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Title: George Cukor: A Double Life : A Biography of the Gentleman Director by Patrick McGilligan ISBN: 0-312-05419-X Publisher: St Martins Pr Pub. Date: 01 December, 1991 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.33 (3 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Follow Cukor's Example and Take Your Time
Comment: This platter is full of many good pieces: enlightenment, gossip, display, speculation and journalistic integrity. Before recommending it for immediate consumption, however, one should ponder the notion that while some bites are indeed chunky and tasty, some have been diced into inedibly large pieces; and while at times the meal is juicy and succulent, at others it is bland and overcooked. More than anything, it is FAR too much to digest in one sitting. It might be better to eat as leftovers than as a buffet.
I could not think of a more comprehensive text about Cukor's interesting existence; however some people and relationships (especially with Katherine Hepburn) seem cnspicuously more fleshed-out than others that are teased upon (to this reviewer, it is most obvious with Cukor's father, Spencer Tracy and George Towers, all very influnetial people in Cukor's life with mere paragraphs describing them). The text also suffers at times from trying TOO hard to be fair to Cukor. Certainly, to the author's credit, nasty and contradictory elements are introduced, but it seems that just as much effort is placed on balancing this with excuses or possible alternatives. Cuko was not universally popular, and very few attended his funeral (not even Hepburn was there); so the fairness seems a bit of a disguise.
I would recommend a grain of salt to make this tastier; and I would also recommend less than a chapter a day. The book is long on filmography, can be slow reading, and takes time to digest. Overall, it is pleasing, as are Cukor's films, for the most part; but they all took lots of time, according to most accounts. Do the same.
Rating: 2
Summary: Uninformed bio
Comment: This book is subject to what so many Hollywood biographies suffer from: total ignorance on the part of the author as to how films are actually made. Authors of these kinds of books are tempermentally predisposed to disinterest in anything except gossip. What emerged from this book was a portrait of a shallow man whose career rested upon his ability to socialize. Why are so many books on film history so damned bad?
Rating: 4
Summary: Spotlight on another slice of Hollywood History
Comment: Very solid biography of the director, George Cukor, covering his long life and career. McGilligan does well covering the dual nature of Cukor's personality, how his homosexuality both colored and hindered his film projects. Very well researched, the book vividly portrays the Hollywood gay society of the 30's - 50's and does well analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of both Cukor and his films. McGilligan is not balanced in his judgments on the films, however. He denigrates many of Cukor's more popular works ("The Women") and lavishes praise on the director's own favorites (the overrated "Adam's Rib"). His assessment of the much-debated firing of Cukor from "Gone With The Wind" also seems simplistic. Overall, a worthwhile read and a fine overview of a major Hollywood career and an important figure in film history.
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Title: Behind the Screen: How Gays and Lesbians Shaped Hollywood, 1910-1969 by William J. Mann ISBN: 0142001147 Publisher: Penguin Books Pub. Date: 01 November, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: On Cukor by Gavin Lambert, Robert Trachtenberg ISBN: 0847822974 Publisher: Rizzoli Publications Pub. Date: 01 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $50.00 |
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Title: Hollywood Be Thy Name: The Warner Brothers Story by Cass Warner Sperling, Cork Millner, Jack Warner ISBN: 0813109582 Publisher: University Press of Kentucky Pub. Date: 01 September, 1998 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Goldwyn: A Biography by A. Scott Berg ISBN: 1573227234 Publisher: Riverhead Books Pub. Date: 01 October, 1998 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: Natalie Wood: A Life by Gavin Lambert ISBN: 0375410740 Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Pub. Date: 06 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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