#SymphonyofHorror The Boston Pops and the Berklee College of Music team up to give Nosferatu (1922) a new score

What: Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror  #SymphonyofHorror
Where: Symphony Hall in Boston, MA
Who: Keith Lockhart, The Boston Pops and eight student composers from Berklee College of Music
When: October 30th, 2015 at 8 PM (blood drive from 2-7 PM)
How: Tickets available at Bostonpops.org. $37-$47

The Boston area is no stranger to Halloween screenings of F.W. Murnau’s silent horror film Nosferatu (1922). There at least one or two a year held locally with live musical accompaniment. What makes this particular event special? A new score. And not just any new score! One created by eight composers, Berklee College of Music students from all over the world, in collaboration with Keith Lockhart of the Boston Pops.

Years ago I attended a screening of Sunrise (1927) at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, MA. It was a similar to the Nosferatu event. Eight student composers from the Berklee College of Music composed a section of the score, conducted their individual pieces as an orchestra performed the final overall score in accompaniment to Murnau’s classic film. Not only was it one of the best classic film screenings I have ever been to, in my original review I called it “one of the most fantastic experiences of my life.”

Needless to say I have high hopes for Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror! Here are some of the highlights of the event:

1 – Diverse group of student film composers from all over the world.
2 – Score created under the direction of Professor of Film Scoring Sheldon Mirowitz and Keith Lockhart of the Boston Pops.
3 – The renowned Boston Pops Orchestra will be performing the score, conducted by Keith Lockhart.
4 – The score was fine-tuned with the Symphony Hall acoustics in mind.
5 – The event will be turned into a short documentary called “The Making of Nosferatu”.
6 – This will be first time the Boston Pops Orchestra has ever accompanied a full-length silent film. It’s also the longest piece they’ve eve performed.
7 – Nosferatu will be screened from a HD digital transfer with 4K Christie projectors. The film is from the best source material from the Murnau estate.
8 – Brigham and Women’s Hospital will be hosting a blood drive from 2-7 PM at Symphony Hall before the event.
9 – Attendees are encouraged to dress up in Halloween costumes.

Below is the full press release of the event with more detail. I will be there to cover this event so expect to hear more from me soon! Follow hashtag #SymphonyofHorror on Twitter too.

There is another great screening of Nosferatu (1922) with my friend Jeff Rapsis who will be accompanying the film at the Somerville Mudflat Studio on October 24th !

From the Boston Pops Press Release:

“Over Halloween weekend, on Friday, October 30, at 8 p.m., the Boston Pops and conductor Keith Lockhart, in collaboration with Berklee College of Music, will bring the classic 1922 silent horror film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror to the Symphony Hall stage, with an entirely new full symphonic score composed by Berklee’s finest student film composers. Nosferatu on Halloween is a groundbreaking, unprecedented collaborative project in which eight of Berklee’s finest student film composers will write a full-length symphonic score, under the direction of Professor of Film Scoring Sheldon Mirowitz, for what is widely considered the greatest silent honor film of all time, F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu (1922). The Boston Pops, under the direction of Keith Lockhart, will perform the score live-to-picture the night before Halloween. Tickets for Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, ranging from $37 to $47, are available at www.bostonpops.org or by calling 888-266-1200. Performance starts at 8 p.m.

The eight composers featured in the Nosferatu project are among the very best Film Scoring majors studying at Berklee College of Music today; they are students in college’s Scoring Silent Films course taught by Sheldon Mirowitz (Outside Providence, Missing in America): Amit Cohen (Israel), Wani Han (South Korea), Emily Joseph (United States), Victor Kong (Malaysia), Matthew Morris (Canada), Hyunsoo Nam (South Korea), Elena Nezhelskaya (Russia), and Joy Ngiaw Jing Yi (Malaysia). The student composers have worked closely with their teacher/adviser, Mr. Mirowitz, who began the project by composing the basic themes and superstructure for the work; each student composer then uses these themes to compose the music for the section of the movie they have been assigned (seven sections in all, each about 12-15 minutes in length). This approach—with all the sections (written by eight different composers) sharing the same themes—is how the score has coherence and integrity and comes across as a unified film score.

