Fabulous!
A Loving, Luscious, and Lighthearted Look at Film from the Gay Perspective
(2004, Dell)
Donald
F. Reuter
Description:
PB, 192 pages. 4 Joan films reviewed: The Best of Everything,
Mildred Pierce, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?,
and The Women.
The Fairbanks Album (1975)
Introduction and
Narrative by Richard Schickel
Description: A collection of photographs, clippings, film
stills and letters from the collection of Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Mary
Pickford which tells the story of Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and Jr.'s lives.
Includes some photos of Joan and Doug both privately and in "Our Modern
Maidens."
Sample Text:
The
marriage lasted only four years, but Fairbanks still regards her as a shaping
influence, saving him from being "overwhelmed" by various parental pressures,
encouraging him to "strike out on my own in a large way, to grow up and be my
own man, independent and challenging."
Film-Lovers' Annual (1932, Dean
& Son Ltd., London)
Description: Hardback with full-color cover. 156 pages inside are black
and white, some are sepia tone. Photos, blurbs and stories about: Janet Gaynor,
Richard Arlen, Maurice Chevalier, Lilian Bond, Buster Keaton, Clive Brook, Clark
Gable, Sylvia Sidney, Kay Francis, Myrna Loy, Anita Page, Wallace Ford, Jean
Harlow, Ricardo Cortez, Dolores Del Rio, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., George Arliss,
Miriam Hopkins, William Powell, Irene Dunne, Barbara Stanwyck, Leslie Howard,
Marlene Dietrich, Laurence Olivier, Edward Robinson, Claudette Colbert, etc.
Some films covered in this annual are: Arsene Lupin, Good-Night Vienna, The
Miracle Man, Destry Rides Again, Tarzan the Ape-Man, Sunshine Susie, Hell
Divers, Emma, Delicious, Arrowsmith, It's Tough to be Famous, Around the World
in 80 Minutes, Sidewalks of New York, Men Like These, The Champ, the Melody of
Life, Mati Hari, Daddy Long Legs, Dirigible, Shanghai Express, The Viking, Tabu,
Forbidden, The Faithful Heart, Grand Hotel and others.
The Films of Clark Gable (1970)
Gabe
Essoe
Description: Similar to The Films of Joan
Crawford - an overview of every film Gable made. Each film is given a
detailed synopsis and a reprint of the press reviews given at the time each film
was released. The book also includes publicity photos from each film and several
chapters devoted to Gable's friends and co-stars' memories of Gable. There is
also chapter called Joan Crawford Remembers Gable.
 Four
Fabulous Faces (1970, Galahad)
Larry Carr
Description:
492 pages, 84 on Joan. The other three "fab faces"
are Garbo, Dietrich, and Swanson.
The Genius of the System (1988)
Thomas
Schatz
Description: From the
dust jacket: ...the first complete portrait of moviemaking in Hollywood's
classic studio era. Incisive, entertaining, and based on actual industry
documents -- memoes, production reports, story conference notes, personal
correspondence -- this book cuts through the hype and half-truths, the anecdotes
and legends, to get at how the studio system actually worked. The book
describes the background of two of Joan's films, Grand Hotel and Mildred Pierce.
Get
Happy (2000) Gerald Clarke
Description: A biography of actress Judy Garland. Includes some
anecdotes about Joan and mentions briefly how Joan was present at Judy's 19th
birthday/engagement party.
Gone But Not Forgotten (1981) Patricia Fox-Sheinwold
Description: From the dust jacket: "...effectively
details the triumphs and tragedies of the famous. These celebrated individuals
have constantly dazzles the public with the drama and glamour of their everyday
lives...is a loving tribute to those whose stars have burned brightest and who
have attained immortality through fame."
Includes chapters about W.C. Fields,
Charles Chaplin, Groucho Marx, Jack Benny, Buster Keaton, Spencer Tracy,
Clark Gable, John Wayne, Mae West, Rosalind Russell, Betty Grable, Bing Crosby,
Alfred Hitchcock, Walt Disney, etc. There are several pages devoted to Joan,
filled with lots of pictures and interesting pieces of information such as the
following (and I believe this is the only book I've ever read that claims
this):
Sample Text:
But the
big event at that time, one that has been kept locked up in the Hall of Records,
was her first marriage. When she arrived in Hollywood after a successful screen
test to accept MGM's offer, the marriage was verboten: "Because starlets
in those days testified that they were unmarried, which was the rule. Since she
[ Joan ] didn't drive in those days, Jimmy had to drive her daily to the studio
at the crack of dawn and then pick her up while trying to keep out of sight. The
marriage wore thin and they divorced in the middle or late 20's in
California."
The groom in question was James Barratt Welton, now
deceased, and the marriage was performed while Joan was working in New York
City. source: Mrs. James Welton
The Great Movie Stars: The Golden Years (1970)
David
Shipman
Description: An alphabetical
overview of "Golden Years" celebrities. The book concentrates on the film career
of each celebrity and offers basic info and the author's opinions of the role.
Photos are included within the text. A few pages are devoted to
Joan.
The Great Romantic Films (1974) Lawrence J. Quirk
Description: From the dust jacket: A lavishly
illustrated retrospective of the best-loved motion pictures in the romantic
tradition, from the infancy of the sound era until the present day. The book
ranges through fifty landmark films which, in the author's opinion, best
exemplify the romantic mystique...Every film is documented with a synopsis, cast
list, credits, and an evalution of the work's critical and audience reception at
the time of its release -- and how its popularity has continued throughout the
years. Joan's films A Woman's
Face and Humoresque are
detailed.
