July 2022




Gone With the Wind
1939 Day by Day 
by Pauline Bartel
Lyons Press
250 pages — July 2022




Inventing the It Girl
How Elinor Glyn Created the Modern Romance and Conquered Early Hollywood 
by Hilary A. Hallett
Liveright
464 pages — July 2022




Making Hollywood Happen
Seventy Years of Film Finances 
by Charles Drazin
University of Wisconsin Press
224 pages — July 2022




Marlene
by Marlene Dietrich
University Press of Kentucky
234 pages — July 2022




Marlene Dietrich 
Photographs and Memories 
by Marlene Dietrich
University Press of Kentucky
304 pages — July 2022




Marlene Dietrich's ABC's
Wit, Wisdom, and Recipes
by Marlene Dietrich
University Press of Kentucky
162 pages — July 2022





Norman Mailer. Bert Stern. Marilyn Monroe  
by Norman Mailer and Bert Stern
TASCHEN
276 pages — July 2022




The Queen of Technicolor
Maria Montez in Hollywood 
by Tom Zimmerman
University Press of Kentucky
472 pages — July 2022




Road Trip to Nowhere
Hollywood Encounters the Counterculture
by Jon Lewis
University of California Press
352 pages — July 2022




Rock on Film
The Movies That Rocked the Big Screen 
by Fred Goodman
Foreword by Michael Lindsay-Hogg
TCM and Running Press
288 pages — July 2022




Speaking of Harpo
by Susan Fleming Marx and Robert S. Bader
Applause
356 pages — July 2022



AUGUST




Creating Carmen Miranda
Race, Camp, and Transnational Stardom 
by Kathryn Bishop-Sanchez
Vanderbilt University Press
304 pages — August 2022




Deanna Durbin, Judy Garland, and the Golden Age of Hollywood  
by Melanie Gall
Lyons Press
288 pages — August 2022




Getting Carter
Ted Lewis and the Birth of British Noir 
by Nick Triplow
Soho Syndicate
August 2022




  The Hollywood Motion Picture Blacklist
Seventy-Five Years Later 
by Larry Ceplair
University Press of Kentucky
246 pages — August 2022




Hollywood Tiki
Film in the Era of the Pineapple Cocktail
by Adam Foshko and Jason Henderson
The History Press
176 pages — August 2022




The Maltese Falcon
Special Edition
by Dashiell Hammett
Vintage Crime
240 pages — August 2022




The MGM Effect
How a Hollywood Studio Changed the World 
by Steven Bingen
Lyons Press
360 pages — August 2022




The Postman Always Rings Twice
Special Edition
by James M. Cain
Vintage Crime
128 pages — August 2022



Roots of Film Noir
Precursors from the Silent Era to the 1940s
by Kevin Grant
McFarland
248 pages — August 2022




Ruth Roman
A Career Portrait
by Derek Sculthorpe
McFarland
218 pages — August 2022



SEPTEMBER




Bob Willoughby
A Cinematic Life
by Bob Willoughby
Chronicle Chroma
368 pages — September 2022




Captain of Her Soul
The Life of Marion Davies
by Lara Gabrielle
University of California Press
344 pages — September 2022




*Second Edition*
Carole Lombard
Twentieth-Century Star
by Michelle Morgan
The History Press
272 pages — September 2022




Ernest Lehman 
The Sweet Smell of Success 
by Jon Krampner
University Press of Kentucky
392 pages — September 2022




Expressionism in Art and Film
by Lisa Felicitas Mattheis, Kristina Jaspers and Marek Zidowicz
Silvana Editoriale
240 pages — September 2022



Godzilla
The Ultimate Illustrated Guide 
Toho Co. Ltd, Graham Skipper
256 pages — September 2022




**Expanded Edition**
Harlow in Hollywood: 
The Blonde Bombshell in the Glamour Capital, 1928-1937 
by Darrell Rooney, Mark A. Vieira
Angel City Press
208 pages — September 2022




A Little Book About Movies 
Quotes for the Cinephile in Your Life 
Orange Hippo!
192 pages — September 2022




Running the Race
The "Public Face" of Charlton Heston
by Brian Steel Wills
Savas Beatie
456 pages — September 2022




Sunset Boulevard
by Steven Cohan
BFI
104 pages — September 2022




Viva Hollywood
The Legacy of Latin and Hispanic Artists in American Film 
by Luis I Reyes
Foreword by Jimmy Smits
TCM and Running Press
288 pages — September 2022




Working 9 to 5
A Women's Movement, A Labor Union, and the Iconic Movie
by Ellen Cassedy
Foreword by Jane Fonda
IPG
272 pages — September 2022



OCTOBER



A-Z Great Film Directors
by Andy Tuohy
Cassell
224 pages — October 2022




The Academy and the Award
The Coming of Age of Oscar and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences 
by Bruce Davis
Brandeis University Press
512 pages — October 2022
AmazonBarnes and Noble




The Art of Film
Working on James Bond, Aliens, Batman and More
by Terry Ackland-Snow and Wendy Laybourn
The History Press
356 pages — October 2022