Video clip highlights of the October 30 performance will be featured on www.bostonpops.org shortly after the performance takes place. In addition, Berklee College of Music is creating a short documentary entitled “The Making of Nosferatu,” which will include excerpts from the rehearsal and performance and will be featured at www.berklee.edu.

Keith Lockhart (Source: Boston Pops)

QUOTE FROM KEITH LOCKHART, BOSTON POPS CONDUCTOR

“Nosferatu is universally acknowledged not only as the greatest silent horror film, but also as one of the most influential films of all time, so creating a new full symphonic score to this iconic cinematic masterpiece is definitely a daunting undertaking,” said Boston Pops Conductor Keith Lockhart. “We at the Boston Pops are excited to embark on this new collaboration with Berklee College of Music and are thrilled that it represents the most significant project in Boston Pops history in the area of presenting student-composed work.

Our hope is to offer a new dimension to the film for fans of Nosferatu and to introduce this amazing motion picture to movie lovers who might not otherwise be aficionados of the silent film genre. The project will also put a spotlight on the special role a film score plays in the silent movie genre--reinforcing how the music conveys not just mood and atmosphere, but supports the entire narrative of the film, making the score feel even more essential than in modern day film. And the timing couldn’t be better … setting the mood for a perfectly fantastic Halloween in 2015.”

FURTHER DETAILS ON THE BOSTON POPS/BERKLEE NOSFERATU PROJECT

The October 30 concert presentation of Nosferatu will present a new take on a relatively recent Boston Pops tradition of presenting movies at Symphony Hall with lush soundtracks performed live by the virtuosic musicians of the Boston Pops Orchestra; this is the first time in the history of the Boston Pops that the orchestra will accompany the presentation of a full-length silent film. The new score to Nosferatu will be the longest, continuous piece of music the Pops has ever performed. It is certainly the most extensive performance of a student-composed work by the Pops in its history. The presentation is part of Berklee’s Signature Series of concerts, in addition to being a featured event on the Boston Pops calendar.

Most major Silent Films had original scores performed live by an orchestra at their premiers, and Nosferatu is not exception—Hans Erdmann's has been lost and what remains now is a modern reconstitution of his score. But, with all Silent Films, the attraction for composers is great to compose new scores for these classic films, and over the decades many composers and musicians have written or improvised their own soundtracks to accompany Nosferatu. Few, however, have harnessed the power of a full symphonic orchestra to accomplish this task, much less augmented it with the signature sounds of classic electronic instruments like the Theremin and the Moog Modular Synthesizer, and brought the whole experience to the concert hall. The film being used for the Boston Pops/Berklee collaboration is a recent, high-definition digital transfer of the best source material, from the Murnau estate. It will be projected by two of the finest 4K Christie projectors available.

FROM BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC: WHY SILENT FILMS?

Silent film presentation, whether by collaboration with the Boston Pops, or in a performance by the Berklee Silent Film Orchestra, is the most direct, visceral means of experiencing the power of the film composer’s craft. Silent film is the ultimate challenge for a film composer. A silent film score must, in concert with the actors and staging, convey the narrative and emotional messages of the film. Scoring for silent film exercises and builds the film composer’s skills in a way that exceeds the task of composing for projects that employ dialogue and other sound. These are some of the greatest films of any era, whether sound or silent. The act of composing and performing a new score reinterprets and renews these classics for each succeeding generation. The computer technology employed in composing, and performing them live-to-picture, is completely up-to-the-minute. The only thing old about the art form of silent film music presentation is the date on the film. As a learning exercise, silent films, and Berklee’s Scoring Silent Films course, represent a rigorous and demanding test of those who would compose for film, television, video games, or any other long-form film/video form. It is superb means of explaining and demonstrating to young musicians the film composer’s task, while showing the heft of Berklee’s own film composition program.”

