Scan barcode
ketutar's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoy reading biographies, because it makes humans of celebrities. I often forget that there is a life, a normal life, behind that facade of stardom.
David Niven writes nicely, with compassion and understanding, but... he doesn't seem to much care about women, women's POV, women's experiences, women's opinions. And that bothers me.
David Niven writes nicely, with compassion and understanding, but... he doesn't seem to much care about women, women's POV, women's experiences, women's opinions. And that bothers me.
kendrajbean's review against another edition
4.0
David Niven is one of my favorite Old Hollywood memoirists. Bring on the Empty Horses is less about him and more about his acting peers. These stories run from tragic ("Our Missie" - about Vivien Leigh) to fanciful (adventures with Errol Flynn). Niven often writes with warmth and great humor. He could spin a yarn better than anyone. I loved this book but am only giving it 4 stars because I like his autobiography The Moon's A Balloon sightly better and would give that one the extra star.
Recommended for any classic film fan.
Recommended for any classic film fan.
judyward's review against another edition
4.0
This is David Niven's follow-up to The Moon's a Balloon and is a series of wonderful stories (with a few heartbreaking ones)about the culture of Hollywood between 1935 and 1960. Niven is an excellent storyteller and he seems to have known most of the major personalities in Hollywood during that period. Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, Carole Lombard, Humphrey, Bogart, Lauren Bacall--it's a name-dropping gala full of juicy gossip. A really fun read.
bookwormerica's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed the book. It got dull for a small area in the beginning but I trucked on passed it and on to better stories
sohnesorge's review
3.0
An entertaining and intelligent (if occasionally dated) depiction of glamorous old Hollywood, told by a participant. Niven's tales are full of compassion, humour, and self-effacing modesty, sprinkled here and there with sly winks and grins. Good holiday reading.
ketutar's review
4.0
I enjoy reading biographies, because it makes humans of celebrities. I often forget that there is a life, a normal life, behind that facade of stardom.
David Niven writes nicely, with compassion and understanding, but... he doesn't seem to much care about women, women's POV, women's experiences, women's opinions. And that bothers me.
David Niven writes nicely, with compassion and understanding, but... he doesn't seem to much care about women, women's POV, women's experiences, women's opinions. And that bothers me.
angelicamaaeve's review
5.0
I love and adore David Niven! I first saw him on "A Kiss for Corliss" a 1949 comedy film with Shirley Temple, wherein he portrayed this thrice-divorced, attractive, and sophisticated man who got entangled with Shirley's juvenile schemes. It was warm, harmless, and hilarious. Although David was hardly in the picture, his timing was remarkable.
Being a fan of Old Hollywood, I find this book informative and entertaining. Yet, David solidifies a balance between dropping a bomb and staying respectful and being fair to all his colleagues, to name a few: the infamous Errol Flynn, the icy Greta Garbo, and George Sanders (my heart broke for him, 'cause I didn't know), it is also worth mentioning on how he debunked silly theories that circumvents some of his 'people', such as with, Humphrey Bogart, who was really a soft and caring person, which only verifies David's light, warm and honorable aura as an individual. He must have been a wonderful person to have tea on Sundays with, under the California sun. Perhaps, up the 'Enchanted Hill'.
The book gave me insights into how the industry itself can be poorly deluded and dysfunctional. Hence the, “It was hardly a nursery for intellectuals, it was a hotbed of false values, it harbored an unattractive percentage of small-time crooks and con artists, and the chances of being successful there were minimal, but it was fascinating, and if you were lucky, it was fun.” he then wrote. - Yet again, David triumphantly polished the slate. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Being a fan of Old Hollywood, I find this book informative and entertaining. Yet, David solidifies a balance between dropping a bomb and staying respectful and being fair to all his colleagues, to name a few: the infamous Errol Flynn, the icy Greta Garbo, and George Sanders (my heart broke for him, 'cause I didn't know), it is also worth mentioning on how he debunked silly theories that circumvents some of his 'people', such as with, Humphrey Bogart, who was really a soft and caring person, which only verifies David's light, warm and honorable aura as an individual. He must have been a wonderful person to have tea on Sundays with, under the California sun. Perhaps, up the 'Enchanted Hill'.
The book gave me insights into how the industry itself can be poorly deluded and dysfunctional. Hence the, “It was hardly a nursery for intellectuals, it was a hotbed of false values, it harbored an unattractive percentage of small-time crooks and con artists, and the chances of being successful there were minimal, but it was fascinating, and if you were lucky, it was fun.” he then wrote. - Yet again, David triumphantly polished the slate. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
haldoor's review
4.0
Always an entertaining read, this book is a product of a time gone by - an era when Hollywood was a 'machine' that ate up young stars and spat them out when it was done - from the perspective of someone who entered a Hollywood studio's ownership at the bottom and somehow found himself near to the top and able to touch Hollywood royalty at various times.
David Niven gives insight on how horrific life could be for those who fared well and some who didn't at a time when working hours for the 'stars' meant that they went from early calls at 4 or 5am to all-day filming at full bore, and then the night-life that was expected of them to maintain their 'stardom' and studio box-office appeal. It's no wonder so many of them were bonkers!
Niven himself had to deal with some quite harsh situations - although apparently he speaks more on this in his other book, The Moon's A Balloon - such as his first wife dying in an accident at a party, but the main gist of this book is his inside knowledge of those he brushed shoulders with.
While so much of the book seems quite incredible, it's still believable enough to be true (although I have read that he 'borrowed' some of the tales and they actually happened to others rather than himself - I'm not sure how true this is), and there are a good sprinkling of hilarious stories as well as the eye-openers to the downright sad.
Written in 1973 about the 1930s-1950s sort of era, there is a lot that would shock our modern take on sexism, etc, but it's interesting not to have modern spin put on the tale; rather to see it as it most likely was, especially to those living it.
Definitely worth a read.
David Niven gives insight on how horrific life could be for those who fared well and some who didn't at a time when working hours for the 'stars' meant that they went from early calls at 4 or 5am to all-day filming at full bore, and then the night-life that was expected of them to maintain their 'stardom' and studio box-office appeal. It's no wonder so many of them were bonkers!
Niven himself had to deal with some quite harsh situations - although apparently he speaks more on this in his other book, The Moon's A Balloon - such as his first wife dying in an accident at a party, but the main gist of this book is his inside knowledge of those he brushed shoulders with.
While so much of the book seems quite incredible, it's still believable enough to be true (although I have read that he 'borrowed' some of the tales and they actually happened to others rather than himself - I'm not sure how true this is), and there are a good sprinkling of hilarious stories as well as the eye-openers to the downright sad.
Written in 1973 about the 1930s-1950s sort of era, there is a lot that would shock our modern take on sexism, etc, but it's interesting not to have modern spin put on the tale; rather to see it as it most likely was, especially to those living it.
Definitely worth a read.