Audrey Hepburn
The Illustrated World of a Fashion Icon
by Megan Hess
Hardie Grant Books
192 pages —October 2022




Cinema Speculation
by Quentin Tarantino
Harper
400 pages — October 2022




The Classic Movies Coloring Book
IglooBooks
48 pages — October 2022




Don Rickles
Merchant of Venom
by Michael Seth Starr
Citadel
320 pages — October 2022




The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man
A Memoir 
by Paul Newman
edited by David Rosenthal
Foreword by Melissa Newman
Afterword by Clean Newman Soderlund
Knopf
320 pages — October 2022




The Farrows of Hollywood
Their Dark Side of Paradise
by Marilyn Ann Moss
Skyhorse Publishing
312 pages — October 2022




Film Noir Portraits
edited by Tony Nourmand and written by Paul Duncan
Reel Art Press
256 pages — October 2022




From Russia With Love
   by Llewella Chapman
BFI
112 pages — October 2022




A Front Row Seat
An Intimate Look at Broadway, Hollywood, and the Age of Glamour 
by Nancy Olson Livingston
University Press of Kentucky
432 pages — October 2022




The Godfather, Part II
by Jon Lewis
BFI
96 pages — October 2022




It's a Wonderful Life Advent Devotional
by Anne Morse
Crosslink Publishing
123 pages — October 2022




Picnic at Hanging Rock
by Anna Backman Rogers
BFI
104 pages — October 2022




Picturing Indians
Native Americans in Film, 1941-1960
by Liza Black
University of Nebraska Press
354 pages — October 2022




Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop
The Team That Changed Children's Television 
by Mallory Lewis, Nat Segaloff
University Press of Kentucky
240 pages — October 2022




Straight Lady
The Life and Times of Margaret Dumont, "The Fifth Marx Brother" 
Chris Enss, Howard Kazanjian
Lyons Press
208 pages — October 2022




TCM Underground
50 Must-See Films from the World of Classic Cult and Late-Night Cinema 
by Millie De Chirico and Quatoyiah Murry
Foreword by Patton Oswalt
TCM and Running Press
240 pages — October 2022




Vampire Cinema
The First 100 Years
by Christopher Frayling
Reel Art Press
272 pages — October 2022

NOVEMBER




The 50 MGM Films That Transformed Hollywood
Triumphs, Blockbusters, and Fiascos 
by Steven Bingen
Lyons Press
344 pages — November 2022




Aline MacMahon
Hollywood, the Blacklist, and the Birth of Method Acting 
by John Stangeland
University Press of Kentucky
416 pages — November 2022




Hollywood
The Oral History  
by Jeanine Basinger, Sam Wasson
Harper
800 pages — November 2022




Lawrence Tierney
Hollywood's Real-Life Tough Guy
by Burt Kearns
University Press of Kentucky
448 pages — November 2022




My Maril
Marilyn Monroe, Ronald Reagan, Hollywood, and Me 
by Terry Karger with Jay Margolis
Foreword by Michael Reagan 
Post Hill Press
224 pages — December 2022




Our Fair Lady
Audrey Hepburn's Life in Pictures
by Chiara Pasqualetti Johnson
Acc Art Books
224 pages — November 2022




There's a Body in the Window Seat!
The History of Arsenic and Old Lace 
by Charles Dennis
Applause Books
168 pages — November 2022




Tokyo Story
by Alastair Phillips
BFI
96 pages — September 2022




Tyrone Power
Gender, Genre and Image in Classical Hollywood Cinema
by Gillian Kelly
Edinburgh University Press
248 pages — November 2022



DECEMBER




100 Movies of the 1980s  
edited by Jürgen Müller
TASCHEN
824 pages — December 2022




101 Things You Should Know about James Bond 007  
by Michael Dorflinger
Schiffer
192 pages — December 2022




Cinema's Original Sin
D.W. Griffith, American Racism, and the Rise of Film Culture 
by Paul McEwan
University of Texas Press
272 pages — December 2022




Elizabeth Taylor
The Grit & Glamour of an Icon
by Kate Andersen Brower
Harper
512 pages — December 2022



Frank & Marilyn
The Lives, the Loves, and the Fascinating Relationship of Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe 
by Edward Z. Epstein
Post Hill Press
256 pages — December 2022




Rochelle Hudson
A Biography and Career Record
by David C. Tucker
McFarland
178 pages — December 2022



In Case You Missed It!


Frank Sinatra on the Big Screen
The Singer as Actor and Filmmaker
by James L. Neibaur and Gary Schneeberger
McFarland
264 pages — June 2022




French Film History
1895-1946
by Richard Neupert
University of Wisconsin Press
392 pages — June 2022

(check roundup #18 for more 2022 titles)




Friday, July 1, 2022

Lana: The Lady, The Legend, The Truth by Lana Turner

Lana: The Lady, The Legend, The Truth
by Lana Turner
Dean Street Press
250 pages
Paperback ISBN: 9781914150791
Originally published 1982
New edition October 2021


This review was originally published at the Classic Film Collective Patreon in May 2022.