Hollywood's Hispanic Heritage Blogathon: Cesar Romero

“I’ve had a long career in this town. Hasn’t been the greatest but it’s been good and it’s been steady. And I owe a lot to this business.” –  Cesar Romero circa 1986

Imagine Hollywood in the late 1930s. A young starlet has been invited to a glamorous party but she has no one to go with. A tall, debonaire Latin man, a fellow actor, comes to her rescue. This man is Cesar Romero. He's the perfect escort and the ladies of Hollywood know it. Romero is well-dressed, good looking, has excellent manners and lifelong talent for dancing. He's an expert schmoozer and knows how to work the crowd. He is dependable and desirable, composed but still fun to be around. Romero loves parties and they loved him right back.

Cesar Romero and Joan Crawford

Romero was the escort for many actresses including Joan Crawford (they were lifelong friends and possibly more), Carole Lombard, Barbara Stanwyck, Loretta Young, Virginia Bruce, Marlene Dietrich, Agnes Moorehead and more.

Affectionately referred to as the Latin from Manhattan or Butch (a silly nickname given to him by George Murphy), Cesar Romero had a long career on the big and small screens. And wouldn't you know, it all started because he was really good at working parties.

Cesar Julio Romero Jr. was born in New York City in 1907. His father Cesar Julio Romero Sr. was a sugar broker (some accounts say he was born in Italy, others say Spain) and his mother Maria Mantilla was a Cuban-American socialite. It's said that his grandfather was Cuban national hero Jose Marti. Publicly Marti was Maria's godfather but privately he was her father, whether the connection was biological or not we'll never know. The Romero family was very affluent. They went to all the best parties, had loads of servants and little Cesar Romero went to the finest boarding schools. This all changed in the 1920s when the sugar crash left Romero Sr. without the means to provide for his family. They were able to cruise by on the patriarch's savings but this eventually ran out.

Cesar Romero and his parents. Source

There are two really important things you must know about Cesar Romero. First, he was fiercely loyal to his family and felt obligated to take care of them financially. This would go on for the rest of his life and was the driving force behind his long career in the industry. Second, he had a natural talent for dancing, acting and entertaining in general and this was boosted by his fine social skills and his knack for meeting the right people at the right time.

When his father could no longer provide for his family, Romero got a job as a courier for First National Bank in New York City. It was a soul-crushing job and he quickly looked for a way out. When he was six years old he learned how to dance, courtesy of lessons given to him by a family maid, and over the years perfected his skills. He took advantage of this during the Roaring Twenties when you could be paid to dance at supper clubs and speakeasies. Romero became one half of the Lisbeth and Romero: Aristocrats of the Dance dancing duo with partner Lisbeth Higgins. His career as a professional dancer helped keep his family afloat. Romero sought every opportunity he could. He would crash parties, hang out at speakeasies and dance with the creme de la creme.

Cesar Romero and Lisbeth Higgins (Source)

Opportunities would arise and he'd take advantage of every one of them. Theater led to Broadway and Broadway led a one year contract at MGM. Romero was off to Hollywood! And his family would follow soon after.

His first film role was as a gigolo in The Thin Man (1934). MGM didn't really know what to do with him and let his contract go. Romero however had been making lots of good connections, one of those was studio executive Darryl Zanuck. Thanks to that working relationship Romero was contracted by Universal, 20th Century and then Fox when it merged to become 20th Century Fox.

Romero was never really typecast. He didn't have a thick accent and his exotic looks could translate into multiple ethnicities. He could play the Latin lover but he was flexible enough to play a variety of roles. He could play villains, love interests and found ways to showcase his comedic skills and his dancing talents on screen. His early filmography includes The Devil is a Woman (1935), with Marlene Dietrich, Wee Willie Winkie (1937), My Lucky Star (1938), Week-End in Havana (1941) as well as the Cisco Kid films of the 1930s and 1940s. He worked in films through the '50s, '60s, '70s and '80s. My favorite of his roles was as Duke Santos in Ocean's 11 (1960). He's charming and mischievous and you want to hate him for throwing a monkey wrench into the works but you just can't.

