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163 reviews for:
Scandals of Classic Hollywood: Sex, Deviance, and Drama from the Golden Age of American Cinema
Anne Helen Petersen
3.53 AVERAGE
163 reviews for:
Scandals of Classic Hollywood: Sex, Deviance, and Drama from the Golden Age of American Cinema
Anne Helen Petersen
3.53 AVERAGE
I really enjoy AHP's writing and her column from the hairpin. however this book is a bit different than what I was expecting after reading all her columns. though that's not a bad thing.
this book is definitely more contained. the style is quite a bit different than the column -- less swear words, asides and personal opinions.
and I would argue that the focus is less on the scandal and more on how the gossip industry created; ignored the scandal or how the industry of the time affected the star.
though it may be less sensational, it is very interesting.
this is a great look into classic Hollywood and I like how the essays were streamlined and based off each other.
I think some of her best work has already been done -- Rita Hayworth comes to mind -- but it was nice to read all new material and see the interconnection between stars.
recommend to AHP fans or readers who have an interest in classic Hollywood.
this book is definitely more contained. the style is quite a bit different than the column -- less swear words, asides and personal opinions.
and I would argue that the focus is less on the scandal and more on how the gossip industry created; ignored the scandal or how the industry of the time affected the star.
though it may be less sensational, it is very interesting.
this is a great look into classic Hollywood and I like how the essays were streamlined and based off each other.
I think some of her best work has already been done -- Rita Hayworth comes to mind -- but it was nice to read all new material and see the interconnection between stars.
recommend to AHP fans or readers who have an interest in classic Hollywood.
I loved the author's online column, and was expecting more of the same. Unfortunately, this book reads as very dry, without the fun tone of the online pieces - it's almost academic. There is some interesting info on how the studios managed gossip, but overall it was hard to get through.
The scandals that appear in this book:
- Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks have an affair
- Roscoe "fatty" Arbuckle is accused of a rape that killed a woman
- Wallace Reid did drugs
- Rudolph Valentino had an unusual personal life
- Clara Bow was too flapper like in her real life
- Jean Harlow was the original blonde bombshell with a husband who died under mysterious circumstances
- Mae West wasn't quite as scandalous as her characters
- Clark Gable and Carole Lombard's affair
- Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall's romance
- Judy Garland the girl who no one thought looked like a star but who did sing like one
- Dorothy Dandridge a black actress / singer struggling to break through stereotypes
- Montgomery Clift with his apparently non-existent love life and life altering accident
- Marlon Brando with his ego, bad relationships, and dislike of the Hollywood machine
- James Dean died before he'd even truly become a star
The book does a good job of explaining the moral issues that existed in Hollywood, especially during the reign of Will Hays as the head of the MPPDA (now MPAA). It also does a good job of explaining the relationships between the studios, actors, and the gossip columnists -- there were definitely working toward the TMZ era but there was also some sense of privacy and protectionism. What it does less well is go into details about each actor / scandal it is revisiting.
I’m a Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle fan and a James Dean mega fan (as in I have been to his hometown during the annual festival celebrating him) so maybe I went into this at a disadvantage as I already knew their stories way better than they could be told in a chapter. To a lesser extent had stumbled across most of the other stories in enough detail to find little new here. I suppose I’d hoped if you were still including them in a book (on scandals, no less) there would be little known information or a new take on them and there simply wasn’t. Not that I hated this book, I didn’t. I actually like the writer’s style and have stumbled into her “Scandals of Classic Hollywood” series online more than once. The book would be excellent for those who, somehow, have not heard most of these stories or who have no clue what “Old Hollywood” was like.
I do worry that the book has given itself a shelf life for feeling current when it compares some of these actors and phenomena to Robert Pattinson and Twilight as our modern versions of these stories.
For people who know and love Old Hollywood already, this book offer nothing new and could be a let down. For those who are just starting to get into the subject this is probably a good starting point.
* Disclaimer: I received this book at no cost in order to review it. I offered no guarantee of a positive review, though I only request books I think I'll like because why read a book you think you’ll hate?
- Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks have an affair
- Roscoe "fatty" Arbuckle is accused of a rape that killed a woman
- Wallace Reid did drugs
- Rudolph Valentino had an unusual personal life
- Clara Bow was too flapper like in her real life
- Jean Harlow was the original blonde bombshell with a husband who died under mysterious circumstances
- Mae West wasn't quite as scandalous as her characters
- Clark Gable and Carole Lombard's affair
- Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall's romance
- Judy Garland the girl who no one thought looked like a star but who did sing like one
- Dorothy Dandridge a black actress / singer struggling to break through stereotypes
- Montgomery Clift with his apparently non-existent love life and life altering accident
- Marlon Brando with his ego, bad relationships, and dislike of the Hollywood machine
- James Dean died before he'd even truly become a star
The book does a good job of explaining the moral issues that existed in Hollywood, especially during the reign of Will Hays as the head of the MPPDA (now MPAA). It also does a good job of explaining the relationships between the studios, actors, and the gossip columnists -- there were definitely working toward the TMZ era but there was also some sense of privacy and protectionism. What it does less well is go into details about each actor / scandal it is revisiting.
I’m a Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle fan and a James Dean mega fan (as in I have been to his hometown during the annual festival celebrating him) so maybe I went into this at a disadvantage as I already knew their stories way better than they could be told in a chapter. To a lesser extent had stumbled across most of the other stories in enough detail to find little new here. I suppose I’d hoped if you were still including them in a book (on scandals, no less) there would be little known information or a new take on them and there simply wasn’t. Not that I hated this book, I didn’t. I actually like the writer’s style and have stumbled into her “Scandals of Classic Hollywood” series online more than once. The book would be excellent for those who, somehow, have not heard most of these stories or who have no clue what “Old Hollywood” was like.
I do worry that the book has given itself a shelf life for feeling current when it compares some of these actors and phenomena to Robert Pattinson and Twilight as our modern versions of these stories.
For people who know and love Old Hollywood already, this book offer nothing new and could be a let down. For those who are just starting to get into the subject this is probably a good starting point.
* Disclaimer: I received this book at no cost in order to review it. I offered no guarantee of a positive review, though I only request books I think I'll like because why read a book you think you’ll hate?
fun, sexy, sometimes tragic, easily digestible little treat
In this age of new-age studies, you would think that one had heard it all, wouldn't you? But for me, anyway, that was not the case when I read the brief author biography at the beginning of this book. The author--Anne Helen Peterson--actually "received her PhD from the University of Texas, where she studied the history of the gossip industry."
Really? When I read that, I almost didn't read this book, but since I am trying to reach my Goodreads goal of reading 52 books before the end of the year, I thought, "Oh, well, I might as well read this short 240-page book (not counting acknowledgements and the notes), so I keep on track to reach my goal."
I will say that it was not entirely a waste of time, but close to it. I've always loved movies, and as an older child, one of my favorite pastimes was watching the classic black and whites. I may have even spent some of my father and mother's hard-earned money on movie magazines. So, I knew much of what the author wrote about, but gained some new insight into the early lives of the stars she writes about. I did wonder why she chose to write about a couple of the stars and left out others, but I'm sure the length of the book was a consideration and perhaps she chose the stars she did because of personal likes. Or perhaps she chose the stars she did because all of them had tragic short-lived careers and/or lives. Stars with longer careers, like Elizabeth Taylor and Gary Grant, for example, although mentioned in this book, are not an integral part of it.
Would I recommend this book? If you are unusually curious about long-dead stars, then, yes, I would recommend it. Otherwise....
Really? When I read that, I almost didn't read this book, but since I am trying to reach my Goodreads goal of reading 52 books before the end of the year, I thought, "Oh, well, I might as well read this short 240-page book (not counting acknowledgements and the notes), so I keep on track to reach my goal."
I will say that it was not entirely a waste of time, but close to it. I've always loved movies, and as an older child, one of my favorite pastimes was watching the classic black and whites. I may have even spent some of my father and mother's hard-earned money on movie magazines. So, I knew much of what the author wrote about, but gained some new insight into the early lives of the stars she writes about. I did wonder why she chose to write about a couple of the stars and left out others, but I'm sure the length of the book was a consideration and perhaps she chose the stars she did because of personal likes. Or perhaps she chose the stars she did because all of them had tragic short-lived careers and/or lives. Stars with longer careers, like Elizabeth Taylor and Gary Grant, for example, although mentioned in this book, are not an integral part of it.
Would I recommend this book? If you are unusually curious about long-dead stars, then, yes, I would recommend it. Otherwise....
informative
sad
fast-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
i knew these stories from Wikipedia articles. nothing new but still entertaining.
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
dark
informative
medium-paced