Irving Thalberg

Boy Wonder to Producer Prince

Inbunden, Engelska, 2009

417 kr

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Beskrivning

Hollywood in the 1920s sparkled with talent, confidence, and opportunity. Enter Irving Thalberg of Brooklyn, who survived childhood illness to run Universal Pictures at twenty; co-found Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer at twenty-four; and, make stars of Lon Chaney, Norma Shearer, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, and Jean Harlow. Known as Hollywood's 'Boy Wonder', Thalberg created classics such as "Ben-Hur", "Tarzan the Ape Man", "Grand Hotel", "Freaks", "Mutiny on the Bounty", and "The Good Earth", but died tragically at thirty-seven. His place in the pantheon should have been assured, yet his films were not re-issued for thirty years, spurring critics to question his legend and diminish his achievements. In this definitive biography, illustrated with rare photographs, Mark A. Vieira sets the record straight, using unpublished production files, financial records, and correspondence to confirm the genius of Thalberg's methods. In addition, this is the first Thalberg biography to utilize both his recorded conversations and the unpublished memoirs of his wife, Norma Shearer."Irving Thalberg" is a compelling narrative of power and idealism, revealing for the first time the human being behind the legend.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2009-11-05
Mått:152 x 229 x 36 mm
Vikt:862 g
Format:Inbunden
Språk:Engelska
Antal sidor:526
Förlag:University of California Press
ISBN:9780520260481

Utforska kategorier

Biografi: konst och underhållning inom Biografier
Film inom Kultur

Mer om författaren

Mark A. Vieira is a photographer, filmmaker, and Hollywood historian. His previous books include Hurrell's Hollywood Portraits and Greta Garbo: A Cinematic Legacy.

Recensioner i media

"Vieira has accomplished something quite extraordinary... This is the definitive volume about a towering figure in the history of Hollywood." -- Leonard Maltin Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy "Vieira has written the definitive biography of Thalberg." STARRED REVIEW -- Teri Shiel Library Journal "The third biography of Thalberg, and far and away the most thoroughly researched, comprehensive, and penetrating ... as close to definitive as any biography of Irving Thalberg is likely to get." -- Joseph Epstein The Weekly Standard "Vieira writes with great verve and enthusiasm, and he has a flair for narrative movement that suits these exponents of the new storytelling ... well written and extensively researched." -- David Thomson New Republic "If you want to know about Hollywood's Golden Age, then you must know about Thalberg. And if you want to know about Thalberg, then you must read this book." -- Anthony McKenna Screening The Past "Among the many virtues of Mark Vieira's biography is the use he makes of the story conferences preserved in the MGM archives." The Economist "Vieira's work is both exhaustively researched and beautifully presented, rich in detail yet compulsively readable. If you want to know about Hollywood's Golden Age, then you must know about Thalberg. And if you want to know about Thalberg, then you must read this book." -- Anthony McKenna Screening The Past "This is a worthy, well-documented account of [Thalberg's] life." -- R. D. Sears Choice "A well-researched and readable biography." -- David Yezzi Wall Street Journal "This is a sympathetic, diligent, and intelligent account of a wondrous era in Hollywood." Jewish Book World "Vieira has put the enigmatic producer back in the spotlight with his biography ... a thorough and readable book." -- Matthew Rovner Forward "Vieira's excellent biography reveals a master player...[and] sheds much needed light upon significant, influential life." Magill's Literary Annual / Salem Press "The jury has been out for 70 years on the MGM studio chief, even though F Scott Fitzgerald immortalised him as the "last tycoon". Was Thalberg art's gift to Hollywood, with his well-bred epics (Romeo and Juliet, Marie Antoinette)? Or was he a mogul playing to the middlebrow? Read this impressively researched study and decide." -- Nigel Andrews Financial Times "An engaging new biography ... an unusually animated and revealing tour of Hollywood in the 1920s and '30s." -- Noah Isenberg Bookforum "An important book on a pivotal figure in Hollywood history... Vieira's biography is an invaluable resource." -- Camille McCutcheon, University of South Carolina Upstate Jrnl Of American Culture "Vieira takes students of movie history deep into the bowels of MGM." -- Robert Fulford The National Post "A fast-paced and well-researched new biography of Thalberg." -- Kent Jones Film Comment

Innehållsförteckning

PrefacePart One The Merger1 The Boy Wonder2 A Funny Little Man3 Three Shaky Little StarsPart Two The Perfection of Silence4 A Studio Style5 Wicked Stepchildren6 A Business of Personalities7 Top of the Heap8 “More Stars Than There Arein Heaven”Part Three The Talkies9 The Golden Silents10 All-Talking, All-Singing,All Profitable11 The Production CodePart Four “His Brain Is the Camera”12 Visiting Royalty13 New Morals for Old14 The Right to Be Wrong15 Hollywood IcarusPart Five The Thalberg Unit16 The New Setup17 Honor with Credit18 “To Hell with Art!”Part Six The Crown Prince of Hollywood19 “Napoleon Thalberg”20 A Feverish Energy21 A Labor of Love22 The Gods Are JealousPart Seven The Legacy23 Unfinished Projects24 Marie AntoinetteEpilogueAppendix: The M-G-M Filmsof Irving ThalbergNotesSelect BibliographyAcknowledgmentsIndexIllustrations