Cesar Romero, silver fox

Cesar Romero never became a huge star yet he was consistent, dependable, flexible and got along with everybody. This made him an asset in the business. It didn't hurt that he aged beautifully and embraced TV when he couldn't find many film roles. Romero's second career in TV won him a different kind of celebrity when he played the Joker on The Batman series in the late 1960s.

“A lot of people knock the old studio system, but I thought it was wonderful. You had such great security.” – Cesar Romero

Romero thrived in the studio era and mourned the loss of it. As time progressed and as many of his fellow actors and actresses passed away he looked back fondly at a time when elegance reigned supreme, everyone had a contract and even though you might work at different studios you all knew each other intimately because of the plethora of private Hollywood parties. Although Romero thrived on TV, he missed his motion picture colony of old.

“I never considered myself a Latin actor. I was born in New York City my mother was born in Brooklyn.” –  Cesar Romero circa 1986

Romero never truly embraced his Latino culture although he never denied it either. He didn't express interest in exploring the history or writings of his revolutionary grandfather Jose Marti. Even when he was invited to Cuban cultural events in Florida, he would politely participate with modest interest. He spoke Spanish, not fluently but enough to get by. Romero did inherit a very strong belief in the importance of family thanks to his Latino upbringing. He took care of his parents, brother, two sisters, nieces and nephews and some of them even lived with him on his estate. Romero never married and while this led to rumors about his sexuality, friends claim that he was too busy socializing, working and taking care of his family to settle down.

Tyrone Power and Cesar Romero

Interesting fact about Cesar Romero: he was best friends with fellow actor Tyrone Power. They once took a 10 week trip through Central and South America and back up through the United States. Power and Romero were neighbors and Power's untimely death 1958 really crushed Romero.

There is lots more to discuss about Romero. His trademark mustache, his time in the US Coast Guard during WWII, his chain of men's clothing stores called Cesar Romero Ltd, that one time he was on The Golden Girls TV show. But there isn't enough time to cover it all. Romero lived a good life; a long and interesting one.

Cesar Romero's charm didn't just come from being a good looking entertainer. He was an affable man who loved his work, loved his family and loved life. Romero died in 1994 leaving behind a body of work as varied and as entertaining as the man himself.

This post is my contribution to the Hollywood's Hispanic Heritage Blogathon hosted by Aurora of Once Upon a Screen. 

#30in30FavoriteStars

During the month of September I did a series on Twitter called 30 in 30 Favorite Stars. Each day I shared a photo of one of my favorite stars and used the hashtag #30in30FavoriteStars so folks could follow along. I encouraged other classic film fans to participate and it got a great response! I had so much fun with it that I'm contemplating doing more with different themes. Are you on Twitter? Follow me on my movie/personal account @QuelleLove and my general account for film bloggers @ClassicFilmRead. Below is a snapshot of the Twitter series as well as the full list with photos of the 30 stars I chose for my own list. Enjoy!

#30in30FavoriteStars Tweets

Robert Mitchum

Susan Peters

Eli Wallach

Eve Arden

Edward G. Robinson

James Garner

Joan Blondell

Jack Klugman

Ginger Rogers

George Sanders

Akim Tamiroff

Bette Davis

Doris Day

Cesar Romero

Ann-Margret

Ann Blyth

Marsha Hunt

Louis Calhern

Lewis Stone

Kirk Douglas

S.Z. Sakall

Ruby Keeler

Norman Lloyd

Norma Shearer

Sandra Dee

Sidney Poitier

Sterling Hayden

Bonita Granville

William Powell

This one was my most popular! TCM re-tweeted the image which didn't hurt.

Thelma Todd

2015 Summer Reading Challenge - Final Round-Up and Winner

The summer reading challenge is officially over! I'd like to personally thank every one of the participants who all did an amazing job at their challenge. They are read a wide array of interesting and eclectic books. The challenge encourage folks to read up to 6 books this summer and post reviews online by September 1st. Participants who read, reviewed and submitted six entries were eligible for the special giveaway.

