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Title: Peekaboo : The Story of Veronica Lake by Jeff Lenburg ISBN: 0-595-19239-4 Publisher: Backinprint.Com Pub. Date: 08 August, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.8 (5 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Worth it, but flawed
Comment: Veronica Lake must have started out as a child who was distrustful, insecure, and not comfortable with others. At the urgings of her mother, she went to Hollywood. She became the IT girl of the film noir period based upon her photogenic fragile beauty, an accident with her hair that gave her a special look, and her acting ability. She then became an alcoholic. She had several bad marriages, a nervous breakdown, and she proved herself to be a very poor parent. At the height of her popularity, the Hollywood system was paying her $150 per week. Then she made $5000 per week for several more years until her popularity faded, and she was dropped by the studio. One of her husbands spent most of the money, and she died penniless of hepatitis at a relatively early age.
Her mother reported that Veronica had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia as a child. Unfortunately, the author continuously blames every problem or failure on this supposed illness. For example, an actor has to lift Veronica up in front of the camera. Perhaps as a prank, she has forty pounds of ballast sewn into her dress to make herself heavier. The author interprets this as a vengeful trick that a paranoid, schizophrenic Veronica used in order to get even with the other actor. In the book, there is hardly an action that is not seen as a result of the supposed illness. Published after Veronica's death, the book relies heavily on interviews with the mother. The mother was very controlling, and had previously sued Veronica for support payments.
In spite of the above comments, you can get an excellent sense of Veronica Lake as a person. This is the main purpose of a biography, and it accomplishes that well. The only other book published exclusively on Veronica Lake is the autobiography "Veronica" which is no longer in print. As such, this is a valuable and useful book for anyone interested in Veronica Lake. She is best known for "Sullivan's Travels", several Alan Ladd pictures including "This Gun For Hire", and for "I Married A Witch". The title of the book refers to her hairstyle in which her hair hung down over one eye.
Rating: 4
Summary: Worth it
Comment: I read the book in two days. It was entertaining, definatley worth it. I only gave 4 stars because I would have liked to know more about the last few days of her life and her death (the book talks at length about her last years, but not her last days).
She died alone and broke, which is surprising. Didn't they have residuals back then? How could Hollywood allow this to happen to one of it's own? But then on the other hand, she's the one who squandered away her millions of dollars.
I would have also liked to hear what her children had to say. Her mother (is she still alive? She must be a thousand!!) was interviewed though.
Rating: 4
Summary: Veronica Lake - The Girl with the Peek-a-boo Bang
Comment: Jeff Lenburg's Peekaboo is a one of the few books written exclusively on the subject of the actress Veronica Lake, the other notable book being the, long out of print, autobiography Veronica. The style of the writing is unfortunately over-sensationalised at every turn. There is a definite leaning towards the downbeat and difficulties encountered by the young Constance Keane who would become one of the IT girls of her generation. This does tarnish the books feel somewhat but if you are a fan of Veronica Lake or of the 40's Hollywood scene, as depicted in LA Confidential this is a book for you.
I'm a long standing fan of Constance Keane's movies and material on "Veronica Lake" is exceedingly hard to find. So on the upside this book is exclusively about her, it does cover some interesting interviews and personal notes from the people who knew her and has some very nice photographs (all be it poorly reprinted in this edition.)
Known for her trade mark hairstyle, The Peek-a-boo Bang, Veronica Lake captured the imagination of the 30's and 40s cinema going public. Her work in the ground-breaking early film noir movies, "This Gun for Hire" & "The Blue Dahlia", still stand-up well today. Along with her comedy roles in films like "Sullivan's Travels" and "I Married a Witch".
This book is a must for Noir movie fans and people who like a biography with tragedy at its heart, a worth while addition to your reading list.
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Title: Hollywood Beauty: Linda Darnell and the American Dream by Ronald L. Davis ISBN: 0806133309 Publisher: Univ of Oklahoma Pr (Trd) Pub. Date: January, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Alice Faye: A Life Beyond the Silver Screen by Jane Lenz Elder ISBN: 1578062101 Publisher: Univ Pr of Mississippi (Trd) Pub. Date: October, 2002 List Price(USD): $28.00 |
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Title: Jean Arthur: The Actress Nobody Knew by John Oller ISBN: 0879102780 Publisher: Limelight Editions Pub. Date: April, 1999 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Ida Lupino: A Biography by William Donati ISBN: 0813109825 Publisher: University Press of Kentucky Pub. Date: April, 2000 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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Title:I Married a Witch ASIN: 6301706498 Publisher: Warner Studios Pub. Date: 31 January, 1995 List Price(USD): $14.99 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $14.99 |
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