In 1966, Five Women I Love: Bob Hope’s Vietnam Story was published by Doubleday. The book tells the tale of Hope’s many USO tours, performing for enlisted men in Vietnam and Thailand. Accompanying him on the trip were Janis Paige, Anita Bryant, Kaye Stevens, Joey Heatherton, and Carroll Baker — five of countless participants, organizers, and crew who made the USO tour a success. From … Continue reading TMP Reads: Five Women I Love by Bob Hope
LIFE magazine was first published in 1883 and remained a weekly publication until 1972, meaning that it was in print every single week throughout the classic era of Hollywood. A magazine dedicated to human interest and news stories, LIFE‘s format was heavy on pictures, which included many iconic images of classic film stars. The mag featured film reviews, a “Movie of the Week” column sharing … Continue reading TMP Reads: LIFE Goes to the Movies
Much has been written about Cary Grant, one of the best-known names and most beloved actors of the golden Hollywood era. Biographies, blog posts, articles, magazine covers, tributes… his life and his films have been studied with equal fervor. But none of these celebrations or analyses are quite as special as Jennifer Grant’s Good Stuff: A Reminiscence of My Father, Cary Grant. Those looking for … Continue reading TMP Reads: Good Stuff by Jennifer Grant
Note: This post was written for my summer reading challenge — the second of six classic film-related book reviews I’ll be posting this summer! For more information, visit my TBR list for the challenge. First published in 1992, Ted Sennett’s Laughing in the Dark promises to track the history and conventions of the movie comedy “from Groucho to Woody.” Broken up into roughly chronological sections … Continue reading TMP Reads: Laughing in the Dark by Ted Sennett
Evelyn Keyes was born in Texas and raised in Georgia, a bonafide Southern gal who remains best known for her role in Hollywood’s huge-scale Southern epic, Gone With the Wind. Playing Suellen, sister to Vivien Leigh’s iconic Scarlett O’Hara, Keyes found her most notable role. Her career in Hollywood spanned far beyond this one film, though. Signed to Paramount at the age of eighteen, her … Continue reading TMP Reads: Scarlett O’Hara’s Younger Sister by Evelyn Keyes
Mark Harris’ Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War tells the tale of five film directors and their involvement in World War II: John Ford, George Stevens, John Huston, William Wyler, and Frank Capra. The impact of the war was felt by everyone in the United States, and those working in the entertainment industry were no exception, despite their power, … Continue reading TMP Reads: Five Came Back by Mark Harris
This post was written for the Bette Davis Blogathon hosted by “In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood.” Please visit the host blog to enjoy the full scope of this celebration of Bette’s life and career! Published in 1974, Mother Goddam: The Story of the Career of Bette Davis began as a straight-forward book detailing Bette Davis’ filmography and career, but became a unique … Continue reading TMP Reads: Mother Goddam by Whitney Stine and Bette Davis
As the title would suggest, Audrey Hepburn in the Movies by film critic Timothy Knight (Metro Books, 2009) is a retrospective of the Hollywood career of the legendary Audrey Hepburn. Included with the beautiful, full-color hardcover book is a DVD of a documentary. Today, I’ll be reviewing both the book and the accompanying doc. The book clocks in at only 176 pages, but Knight makes … Continue reading TMP Reads: Audrey Hepburn in the Movies
In 1976, James Cagney published his autobiography. Three biographies about the actor had previously been published, all with “Cagney” in the title, but these were “heavy with cockeyed conclusions and some solid misinformation.” It was time for the man to reclaim his name and tell his own story, in his own words. So, Cagney by Cagney was born, an effort to tell the real story, … Continue reading TMP Reads: Cagney by Cagney
Disclaimer: I was sent a free copy of The First King of Hollywood by Chicago Review Press. I only accept books that are relevant to classic film or television, and only in exchange for an honest review; rest assured that the $0.00 price tag has not had an impact on my opinion of the book. I’m always a little hesitant to accept review copies of books, for fear of … Continue reading TMP Reads: The First King of Hollywood by Tracey Goessel