Below is the second round-up of reviews. You can find the first round-up here.

Amanda of Old Hollywood Films
Keepers: The Greatest Films and Personal Favorites of a Moviegoing Lifetime by Richard Schickel


Bernardo from The Movie Rat
Images: My Life in Film by Ingmar Bergman

Interviews: Liv Ullmann
They Still Call Me Junior by Frank Coghlan Jr.

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star by Dick Moore

What is Cinema? Vol. 1: Essays Selected and Translated by Hugh Gray
edited by Andre Bazin

Writing Vampyr by Carl Theodor Dryer, Christen Jul and Sheridan Le Fanu


B.G. of Classic Reel Girl
I Do and I Don't: A History of Marriage in the Movies by Jeanine Basinger


B Noir Detour
Driven to Darkness: Jewish Emigre Directors and the Rise of Film Noir by Vincent Brook

Memoirs of a Professional Cad by George Sanders

Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammet


Grezilda of Doesn't She Ramble
Audrey Hepburn: An Elegant Spirit by Sean Hepburn Ferrer
Jano by Birgit Tengroth

Hollywood Cats: Photographs from the John Kobal Foundation

My World is My Bond by Roger Moore


Kate Gabrielle of Silents and Talkies
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by R.A. Dick

L’Avventura by Geoffrey Nowell-Smith


KC of A Classic Movie Blog
The Making of The Other Side of the Wind: Orson Welles’s Last Movie by Josh Karp

Missing Reels by Farran Smith Nehme

My Life As a Mankiewicz: An Insider’s Journey Through Hollywood by Tom Mankiewicz and Robert Crane


Kristina of Speakeasy
Gangsters from Little Caesar to The Godfather by John Gabree

Hollywood Beauty: Linda Darnell and the American Dream by Ronald L. Davis

Teenage Confidential, An Illustrated History of the American Teen by Michael Barson and Steven Heller

The Very Witching Time of Night: Dark Alleys of Classic Horror Cinema by Gregory William Mank


Laura of Laura’s Miscellaneous Musings
Behind the Scenes of They Were Expendable: A Pictorial History by Lou Sabini

Letícia of Vintage Classics Scrapbook
Thoughts on the Thin Man edited by Danny Reid


Liz from Now Voyaging
Good Stuff: A Reminscence of My Father, Cary Grant by Jennifer Grant

Every Frenchman Has One by Olivia de Havilland

‘Tis Herself: A Memoir by Maureen O’Hara


Phyllis of Phyllis Loves Classic Movies
Audrey At Home: Memories of My Mother’s Kitchen by Luca Dotti

Vanity Will Get You Somewhere by Joseph Cotten


Rich from Wide Screen World
The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe
Ernst Lubitsch: Laughter in Paradise by Scott Eyman

Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War by Mark Harris


Sara E. (Goodreads)
Burt Lancaster: The Terrible Tempered Charmer by Michael Munn

The Cleopatra Papers by Jack Brodsky and Nathan Weiss

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Bernard Nordhoff and James Norman Hall


Vanessa from Stardust
Gary Cooper: Enduring Style by G. Bruce Boyer


There were six finalists! These folks read, reviewed and submitted six entries by the deadline.(Note that the reviews are split between the first and second round-ups. Look at both round-ups to see all the reviews.)


Bernardo of The Movie Rat
Karen from Shadows and Satin
Kristina of Speakeasy
Grezilda of Doesn't She Ramble
Liz from Now Voyaging
Vanessa from Stardust

And the winner is...

Vanessa from Stardust! 

She'll receive a TCM pen (from TCMFF 2015 in Hollywood), a Robert Osborne #yourfanclub pin, a Ben Mankiewicz #yourfanclub pin and a copy of Turner Classic Movies Presents Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide: From the Silent Era Through 1965: Third Edition .

