by Eve Golden (McFarland & Company, Inc., 2001,
229 pages)
It just makes sense that Eve Golden's wonderful essays
that have appeared over the past 10 years in Classic Images
should be published in book form, and
each one of the 41 essays is excellent, as is all of Ms. Golden's
writing. Anyone familiar with her book Vamp: The Rise and
Fall of Theda Bara (Emprise Publishing, 1996) (also reviewed
on this page) knows her writing is both thorough and accurate.
She also has an intuitiveness about what we want to know and need
to know. Unlike some other writers, she doesn't over-analyze insignificant
details about the star or make silly suppositions such as implying
that there were sexual connotations when the star hugged a bedpost
in a certain film (I won't name the book that was in!). Her short
bios, such as the ones included in this book, are well-written
and free of frills, no sensationalism or digging for dirt here.
No, the book does not avoid the "bad." Reference is
made to Clara Bow's alcoholic-abusive father. Jeanne Eagels',
Alma Rubens' and Wallace Reid's drug problems are included. The
essays also include Olive Thomas' questionable suicide-accidental
death and acknowledge William Haines' homosexuality, but these
are not the focus of the writings. Ms. Golden is more interested
in the star's career and letting us know how the rest of the star's
life played out after his or her movie career ended. The selection
of essays is excellent, too. There is variety here. Some of the
big names on whom we can find entire books are included - Clara
Bow, Marion Davies, Alla Nazimova, Colleen Moore, etc. But there
are also the "obscure" stars on whom information is
difficult to find - May Irwin, Arthur Johnson, Florence LaBadie,
Mary Nolan, etc. Each essay runs from 4-7 pages with one or more
photos of the star. I like this type of book. George Katchmer's
Eighty Silent Films Stars (McFarland & Company,
Inc.., 1991) (also reviewed on this page) is a wonderful resource
for concise biographies of silent stars, both well-known and little-known.
With the passing of Mr. Katchmer, it is good to see Ms. Golden
carrying on the tradition. Now that we have this wonderful book
available to us, though, the only question is "When will
the next one be coming out?" Available from McFarland &
Company, Inc., Publishers, Box 611, Jefferson, N.C. 28640 1-800-253-2187
Website: http://www.mcfarlandpub.com.
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published in book form, and
each one of the 41 essays is excellent, as is all of Ms. Golden's
writing. Anyone familiar with her book Vamp: The Rise and
Fall of Theda Bara (Emprise Publishing, 1996) (also reviewed
on this page) knows her writing is both thorough and accurate.
She also has an intuitiveness about what we want to know and need
to know. Unlike some other writers, she doesn't over-analyze insignificant
details about the star or make silly suppositions such as implying
that there were sexual connotations when the star hugged a bedpost
in a certain film (I won't name the book that was in!). Her short
bios, such as the ones included in this book, are well-written
and free of frills, no sensationalism or digging for dirt here.
No, the book does not avoid the "bad." Reference is
made to Clara Bow's alcoholic-abusive father. Jeanne Eagels',
Alma Rubens' and Wallace Reid's drug problems are included. The
essays also include Olive Thomas' questionable suicide-accidental
death and acknowledge William Haines' homosexuality, but these
are not the focus of the writings. Ms. Golden is more interested
in the star's career and letting us know how the rest of the star's
life played out after his or her movie career ended. The selection
of essays is excellent, too. There is variety here. Some of the
big names on whom we can find entire books are included - Clara
Bow, Marion Davies, Alla Nazimova, Colleen Moore, etc. But there
are also the "obscure" stars on whom information is
difficult to find - May Irwin, Arthur Johnson, Florence LaBadie,
Mary Nolan, etc. Each essay runs from 4-7 pages with one or more
photos of the star. I like this type of book. George Katchmer's
Eighty Silent Films Stars (McFarland & Company,
Inc.., 1991) (also reviewed on this page) is a wonderful resource
for concise biographies of silent stars, both well-known and little-known.
With the passing of Mr. Katchmer, it is good to see Ms. Golden
carrying on the tradition. Now that we have this wonderful book
available to us, though, the only question is "When will
the next one be coming out?" Available from McFarland &
Company, Inc., Publishers, Box 611, Jefferson, N.C. 28640 1-800-253-2187
Website: http://www.mcfarlandpub.com.