Product Description
In the pre-Code Hollywood era, between 1929 and 1934, women in American cinema took lovers, had babies out of wedlock, got rid of cheating husbands, enjoyed their sexuality, led unapologetic careers, and, in general, act… More >>
Product Description
In the pre-Code Hollywood era, between 1929 and 1934, women in American cinema took lovers, had babies out of wedlock, got rid of cheating husbands, enjoyed their sexuality, led unapologetic careers, and, in general, act… More >>
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Mr. LaSalle is a zealot, not a scholar, and it shows. His obsession with Norma Shearer clouds everything he writes. He perceives that Shearer has been unfairly neglected in film history, and his attempt to redress this takes priority over any thoughtful examination of women in Pre-Code Hollywood. The plot synopses he offers are no better than anything on IMDB, his arguments on quality are poorly supported, his writing is clunky and full of redundancies, and his insights are dubious.
Rating: 1 / 5
My list of the 5 best books on Hollywood and Stars scandals
After an extensive research and readings, I have compiled a list of the best books on Hollywood and stars scandals.
The best in this rank order:
Number 1: Hollywood Earth Shattering Scandals: The Infamous, Villains, Nymphomaniacs and Shady Characters in Motion Pictures. It is the newest, largest and the most explosive. Lots of new stories and scandals we did not hear about or read in other books. The galleries of photos are impressive. Author, Maximillien de Lafayette. Definitely this is the very best. Rating: 5 stars
Number 2: Hollywood Babylon. Simply because it was the first, the pioneering work that opens the Pandora Box. Author, Kenneth Anger. This book is still interesting. Rating: 5 stars
Number 3: The Hollywood Book of Scandals. Some new stuff, but lots of rehashes. Rating: 3 stars.
Number 4: Sex lives of Hollywood Goddesses. Very very interesting, but little. However, juicy. Author: Nigel Cawthorne. Rating: 3 stars.
Number 5: Dishing Hollywood. Not much stuff but engaging. Author: Laurie Jacobson. Rating: 3 stars.
Rating: 4 / 5
For the most part it’s pretty good. It’s a little long winded. Alot of unessesary verbage. I thought it was going to be about not just these ladies’ film career’s but their lives also. Instead it’s more about how they portrayed themselves in movie’s during the pre-code era. If you’ve ever seen any of these women act then you would already know this. Tell us something we don’t know.
Rating: 3 / 5
This book is ok if you are looking for descriptions of the plots of movies–especially Norma Shearer’s. If you want anything more thoughtful–look elsewhere. The author’s understanding of the code and its impact on women’s roles in movies is very superficial.
Rating: 1 / 5
This book was a HUGE disappointment. The author has some kind of strange obession with Norma Shearer. He makes numerous idiot statments. He refers to all of the other major movie stars (such as Clara Bow, Jean Harlow, Myna Loy) as just minor background players…umm NOOO. This man obviously knows very little about cinema. I kept waiting and waiting throughout the book for him to stop talking and praising Norma Shearer, but he never did. Yes, Norma Shearer was a good actress but she was not God’s gift to earth, so stop with the worshipping. Unless you are a die heart Shearer fan, DO NOT buy this book, you will be disappointed.
Rating: 1 / 5