And because I'm feeling extra generous I am awarding an extra copy of the Classic Movie Guide to a surprise runner-up...

Karen from Shadows and Satin!

I drew the winner and runner-up with the help of Random.org and names written on pieces of paper.

Congrats to everyone who participated and stay tuned for next year's summer reading challenge.

Hollywood in Kodachrome: 1940-1949

Hollywood in Kodachrome: 1940-1949 
by David Wills
November 2013
It Books (Now Del Street Books)
Hardcover - 9780062265548
352 pages

Barnes and Noble
IndieBound
Powell's
 
While perusing the gift shop at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston recently I came across a copy of Hollywood in Kodachrome: 1940-1949. The beautiful image of Lauren Bacall on the front cover caught my eye and when I opened the book I was stunned. This coffee table book was filled with the most vibrant and stunning images of classic film stars. I knew this book had to be mine.

Hollywood in Kodachrome is a simple book celebrating a technology of a bygone era that produced amazing visuals in photography and cinema. In a time when visual artists were still trying to find the best method for producing color images, Kodachrome produced clear and crisp images that were vibrant and could convey the glamour photographers wanted to capture. Rich in reds and yellows the photos in this collection are in such good condition, thanks to the longevity of Kodachrome, that you’d think they were taken yesterday. This book is a veritable feast for the eyes especially for those of us who love the glamour of the 1940s.

Guy Madison and Alan Ladd

 The book starts with a foreword by actress Rhonda Fleming who shares her memories of Kodachrome and whose photos are featured in the book. There is a short introduction by author David Wills explaning the history of Kodachrome from it’s inception to it’s discontinuation in 2009. Then the book is broken up into six chapters each with a different theme. Each chapter starts with a quote from someone in the business about working with Kodachrome and with the stars. Themes include glamour, charisma and stars and stripes. There is a short chapter dedicated to Lucille Ball whose pale complexion and bright red hair was perfect for Kodachrome. Her nickname in the 1940s was “Technicolor Tessie”. I especially loved the chapters on posed candids (reality stylized) and selling the dream (stars in advertisement).

Ann Miller

Fans of 1940s fashion can look to this book as a vibrant collection of outfit ideas. I marveled at the care and attention placed on just the right dress or suit, lighting, hair, makeup and the perfect placement of accessories. Some of the outfits are accessible and could be recreated with modern day materials. Others are simply aspirational; the fodder for dreams of a more glamorous life.

Stars included in the collection of photographs include:

Dana Andrews
Lauren Bacall
Lucille Ball
Joan Crawford
Bette Davis
Kirk Douglas
Rhonda Fleming
Errol Flynn
Rita Hayworth
William Holden
Alan Ladd
Veronica Lake
Ann Miller
Robert Mitchum
Maureen O’Hara
Tyrone Power
Frank Sinatra
Gene Tierney
Spencer Tracy
and more

This book does have some flaws. The text size for the introduction is excessively large. It made me feel like I was reading a large print edition of a book. I also wish there was more information about Kodachrome. I would not recommend this as a reference text. It’s purely eye candy with a little information thrown in. The book doesn’t open very well and double-paged spreads require breaking the spine a bit in order to take in the full image in all it’s glory. I also didn't think the birth and death dates were necessary for the image captions. It dates the book. These are minor flaws though and the book’s strengths overcome its weaknesses.

Hollywood in Kodachrome is worth your investment. If you are a visual person and love classic film, especially the 1940s, this book is a must for your home library.

Vanessa of Stardust reviewed this book in June. Check out her post!

This is my fourth and final review for my summer reading challenge! I purchased this book at my local bookstore.

Stepin Fetchit: The Life and Times of Lincoln Perry by Mel Watkins

Stepin Fetchit: The Life and Times of Lincoln Perry
by Mel Watkins
Vintage/Pantheon
Originally published 2005
Paperback - 978140096763
368 pages

Powell's
IndieBound
Barnes and Noble

How should we approach talking about Stepin Fetchit? Carefully. Very carefully.

