Clive Hirschhorn

This is absolutely fabulous, and then it’s not. You’ll have a love-hate relationship with this book, of that there is no doubt. Clive Hirschhorn did such a wonderful job with background on the studio, it easily outclasses the MGM and RKO entries in this famous, all-encompassing film reference series of the various studios. The coffee table size format, the high quality photo paper where all the films are listed and given a brief overview, accompanied by a photo from the film, make this an invaluable resource. There is a huge caveat to this one, however, that will have you rolling your eyes. But first, the good stuff.

The text is oddly the most wonderful thing about this one. It takes up far more pages at the beginning than the background studio information found in many of the other entries in this series. Then, before each decade, there is more information on that particular decade in the studio’s history, before we dive in to the fun part — the films. WB was a major studio, with major players both in front of, and behind the camera. Hirschhorn goes all the way back to the father of the four men — you mostly hear about Jack nowadays, but the other brothers get their due here — who would create the powerhouse known by the famous initials, WB.

In many ways, this is the most interesting part, because the story of Benjamin Warner, a Polish Jew denied an education under Russian influence in the region during his time, would come to America and embark on the American dream of old. Poor and uneducated, he supported his family as a cobbler, a fur trader, a seller of pots and pans, and as a grocer. Always looking to find a way to get ahead, Benjamin and his family would be fleeced and worn down, but he never gave up. His sons had that same perseverance, and their father’s eye for the next big thing.

I won’t ruin your pleasure of reading about the rise of WB, and which son did what, but it is very much a tale of the beginning of film. A particular highlight is the greed and strong-arm tactics of Thomas Edison and The Trust, attempting — and succeeding for quite some time — to eliminate small time distributors of film, and any independent picture producers. In the story of these brothers, as they decide to make their own pictures, we come across the scandals which nearly destroyed the industry before it began. I am speaking, of course, of Fatty Arbuckle, and the infamous William Demond Taylor murder. The latter remains officially unsolved, but the great director King Vidor believed he had solved it, and Sidney Kirkpatrick writes about it in a fabulous book called A Cast of Killers you might want to pick up later.

Though it is hardly a thorough delving into the early days of Hollywood, through the The WB Story, Hirschhorn gives you a look at those days, and some of the important players. It’s wonderful to have all this background, but that’s not the real reason most people purchase these books. They do so for the films, to leaf through and discover films they never heard of, and remember sentimentally those they have seen. An of course, the wonderful photos. This is where the book lets you down, and it is the caveat I spoke of earlier.

The RKO Story was terrific, the MGM Story even better, magnificent photos worth framing scattered everywhere. Sadly, the quality of the photos in The WB Story, are sub-par. Though you don’t notice it too much in the smaller photos of films on most listings, the larger the photo, the more it becomes obvious how poor the quality. You’ll cringe at the horrid, full-page photo of Bogart and Bergman in Casablanca, and wince when you come across a full-page photo of Bogart and Bacall from Dark Passage. They should be sharp and clear, glossy and beautiful, yet they are grainy and dull, sometimes fuzzy, almost as if taken a click or two before the lens was focused correctly — or blown up from a very tiny source photo, rather than an actual negative.

Whether something happened during transfer of the photos to the book, or whether second and third-tier shots were used, the quality ranges from disappointing to dreadful. I remembered it was so, but only as I’ve gone through this one again after first going through the RKO and MGM books does it really strike me how poor these photos are. It’s just inexcusable. It’s still great to have them, but it’s also, by comparison, tremendously disappointing, marring the experience for the casual filmgoer who only picks this up for the photos, rather than the background on WB. It is throughout the entire book, and reeks of shoddiness.

There are sections at the back on the Warners at work, Busby Berkeley, and posters and lobby card photos from the studio’s long history. There is also a glimpse and listing of films made at the Teddington Studios — I’ll let the text explain. There is no doubt that this book is invaluable, a tremendous resource for the serious film fan. For the casual fan, however, the quality of the photos will be a huge disappointment. For that reason, I can’t five-star this one. It still gets four, but it isn’t a must-own for everyone, and that’s a shame. Whoever is responsible for these grainy, dull photos, and whoever gave this the green light for publication, should apologize to everyone who loves the films found in this book.… (plus d'informations)

Gene Kelly was in the process of writing his autobiography, but sadly died at the age of 83, in 1996, before completing it. His widow Patricia Ward Kelly is said to be writing a book about her late husband’s life, but I’ve just about given up hope of it ever appearing. Until such time as it does however, there are a few biographies of Gene available, and this book by Clive Hirschhorn is widely regarded to be the best in its field. It is certainly the first place I would direct anyone wanting to know more about Gene Kelly.

There is a mistake right at the beginning of the book however; Hirschhorn gives Gene’s date of birth as 3rd August, when it was in fact 23rd August. This seems like such an easy thing to have checked that I cannot help but wonder if this was a typo that somehow escaped correction! I feel obliged to mention it however, because anyone starting the book may wonder if it is going to be filled with other errors – happily, it isn’t.

The book gives a good account of Gene’s childhood, with his strict but happy family life, including the dance lessons which his mother insisted all of her five children take, and the dance school which Gene started, together with other members of his family. It then describes his move to New York, where he found success on Broadway, and then his film career, starting in the early 40s, when he made his first film ‘For Me and My Gal’, starring opposite Judy Garland.

Overall, the description of Gene’s career is comprehensive, and mentions the high and low points of his career, which not only consisted of dancing, acting and singing, but also directing, producing and choreographing (yes, Gene Kelly was truly deserving of the description ‘multi-talented’).

The book also gives a detailed but respectful account of Gene’s personal life, including his first marriage to Betsy Blair with whom he had a daughter, Kerry, and which marriage ended in amicable divorce; and his second marriage to Jeanne Coyne, with whom he had a son and a daughter, Timothy and Bridget. This marriage ended in tragedy, when Jeanne died of leukemia in 1973.

Gene himself was interviewed for this book, and there are many, many quotes from him, as well as people he worked with, and members of his family (predominantly Kerry). The book is interesting, and well written; my interest was held throughout, and although I am a big fan of Gene Kelly, I found out a few things which were previously unknown to me. Hirschhorn seems to have great respect for his subject, but is still able to be objective. As well as the many films which Gene starred in, I also found the accounts of his work as a director to be very interesting (in particular, his work on the film Hello Dolly!, which must have been in difficult circumstances, considering that the two main stars, Barbra Streisand and Walter Matthau, could barely stand the sight of each other!) I would have liked to have seen more about Gene’s involvement with liberal politics, and his business relationship with Stanley Donen (which unfortunately ended in a falling out, but while the two men worked together, they certainly produced some amazing films).

Overall, Gene Kelly comes over as I have always imagined him to be; determined, hard-working (in the extreme), a perfectionist, but a very kind, unfailingly honest man, with a strong sense of right and wrong, and a very deep love for his family.

Sadly, as this book was written in the 1970s, it does not cover any of the last 20 years of it’s subject’s life, which is a shame. It is however, worth mentioning the lovely foreward, written by Gene’s friend Frank Sinatra. It is a lovely start to the book, and a nice tribute to Gene Kelly.

Overall, if you are interested in reading about Gene Kelly, or his work, I would certainly recommend this biography.… (plus d'informations)