jjares reviewed Hollywood?s Favorite Screwball Actresses: The Lives and Legacies of the Women Who Popularized the Comedy Genre on + 3264 more book reviews
Included in this book are the stories of six screwball comedy women, including
* Jean Harlow
* Kathryn Hepburn
* Claudette Colbert
* Carole Lombard
* Barbara Stanwyck
* Jean Arthur
I liked that each actress was treated individually (the author didn't try to combine their stories). Thus, the reader got an overall view of the actress's films, how she fared when she was active in Hollywood and the theatre, her personal life, etc. Each story is meaty but short. I enjoyed each one; this book shows the stars -- warts and all. Barbara Stanwyck couldn't have children. She and her husband adopted a child and promptly forgot him to nannies. By the age of 15, Dion was ejected from Barbara's life. This book makes the fascinating statement that she couldn't handle "being close to a child who depended on her to be a mother." Barbara didn't receive mothering, so she had no idea how to provide it for another.
Each of the women highlighted had to overcome adversity to become a star. Producers didn't know what to do with tall, lanky, flat-chested Kathryn Hepburn. Claudette Colbert was a French woman who had to fight against being typecast as a dark foreigner. Jean Harlow became an actress because she was bored with her life. Jean Arthur spent many years trying to become an overnight success. All the stories were compelling.
* Jean Harlow
* Kathryn Hepburn
* Claudette Colbert
* Carole Lombard
* Barbara Stanwyck
* Jean Arthur
I liked that each actress was treated individually (the author didn't try to combine their stories). Thus, the reader got an overall view of the actress's films, how she fared when she was active in Hollywood and the theatre, her personal life, etc. Each story is meaty but short. I enjoyed each one; this book shows the stars -- warts and all. Barbara Stanwyck couldn't have children. She and her husband adopted a child and promptly forgot him to nannies. By the age of 15, Dion was ejected from Barbara's life. This book makes the fascinating statement that she couldn't handle "being close to a child who depended on her to be a mother." Barbara didn't receive mothering, so she had no idea how to provide it for another.
Each of the women highlighted had to overcome adversity to become a star. Producers didn't know what to do with tall, lanky, flat-chested Kathryn Hepburn. Claudette Colbert was a French woman who had to fight against being typecast as a dark foreigner. Jean Harlow became an actress because she was bored with her life. Jean Arthur spent many years trying to become an overnight success. All the stories were compelling.