Actor Lincoln Perry, also known by his show business name Stepin Fetchit, has one of the most complicated legacies in the history of movies. Perry’s early history is a common one. He escapes a poor upbringing to find wealth and success in Hollywood. However Perry’s circumstances were much more complicated. He was African American and his film roles were of stereotypical black caricatures. These performances were problematic yet accepted in the ‘20s, ‘30s and ‘40s. Today they are completely unacceptable and difficult to watch. In early Hollywood, black actors and actresses were often relegated to roles of maids and servants. The comedic roles actors like Perry performed involved black characters who were sleepy, dumb, shiftless and easily spooked. While actresses like Hatti McDaniel and Louise Beavers were able to fight for better representation in film they still had to work within the confines of the system. The author makes the case that they played maids but they played sassier maids. Perry’s sleepy eyed Stepin Fetchit couldn’t transcend its caricature.

Actor Lincoln Perry, aka Stepin Fetchit

Perry excelled in comedy and his talents skyrocketed him to fame and fortune. He made a big splash on stage and screen, was highly sought after by the industry, was written about frequently in newspapers and industry magazines and even had his own column in the Chicago Defender simply called Lincoln Perry’s Letter. He would have been a much more prolific actor in film however he became notoriously difficult to work with and scandals plagued him. By the 1950s he was much less in demand and by the Civil Rights movement and into the late 1970s he was looked upon as a pariah. Perry fought back claiming that his career opened doors for actors like Sidney Poitier. However by the time he died in 1985 he was no longer a major figure in the African American show business community and today he is largely forgotten.

Lincoln Perry with his friend Muhammad Ali

I’m not qualified to discuss the portrayal of African Americans in early film. However, author and critic Mel Watkins is and he does a fine job in this book. The reader learns a lot about Perry’s career in film and stage, his family and his romantic relationships. The subtitle suits the book perfectly: “The Life and Times of Lincoln Perry”. Not only do we learn about Perry’s life but he also learn a lot about the time in which his career both flourished and failed. Watkins discusses many other African American entertainers at length most notably Clarence Muse, Hattie McDaniel, Louise Beavers, Willie Best, Flip Wilson and Bill Robinson.

This book isn’t perfect. Sometimes the writing gets pretty dull. Although I was very interested in the book, I slogged through it and it took me much longer to read than it should have. Personally I’ve been going through a difficult time so my attention span wasn’t at full capacity and you need it for this book. There are lots of details and Perry was up to a lot of shenanigans, all of which are meticulously recounted in the book. If an author was going to write a book about the problems of early African American film roles, Lincoln Perry’s Stepin Fetchit would be the perfect figure to anchor the story.

I recommend this book to classic film buffs who are looking to expand their knowledge about lesser known stars and also want to learn more about race in early film history.

This is my third review for my summer reading challenge. I purchased this book directly through Random House.

God Speed: My Father, Rafael Matos

Rafael Matos

(1928-2015)

My father passed away on Saturday after a long illness. I was with him for several days up until the day he died and was able to tell him many times how much I loved him. I'll be forever grateful for those opportunities.

I inherited many of my dad's traits: his curiosity, his love of travel and geography, his unbreakable desire for independence and stability. Indirectly through him I acquired a love of history, a fascination for the 20th century in particular, a penchant for quality and an eye for beauty. My dad could be difficult but he was much calmer in his later years. And even though he didn't say it much I knew from his actions that he loved me. He even had a special smile just for me and I got to see the last one just a few days before he died.

My love of classic film is partly due to my dad. Every time I watch an old movie I think of my dad. How old was he when the film was made? What was he like as a kid/teenager/adult? Did he watch this movie in the theater when it was released? What did he think of it?

I miss my pai ("dad" in Portuguese). I'll miss him forever but I know he's not suffering anymore.

Some years ago I wrote two pieces on this blog about my father. I encourage you to read them.

An Ode to My Father

Actors Who Remind Me of My Father

God speed Pai!