In this sparkling collection of anecdotes about the stars before and behind the cameras, Peter Hay takes the reader on a delightful - if occasionally bumpy - ride through the world that has captivated audiences for almost a century. Moguls' heads would spin if they reckoned the fees for a cast that includes Chaplin, Garbo, Gable, Bogart, Davis, Crawford, Monroe, Nicholson, Streep, and assorted Hepburns, Fondas, and Hustons, but here they all are, and under the keen directorial eyes of Griffith, Eisenstein, Hitchcock, Kurosawa, Bergman, Welles, Ford, and Visconti, to name but a few. If you think the credits are good wait until you get a look at the plot, which bursts at the seams with battles over money, contracts, and artistic control, overnight sensations, tragic declines, romances, divorces, and any number of scandals. For anyone who has spent a night at the movies, this colourful, incredible, bitter, and hilarious book is a must.
