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A review by haldoor
Bring on the Empty Horses by David Niven
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.