Lugosi: The Rise and Fall of Hollywood’s Dracula by Koren Shadmi

 

 Reviewed by Jeanne

 

As he did with his excellent graphic novel style biography of Rod Serling, Koren Shadmi presents a fascinating look at another entertainment icon:  Bela Lugosi. The moody black and white drawings seem especially appropriate for a figure whose best known works were filmed that way.  The book opens in 1955 with the elderly Lugosi checking himself into a hospital to try to beat his addiction.  During his delirium, he sees figures, some from his past, some who are just representations, who illuminate his life.

He was born Bela Blasko in Lugos, Hungary, the youngest child of a relatively prosperous family.  His father had begun as a baker but had become a respected banker. Bela’s theatrical aspirations didn’t please his family, so he left for Budapest as a youth, taking the name of his hometown as his surname. The novel traces his career and personal life, both of which could be fraught. He was married multiple times and had numerous affairs, including one with Clara Bow. The “IT Girl” finagled a meeting with Lugosi because she wanted to know more about how he learned his lines phonetically, as his English was limited.  Bow had a thick Brooklyn accent and at that time the motion picture industry was transitioning from silent pictures to talkies. 

Of course, Lugosi’s big break came when he was cast in the stage version of Dracula in 1927, which led to his being cast in the 1931 movie. Suddenly, he was a hot commodity, but his accent and typecasting limited his roles. He had a screen test for the role of the monster in Frankenstein but he hated the heavy make-up and the creature’s lack of lines.  The role eventually went to Boris Karloff.

In order to make ends meet, Lugosi took roles in low-budget productions, which did nothing to enhance his reputation as an actor. Of course, near the end of his life he worked with Ed Wood, which is a whole ‘nother story.

Overall, I enjoyed Lugosi. Shadmi uses the graphic art medium to great effect, uniting image and words to make a memorable story.  I especially love the way he uses the art to both set mood and to give a strong sense of time and place.  I found the scenes set in the ‘20s and ‘30s to be particularly atmospheric. 

The author appends a list of the articles, books, and other sources he used to create this book. Some aspects of Lugosi’s life are given scant attention and some incidents are not included, but that’s also the nature of the medium.  It doesn’t help that in reading about the actor there can be multiple versions of an event, making it difficult for any biographer to sift out truth from fiction. If I have a quibble, it is that I would have liked some indication of the source for some incidents Shadmi depicted.

I recommend this to anyone who has an interest in early Hollywood, and especially the dawn of horror movies, or anyone who enjoys a good graphic novel biography.

Rita Moreno: A Memoir by Rita Moreno

Reviewed by Kristin

Rita Moreno may be 87-years-old but she shows no signs of slowing down. She made her way to Broadway as a very young teen and has been acting on both large and small screens since 1950. In those decades she has been everything from the generic “ethnic” character to the dancing Cuban grandmother on Netflix’s recent adaptation of “One Day at a Time.” As she states in this volume, “…retirement is just not in my DNA.”

Leaving Puerto Rico with her mother at age five, Rosita Dolores Alverio found New York City cold and colorless. She didn’t understand why they had left her little brother Francisco behind, why they were living in a five floor walk-up with Aunt Titi and many other cousins, or why the other children on the streets hurled racist comments at her. This was in 1936 in the midst of the Great Depression, and yet Rita’s mother made the choice to take a dangerous voyage in terrible conditions in hopes of a different life for herself and her daughter.

Crossing paths with such celebrities as Clark Gable, Gene Kelly, Ann Miller, and Howard Hughes, Rita soon caught the attention of another big name: Marlon Brando. The two embarked upon a tumultuous love affair. Rita also dated Elvis Presley, although noting that he was much more innocent and childlike than his public persona would indicate. This memoir reveals personal details of Rita’s relationships with a number of famous men, although it must be noted that in 2013 when this was published, she had already outlived most or all of those about whom intimacies were revealed.

This memoir is the true story of a woman trying to figure out who she is, of the journey which has taken her from a happy little girl to an accomplished and happy woman with many stops and starts along her journey. I didn’t know much about Rita before reading her own words, but I’m glad that I did. This memoir draws a portrait of an energetic girl and woman who continues to live a very interesting life. Her unique perspective as a woman of color over the course of a huge chunk of American cinematic history is fascinating.

Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light, by Patrick McGilligan

Reviewed by William Wade

If you like the films of Alfred Hitchcock you will love the book Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light, by Patrick McGilligan.  It is not only the latest study of the man; it is the best.  But be warned: it is not a small book.  It takes all of 800 pages to cover his life story and analyze his films.  One good way to approach it is to select one of your favorite Hitchcock films, as “Psycho” or “Rear Window,” look it up in the index, and then read what McGilligan has to say about its making.  And just as you can’t eat one M&M without wanting another, you’ll be reading about another film, then another and so on.

