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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
I'm a big fan of Karina Longworth's podcast, You Must Remember This, which explores stories about movies and their stars from Hollywood's first century. I remember that the series Longworth produced on Howard Hughes and his paramours was a highlight, so I'm not surprised she expanded the premise into a full-length volume. While the beginning of the book, particularly the Billie Dove material, seemed to offer little new information, I found that as the book progressed, Longworth did a great job of expanding on the podcast.
However, I also found that in the final third of the book, the writing wasn't quite as tight and the structure fell apart a little. This book also suffered a little for including perhaps TOO much information. For example, the Ingrid Bergman material, while interesting, didn't seem a relevant given that she never had a relationship with Hughes. These are just small things, but it did make the book a bit less sharp in my estimation. I also wasn't crazy about the ending, which focuses on Terry Moore and was lacking in really bringing the book to a close. I wasn't sold on the assertion that Moore was essentially Hughes's pupil in the public spin--she just seemed pretty tacky, to be honest.
That being said, if you're a fan of old Hollywood and/or the podcast, this is a great read, and it's nice to see that Longworth has produced on writing on Old Hollywood that doesn't sensationalize or lionize its subjects.
However, I also found that in the final third of the book, the writing wasn't quite as tight and the structure fell apart a little. This book also suffered a little for including perhaps TOO much information. For example, the Ingrid Bergman material, while interesting, didn't seem a relevant given that she never had a relationship with Hughes. These are just small things, but it did make the book a bit less sharp in my estimation. I also wasn't crazy about the ending, which focuses on Terry Moore and was lacking in really bringing the book to a close. I wasn't sold on the assertion that Moore was essentially Hughes's pupil in the public spin--she just seemed pretty tacky, to be honest.
That being said, if you're a fan of old Hollywood and/or the podcast, this is a great read, and it's nice to see that Longworth has produced on writing on Old Hollywood that doesn't sensationalize or lionize its subjects.
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
informative
medium-paced
Really rewarding to read in hard copy, though I didn't realize I was buying the large print version until I saw this brick in person. Can jump around a bit in time in a way that can be confusing, but structured by the women in Hughes's life rather than the events in his, so it makes sense moment to moment.
medium-paced
This one took me a while to read it but it was worth it. If you've ever listened to You Must Remember This, you know Karina Longworth does her research. The amount of time and research put into this book is incredible. I felt completely engrossed in the world of Howard Hughes and his many starlets.
An interesting look into the world as it revolves around Howard Hughes. Not necessarily about Howard but about those who he surrounded himself with.
A fascinating and morish profile of one of the wildest men in Hollywood and the women who loved and endured him. I've loved Karina Longworth's narrative voice since I started listening to You Must Remember This in 2016 and it comes through beautifully in this book. It covered so much ground but without getting bogged down and had just the right amount of detail in body vs footnotes.
adventurous
dark
informative
slow-paced
If you're a fan of Longworth's podcast You Must Remember This (and I hope it does come back someday!), you're sure to like this! It's like one extended episode of YMRT in book form, with the special focus being on Howard Hughes' life, his time in Hollywood, and his relationships with women both famous and non-famous. What I most appreciated about this book, though, is that it doesn't glamorize any of that. In fact, even though I knew from listening to an older episode that Longworth had this book planned out since 2014, I was struck with how uncannily relevant it is to the Me Too era. Hughes was more like certain powerful infamous men today, both in Hollywood and in politics, than anyone back then would probably have suspected. The entitlement, the bizarre behavior, the gross power dynamic relationships with most of the women in his life--it's all there.
It's also an interesting encapsulation of Old Hollywood and how, really, things have not changed that much since then. An entertaining but culturally informative read, for sure.
It's also an interesting encapsulation of Old Hollywood and how, really, things have not changed that much since then. An entertaining but culturally informative read, for sure.
Very well researched and readable, but once you realize what a manipulative man Hughes was, it slows down.