“Nobody put a gun to my head to get me to write this book. I did it for two reasons: to set the record straight about me, so that all the lies could be answered by the truth, and because the timing was right. “ — Lana Turner

Lana Turner was the epitome of a movie star. With her perfectly coiffed blonde hair, an enviable wardrobe of designer gowns, furs and jewels and her sultry stare, Turner's adoring fans worshipped her. Over the years she evolved with her roles from being the sweater girl in They Won't Forget (1937), the femme fatale in The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) and the queen of soaps in Peyton Place (1957) and Imitation of Life (1959). She wasn't always taken seriously as an actress and had to constantly prove her worth. After 5 decades of being in the business, she had over 50 movies to her name and a sole Academy Award nomination. Along with her success were also many personal troubles. She endured family tragedies, seven failed marriages and a scandal involving her daughter Cheryl and her mobster boyfriend Johnny Stompanato. Everyone seemed to have an opinion about Lana Turner and rumors would often spread like wildfire. In 1982, Turner decided to take matters into her own hands and tell her side of the story.

"Like many of the stars contracted into the old studio system, Lana was at the mercy of public opinion, which dictated every aspect of her life—including whom she could marry and have children with. And her story was not a Hollywood dream. There were many nightmares and heartbreaking tragedies she had to endure; which were then turned into fodder for public consumption.” — TCM host Alicia Malone

Lana: The Lady, The Legend, The Truth is an emotional memoir about a woman who lived to love but fell victim to the trappings of the Hollywood studio system. Like many movie star memoirs, you have to take this one with a grain of salt because it's clear that Turner wore her heart on her sleeve. The memoir is filled with candid tales of love and loss, of triumph and failures. It's a personal memoir but was also a way for Turner to protect her image and her legacy. 

Turner had developed a reputation as a glamorous movie star who was demanding on set. Reading between the lines, I see a woman who may have been temperamental but was also a shrewd business woman who knew her worth. She was a woman driven by emotion and instinct and built a life and career by a combination of her own rules and ones that were well established in the entertainment industry.

In the memoir, Lana Turner discusses many of her films and offers a little behind-the-scenes information on most of them. She only discusses her process a couple of times and focuses more on the people she worked with rather than her craft. Every single one of her seven marriages is discussed at length. It's clear that these men were emotionally volatile and were drawn to Turner's beauty, fame and financial success. There are also devastating stories about Turner's suicide attempt, her abortions, her stillborn births, her failed love affairs with Greg Bautzer and Tyrone Power and a few hints at a drinking problem. About three chapters are devoted to Johnny Stompanato, the events leading up to her daughter Cheryl Crane killing him in self-defense and the aftermath. Turner lacks some self-awareness at certain points but then in others she recognizes her shortcomings and also the struggles of being a women in a strict patriarchal society. The biggest takeaway about her many romances is that if the expectation had not been that she marry to keep up appearances, her husbands would have remained lovers instead.

Readers will learn more about Lana Turner as a woman rather than as a working actress. But there are still plenty of interesting old Hollywood tidbits from the book:

  • Lana Turner admitted to being naturally shy. Instead of butterflies she likened her nerves to "eagles, with flapping wings and tearing claws."
  • Her image as the sweater girl got Turner her start in Hollywood. But she quickly grew to dislike it.“That image clung to me for the rest of my career. I was the sexual promise, the object of desire. And as I matured, my facade did too, to an image of coolness and glamour—the movie star in diamonds, swathed in white mink.”
  • For Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938), she pleaded with producer Carey Wilson not to put her in a sweater. She wore a bathing suit instead.
  • She had a congenital condition, Rh blood factor, which prevented her from taking on roles in films like Mogambo (1953) which were shot in "exotic" locations.
  • She met husband #1 Artie Shaw and husband #5 Frederick May on the set of Dancing Co-Ed (1939).
  • She claims to have become the highest paid actress in the world in early 1945.
  • Turner had this to say about the remake of The Postman Always Rings Twice "It always amazes me that when Hollywood makes a really good movie, and some producer gets the bright idea to remake it, he comes up with something inferior to the original.”
  • She refused to star in A Life of Her Own (1950) with Wendell Corey. She fought with Dore Schary to get him off the picture (not because she didn't like him but because she didn't think he'd make a good co-star). Ray Milland was cast instead.
  • Despite the still recent Stompanato scandal, producer Ross Hunter still wanted her for Imitation of Life (1959).
  • Turner was going to star in Anatomy of a Murder (1959). At that point in her career she was fastidious about her look. Every detail from her hair, makeup and clothes had to be just perfect. When she made demands about her wardrobe, director Otto Preminger called to yell at her. Turner was not having it and asked her agent to pull her from the film.

Originally published in 1982, Dean Street Press released a new edition of Lana: The Lady, The Legend, The Truth in October of 2021 in paperback and e-book formats. It includes an introduction by TCM host and author Alicia Malone.

Thank you to Dean Street Press for a copy of the book to review!

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