Movie Anecdotes
Published on 12. December 1991
Book
Paperback/Softback
336 pages
978-0-19-504595-6 (ISBN)
Description
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.
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.
Reviews / Votes
"Well-chosen....Wry, telling and tinged (not drenched) with a kind of bittersweet nostalgia....If you're a movie buff, or live with one, I suspect that Movie Anecdotes will likely end up on your coffee table."--The Los Angeles Times "Amusing, critical tales--tall and true. Hay is a pro at unearthing acerbic or outrageous sayings or events; his topical arrangement is smooth and his delivery fluid."--Booklist "[Hay] reveals the backstage and often hilarious lives of a plethora of screen legends."--The Sunday Express "Another enjoyable collection from the anecdote-archivist Hay....[The stories] range from one-liners to full-fledged stories and as a rule reveal film folk as the eccentrics many believe them to be....Light, browse-able entertainment."--Kirkus Reviews "A melange of stories on Hollywood and its inhabitants which range from the droll to the bizarre to the informative....Hay embellishes and tells stories with such zeal and fluidity that even items on less famous persons as Arnold Schoenberg and William Meiklejon make good reading....This makes the book informative as well as entertaining....Make a date with Movie Anecdotes. It's bound to be an enjoyable experience."--The New Straits TimesMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
470 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-504595-6 (9780195045956)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
About the Author: Peter Hay, an expert in script development, is founding artistic director of First Stage in Hollywood. He is also the author of Theatrical Anecdotes and Broadway Anecdotes, both published by Oxford.