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Post by cineclassics on Jan 1, 2023 20:53:31 GMT
I'm in the process of reading "Laura" based on Fading Fast's recommendation. Really enjoying it so far, dual narrators and exquisite prose by author Vera Caspary. The book's Waldo Lydecker embodies the high-brow sarcasm even moreso than Clifton Webb's interpretation, and it's delightful to read.
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Post by sepiatone on Jan 2, 2023 17:30:44 GMT
I finally went through this thread. Wondering if it was about books adapted to movies, or movies based lightly on some books without using the same title. I got confused by the inordinate amount of posts and words concerning Veronica Lake's autobiography that left me wondering which "classic" movie it was relating to. And also wondering if THE OX BOW INCIDENT, GRAPES OF WRATH, THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE and MILDRED PIERCE weren't mentioned. But then, as the time spent gushing over LAURA(both a adaptation and I agree, a wonderful novel) vexes me more as to what the intent of this thread was.
Originally I at first thought this thread was about books ABOUT certain "classic" movies or "classic" movies in general. But looking at the clock I have to go now.
Sepiatone
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Post by Fading Fast on Jan 2, 2023 18:16:59 GMT
I finally went through this thread. Wondering if it was about books adapted to movies, or movies based lightly on some books without using the same title. I got confused by the inordinate amount of posts and words concerning Veronica Lake's autobiography that left me wondering which "classic" movie it was relating to. And also wondering if THE OX BOW INCIDENT, GRAPES OF WRATH, THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE and MILDRED PIERCE weren't mentioned. But then, as the time spent gushing over LAURA(both a adaptation and I agree, a wonderful novel) vexes me more as to what the intent of this thread was. Originally I at first thought this thread was about books ABOUT certain "classic" movies or "classic" movies in general. But looking at the clock I have to go now. Sepiatone
This was my original post attempting (clearly, not successfully) to explain the thread's intent:
"The hope of this thread is that members will share any thoughts, impressions, reviews, comments, etc., they have on books about the making of movies, about actors, about studios and, definitely, about books that are the actual original source material for movies. So please put up a full review, or just one comment, or a note about a new book that's coming out or a note about a very old one that you don't want to be forgotten.The idea is to have fun chatting about books we love and maybe inspire someone to read a book you love."
My intent was to not be prescriptive, but instead to have a thread devoted to any book that had some connection to old movies or old Hollywood.
So, yes, a book made into a movie would fit, but also a book about a movie, or about a star, or a director, or a studio, or Hollywood history or movie making in general would be fine too.
We could ask Topbill to change the thread's title to "Books Related to Classic Hollywood" if you think that better captures the "big tent" I was going for, or please, suggest a title.
We could also, as your post somewhat hints at, be more restrictive, but then we'd need to have more threads - one for books adapted to movies, one for movie star autobiographies, one on directors, etc. - but I wonder if there'd be enough content to justify several threads.
I'm good with whatever the consensus and Topbill want, as I just wanted a thread where we could talk about books somehow related to movies/Hollywood/stars/etc.
As to the "inordinate amount of posts and words" on Ms. Lake or the "gushing" about "Laura," both of which I'm guilty of, that to me is how threads work on a forum like this as the threads will veer this way and that and sometime linger on a subject and/or go off subject for awhile. That all seems good to me, but if others want harder rules about staying strictly within the bounds of a thread's title and Topbill agrees, I'm glad to comply.
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Post by sepiatone on Jan 2, 2023 18:29:56 GMT
Just know that I never intended to denigrate Ms. Lake(which really is impossible for me to do) and notice I did say I thought the book LAURA was wonderful. But moving on from here.......
I too, like others here, did lose some things valued(at varying levels) by me during moves. Like a book I had about the making of CITIZEN KANE that covered several aspects of the movie as well. And damn me, I can't even remember the author's name. I'll look into trying to find any of that out.
Sepiatone
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Post by Lucky Dan on Jan 2, 2023 18:42:14 GMT
I got confused ... Sepiatone
We could ask Topbill to change the thread's title to "Books Related to Classic Hollywood" if you think that better captures the "big tent" I was going for, or please, suggest a title.
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Post by topbilled on Jan 2, 2023 19:15:44 GMT
Fading Fast, if you need help changing the thread title, let me know...but as Dan indicates, it may not be necessary.
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Post by Fading Fast on Jan 2, 2023 19:57:21 GMT
Fading Fast, if you need help changing the thread title, let me know...but as Dan indicates, it may not be necessary.
I was thinking, I could change it to, "Books Related to Classic Movies and/or Hollywood," as that makes it a bit more encompassing, but as Dan noted, source material books are already covered, so does adding "and/or Hollywood" really do much?"
Thoughts?
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Post by Lucky Dan on Jan 2, 2023 20:18:42 GMT
Fading Fast, if you need help changing the thread title, let me know...but as Dan indicates, it may not be necessary.