What makes McGilligan’s book so appealing is that he approaches his topic with the same thoroughness that was characteristic of Hitchcock’s preparation.  “Hitch,” as he was known, developed each film thoroughly in his own mind down to the last detail before the cameras were turned on.  He wanted every scene nailed down, in some virtually every frame.  In “Psycho” Janet Leigh plays the role of a working girl from Phoenix, Arizona, who steals from her boss.  Hitchcock sent a crew to Phoenix to photograph streets and typical residents; he even photographed closets and wardrobes to be certain that Janet Leigh was a typical working girl of Phoenix.  In “Rear Window” there were thirty-one apartments which could be seen in the courtyard from the windows where Jeff (Jimmy Stewart) sat with a broken leg.  Hitchcock fully furnished twelve of these with their own independent stories, and that became a great appeal of the movie.  Hitchcock had his favorite actors and actresses – Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly, Kim Novak, and others - and his method of direction was to assume that they had sufficient intelligence and ability to pay their rolls properly without much hands-on direction from him.  He expected to have a camaraderie of understanding with his actors that made detailed direction unnecessary. 

Those only familiar with his American films need to be told that Hitchcock, born in England in 1899, had an illustrious career as director there with more than forty films to his credit before coming to challenge Hollywood about the beginning of World War II.  One might have thought he would have been welcomed with open arms, Hollywood moguls competing with each other for a chance to sign him up.  Not so: he paid his own travel costs in coming to America and through the years found Hollywood producers far less than accommodating.  But he persisted, and the golden years from 1945 to 1965, with films as “Saboteur,” “Lifeboat,” “Spellbound,” “Notorious,” “The Paradine Case,” “Strangers on a Train,” “Dial M for Murder,” “Rear Window,” “To Catch a Thief,” “Vertigo,” “North by Northwest,” and “The Birds,” made Hitchcock legendary.

All in all this is a grand and masterful study, so don’t be surprised if you find yourself reading all 800 pages before putting it down.   You’ll relish McGilligan’s commentaries on the films that are familiar to you, and you will find delight in reading about those made in England during his early years.  And you’ll seek out these lesser known films, not satisfied until you have mastered the complete repertoire.

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 Our guest reviewer, Dr. Wade, is an active member of the Nevermore Book Club.

Book into Film: Fiction

The summer movie season is heating up and as usual a number of the films are based on books.  Here are some of the most anticipated books-to-film:

“The Host” is based on the book of the same name by Stephenie Meyer—yes, THAT Stephenie Meyer, author of the immensely popular Twilight series books which spawned the equally popular movie series.  The Host  isn’t about vampires, though, but an alien invasion in which the aliens take over human bodies. Melanie isn’t about to let her consciousness go so easily.  Can she fight back and save those she loves? The movie opens March 29.  In pre-movie interviews, Meyer has said she’s writing a sequel.

Of course, there if aliens aren’t your thing but zombies are, then you’ll want to pick up World War Z by Max Brooks.  Brooks, author of The Zombie Survival Guide, sets the book up as an oral history from survivors, giving him a chance to give many different views of the disaster.  The movie stars Brad Pitt as a UN employee going to various places around the world as different areas try to hold off the undead and is scheduled for a June release.  (By the way, Max Brooks is the son of Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft.)

If you’d rather have a story about non-alien, non-zombie characters, there are some interesting choices available.  “Admission” stars Tina Fey as a college admissions office at Princeton who is challenged by a young man who shouldn’t quite measure up to Princeton standards, but who makes her question some of her past choices.  Paul Rudd also stars.  The movie is based on the book Admission  by Jean Hanff Korelitz.

Hollywood isn’t neglecting the classics, either.  A new version of “The Great Gatsby” is scheduled for a May 10 release.  Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Jay Gatsby and Tobey Maguire is Nick.  If it’s been awhile, this might be a good time to pick up F. Scott Fitzgerald’s original novel just to get in the mood. I have to say that the costumes and automobiles look fabulous!


James Thurber’s story, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, was first made into a movie starring Danny Kaye back in 1947, so it’s no surprise some think it’s due for an update.  Ben Stiller will be starring in the new version, due out in December 2013.

If thrillers are more your genre, look for Paranoia by Joseph Finder.  A young man is caught manipulating his company’s system.  He’s given a choice:  go to jail, or spy on a competing corporation.  He chooses the latter option and soon is on the fast track at his new place of employment, living the life of his dreams in a job he loves—and soon he’s going to have to betray everyone there. The movie "Paranoia"stars Liam Helmsworth, Gary Oldman, and Harrison Ford, and is scheduled for an October release.

Other anticipated films from books are:

• "Catching Fire," the second installment of Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy, scheduled for November 2013

• "Divergent", another YA dystopian adventure, based on the book of the same title by Veronica Roth, due out in 2014
  

• "City of Bones", adapted from the first book in Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series, in which a teenage girl suddenly develops the ability to see demons

• "The Hobbit:  The Desolation of Smaug," the second movie in the Hobbit trilogy, is from J.R.R. Tolkein’s book The Hobbit and is scheduled to be out in December 2013.