I was thinking, I could change it to, "Books Related to Classic Movies and/or Hollywood," as that makes it a bit more encompassing, but as Dan noted, source material books are already covered, so does adding "and/or Hollywood" really do much?"
Thoughts?
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Post by Fading Fast on Jan 2, 2023 22:21:28 GMT
⇧ Cute
For now, we'll leave it as is. If anyone has a passion for an edited thread title, please let me know.
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Post by cineclassics on Jan 3, 2023 23:51:21 GMT
I'm in the process of reading "Laura" based on Fading Fast's recommendation. Really enjoying it so far, dual narrators and exquisite prose by author Vera Caspary. The book's Waldo Lydecker embodies the high-brow sarcasm even moreso than Clifton Webb's interpretation, and it's delightful to read. Correction to my previous post--a THIRD narrator has entered the story. Laura (the novel) is WILD. It's one of my favorite film noirs, but I'm starting to think I may prefer the book. |
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Post by starliteyes on Jan 10, 2023 4:33:57 GMT
Based on Fading Fast’s review, I ordered a second-hand edition of I Lost My Girlish Laughter from Amazon and finished reading it today. As someone who has been reading non-fiction for years and only just recently returned to reading some fiction, I found it to be an enjoyable read. Because the book is “a thinly veiled send-up of the actors, producers, writers and directors of the Golden Age of the studio system,” it satisfied me both as fiction and a bit of non-fiction.
In the introduction, it is mentioned that either Joan Blondell or Jean Arthur would have been a good choice to play the heroine of the story. I like both of these actresses and I’m sure either one of them could have played the part, but I felt Jean Arthur was more suited to it. I also have to admit that there was one part in the book when I inserted myself into the role. In addition to Jean Arthur, I came up with Ray Milland for the publicist, thought of Jack Carson for a part that comes late in the proceedings and, for a brief moment, envisioned Edward Arnold as the producer, although I’m not sure he would have been the right choice, considering who that character was based on. Not that any of this matters one way or the other.
Anyway, thanks Fading Fast for calling my attention to this book, which I might not otherwise have discovered.
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Post by Fading Fast on Jan 11, 2023 11:42:38 GMT
No Highway by Nevil Shute first published in 1948
There are many older and very good novels that don't rise to the level of "classic," but that are still outstanding reads like No Highway by Nevil Shute. Books like these run the risk of "disappearing" over time, especially as reading declines in popularity.
Shute's novel does have the advantage, though, of having been made into a motion picture in 1951, titled No Highway in the Sky (see comments on the movie here:"No Highway in the Sky"), with stars James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich. That is how this reader found his way to the novel itself and its prolific and successful-in-his-day author.
Shute knows how to tell an engaging story. In No Highway, he combines an airline crash investigation narrative with an off-beat romance to make a heck of a fun page-turner. Today, the book also serves as time travel to the just-post-WWII aviation industry in Britain and, more broadly, England's middle class.
At the center of the story is Theodore Honey, a short, brilliant, unassuming and quirky looking middle-aged war widower and the parent of an also brilliant but quirky twelve-year-old girl. He is an airline industry engineer who believes his controversial hypothesis explains why one of the airplanes from the government's new marquee transcontinental fleet just crashed.
Honey, who had been quietly and happily toiling away in obscurity in the government's aeronautical research division, is thus thrust into the center of a major crash investigation in which his unpopular theory - the new plane has a critical design flaw in its tail - flies in the face of the "official" explanation of the crash - pilot error.
This sets Honey up against several powerful people and organizations inside and outside of the government including the airplane's imperious designer. On Honey's side is his boss who narrates the story and defends Honey's theory, but it is still a David-versus-Goliath tale.
Equally engaging is the personal side of Honey's life. We see that this brilliant and loving father has raised a twelve-year-old daughter who is as poorly adjusted socially as he is, but she is also brilliant and inquisitive like him.
With that setup, Shute then weaves in an incredible amount of plot that takes poor Honey across the Atlantic (to investigate the crash, in person), while bringing him into contact with a pretty stewardess and, oddly but believable, a major female film star.
Along the way, and facing intense opposition, he'll have a fateful decision to make about the plane he's flying in, which could destroy his career and reputation. He'll also have to open his closed personal world up a bit, yes, for his daughter's sake, but also for his.
His daughter, the wonderfully named Elspeth, is his informal research assistant at home. Yet she's so starved for the traditional childhood things that her father simply doesn't know about, that she sleeps with a new sponge they bought as a surrogate for the stuffed animals and dolls she's never had.
She impresses you at the same time that she breaks your heart. If ever a father and daughter were crying out for a wife and mother, it's these two off-beat souls who might change the world, but who will also forget to turn on the lights when it gets dark.
Shute pulls off the nearly impossible trick of making a short, unassuming man with poor interpersonal skills a hero. You want his theory of the crash to be proven correct and you want him to get the pretty and kind stewardess. You also want his daughter to get a caring stepmom to save what is left of her childhood.
In No Highway, Shute creates complex characters who have wonderfully enjoyable and rich human interactions leading to life-altering personal growth stories. All of this takes place inside a darn good crash-investigation drama that has you on the "edge of your seat" until the end.
No Highway is not "literature," but it is very good storytelling that engages you from the first page to the last while, for us today, providing a chance to see post-WWII England from a contemporaneous point of view.
There is no bigger compliment one can pay to an author than wanting to read more of his or her work, which is just how you'll feel when you finish reading No Highway. The hope is, as time goes by, especially if reading's popularity continues to wane, that talented, but now-dead authors like Shute will still find a modern audience. |
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Post by topbilled on Jan 15, 2023 23:49:32 GMT
No Highway by Nevil Shute first published in 1948
There is no bigger compliment one can pay to an author than wanting to read more of his or her work, which is just how you'll feel when you finish reading No Highway. The hope is, as time goes by, especially if reading's popularity continues to wane, that talented, but now-dead authors like Shute will still find a modern audience. |
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Post by Fading Fast on Jan 31, 2023 10:40:42 GMT
The Harder They Fall by Budd Schulberg, published in 1947
Budd Schuberg's 1947 novel, The Harder They Fall, is a scathing expose of the corruption in the world of professional boxing in 1947. Today, its story has lost none of its power, but it has also become a valuable time capsule of a not-pretty part of American sports in the 1940s.
Lead character Eddie Lewis is a former newspaper reporter and playwright wannabe who turned in his press pass to become a high-paid PR agent for gangster Nick Lansky who needs Lewis to promote his "stable" of professional boxers to the media.
When Lansky buys a huge Argentinian heavyweight, Toro, with a scant record in his home country, Lansky has Lewis promote him as the "Giant from the Argentine" who is going to challenge the top heavyweight fighters in America.
For those who think viral and extreme marketing was only invented recently, they'll see that Lansky and his team view Toro as a product to be aggressively sold to the public through several media.
That Toro can't really fight doesn't matter as Lansky's team builds him up with a bunch of fixed fights and smart publicity with the goal being a big payday for a marquee fight in New York City.
The cynicism and corruption of the plan is matched by the cynicism and corruption of Lanky's team of an alcoholic trainer, a utterly venal, and proud of it, fight promoter and an assortment of hangeroners who do the odd scummy jobs that need to be done.
Lewis, the PR guy and a man with some, only some, conscience left, serves as the narrator and unreliable moral gyroscope of the story. But this tale of Damon Runyon characters has little honest morality in it, as almost everyone is either a sucker or schemer.
Gangster Lansky, a kid from the streets who now dresses in custom-made suits, is the incarnation of a smart and polished mid-century mob boss who plays in both the legal and illegal worlds using lawyers and thugs with equal effectiveness.
He, as do most in the novel, works solely on the philosophy of "if it's good for me, it's fair" believing that any other way is for "suckers."
Lansky's boxing-smart manager hates that the sport he loves has been corrupted, but since he knows no other life, he drinks his frustrations away while taking Lansky's money and whistling past the dishonesty.
Lansky's promoter - the guy who arranges fixed fights, etc. - conversely, suffers not one pang of conscience as he shares Lansky's philosophy on life and has no intention of being a sucker.
Their world is so dark and warped that they don't even really see it for what it is anymore. If everyone is like you, then all the corruption, scamming and dishonesty looks normal.
So Toro and his original manager get used and fleeced; older fighters get pushed around as pawns to build Toro up, and if someone dies in the ring in service to that goal, "he knew the risks he was taking.”
The money the fighters make by filling the seats, of course, all flows to their "handlers" like Nick and the "smart boys" like Lewis. The fighter's cut is laughably small.
Schulberg knows this world and his characters well. The pace is fast and the dialogue believable and entertaining in this page-turner.
You, hopefully, have never met people like this in your life - and today this type of schemer has, for the most part, been replaced by a more educated and polished version - but the old version comes alive in Schulberg's hands.
The Harder They Fall, with its memorable casts of Runyonesque characters is a searing indictment of mid-twentieth century professional boxing told engagingly and entertainingly by Schulberg. Today, it can still be enjoyed as a good story, but it is equally valuable as a window into a seedy corner of 1940s American sports and culture.
N.B. I posted this in our "Books Related to Classic Movies" thread because The Harder They Fall was turned into a 1956 movie starring Humphrey Bogart, Rod Steiger and Jan Sterling, which I now have on my radar to see. |
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Post by BingFan on Jan 31, 2023 22:18:28 GMT
Thanks for the review of The Harder They Fall. I haven’t read it, but I’ve seen the Bogart movie, which I like. It sounds like the book is well worth reading.
The one Budd Schulberg novel that I have read is What Makes Sammy Run?, the story of an overly ambitious young man who’s willing to do anything to climb the ladder in Hollywood. It’s been a long, long time since I read the book, but I remember liking it a lot, and I wouldn’t mind reading it again.
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