Hollywood and the Supernatural (1990)
Sherry
Hansen-Steiger and Brad Steiger
Description: An account of the occult and paranormal events
that have occurred in Hollywood. Joan's daughter Christina is interviewed for
the book and claims surprise that the authors are aware of the haunting
manifestations that took place in Joan's Brentwood home. "Not many people know
that the house I grew up in may be haunted...it is not in print anywhere," says
Christina. She then goes on to describe "cold spots" in the home and ghostly
child apparitions. The authors claim the current (as of 1990) owner of the home
had called in the Reverend Rosalyn Bruyere of the Healing Light Center to work
on the house. Bruyere is interviewed and says that all the owners of the home,
beginning with Joan have had "terrible things happen...illnesses, alcoholism,
addictions, relationship problems...and the walls breaking out in flames...in
particular it's the wall that was behind Crawford's bed." Furthermore, Christina
says she is willing to believe that Joan's spirit currently haunts the house and
that "She was capable of real evil." Finally, Bruyere says that the house had
been poisoned in some way before Joan even moved in, saying that the evil only
added to her neuroses. Bruyere performed an exorcism on the home and found the
haunting existed on several levels, calling the home "...a place of conspicuous
negativity...an 'Astral Central'...people have been tied up and tortured in that
house...there is an area of the house where a child [not Christina] had been
tortured and molested." Bruyere says that spirits have been trying to burn down
the home (hence the burning walls) but that since her exorcism, there has been
only one recurrence.
Hollywood at Your Feet (1992)
Stacey Endres and
Robert Cushman
Description: The
story of the world-famous Chinese theatre from the silents to Star Trek, this
book details the 154 hand and footprint ceremonies from 1927 to 1991. Joan's
ceremony on September 14, 1929 (placed in connection with Our Modern Maidens) is
recounted by both Joan and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. via their memoirs. Joan's
square is tinted gray and contains the inscription "May This Cement Our
Friendship.", the date, her two footprints (made with high heels), two
handprints, and her signature.
Sample Text:
Crawford
was accompanied by her husband Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and recalled the following
anecdote in her memoirs: "As soon as the picture [Our Modern Maidens] was
finished, we put our footprints in the courtyard at Grauman's Chinese Theatre
and slipped away to New York [to be married]." She was mistaken on two counts.
She and Fairbanks had already married in June 1929, and he was not asked to
place his prints alongside hers.
Hollywood Babylon (1975)
Kenneth
Anger
Description: Devoted to Hollywood
scandals and mysteries, this book features a photo of Joan from
"Possessed".
Hollywood Babylon II (1984)
Kenneth
Anger
Description: A sequel to
the first book and similar in its pursuit of revealing the sordid Hollywood
scandals and mysteries, this book features a chapter on Joan's life-long friend
Billy Haines and the scandal that surrounded his exile from Hollywood over his
refusal to not disclose his homosexuality. The book also includes several photos
of Haines with Joan and a chapter devoted to Joan called "Witch Joan" and
features some early publicity photos and the legendary "nude" pictures. There is
also a picture of Joan with her mother, Joan with her adopted children, Joan in
an advertisement for "RC Cola", Joan asleep with her Oscar and Joan at her last
public appearance in 1974.
Hollywood Candid: A Photographer Remembers (2000)
Text and
Photographs by Murray Garrett
Description: A collection of candid photographs and
remembrances by Murray Garrett. These photos originally appeared in LIFE,
Time, Look, and other national magazines shortly after they were
taken. There are four photos of Joan included: on a sound stage at NBC radio
recording Saturday Afternoon with Robert Young, with Ethel Barrymore, at a
premiere with her children and dancing with Cesar Romero.
Hollywood Color Portraits (1981)
John
Kobal
Description: A collection
of color portraits of Hollywood greats including Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan,
Veronica Lake, James Cagney, Clark Gable, etc. A photo of Joan reclining in her
bed on the set of Queen Bee is included.
Hollywood Dogs (1993)
Edited by J.C.
Suares
Description: A collection
of photos taken of Hollywood celebrities and their dogs. Includes two photos of
Joan, one from 1929 and the forties.
Hollywood's Great Love
Teams (1974) James Robert
Parish
Description: From the
dust jacket: Great love teams won the fans right from the start as Francis
X. Bushman and Beverly Bayne, Harold Lockwood and May Allison pitched passionate
if mute woo. These were the ancestors, but the best was yet to come. Mr. Parish
focuses on them -- the 28 most popular teams ever to sigh sweet nothings to each
other.
The book lists each film Joan and Clark Gable starred together in and
includes two pages of black-and-white photos of them together. A brief synopsis,
background information and review is given for each of the films in which they
starred together.
The Hollywood Greats (1979)
Barry
Norman
Description: From the
dust jacket: "In his probing appraisal...based on the highly successful
BBC TV series...Barry Norman portrays the lives and personalities of these ten
stars (Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, Spencer Tracy, Gary Cooper, Humphrey Bogart,
Joan Crawford, Ronald Coleman, Jean Harlow, Judy Garland and Charles Laughton).
His interviews with their friends, lovers, wives, husbands and children, and
also with those who made and directed their films, reveal some fascinating and
surprising facts..."
After giving the basic condensed facts, this book seems
to be very interested in surprising its reader with shocking revelations such as
Charles Walters (Joan's director on Torch Song) saying that Mary Pickford
once told her if Joan gave her grandchildren she'd kill her, or Natalie Schafer
(Joan's co-star in Reunion in
France and Female on the Beach)
revealing the fact that Joan had studio policemen guard her dressing room for
fear Schafer would glance into her mirror (she also recounts the infamous story
of how Joan punished son Christopher for having one too many pieces of
chocolate). Greg Bautzer (Joan's on-and-off boyfriend in the forties) relates
the story of Joan's abuse of Christopher because the boy was
left-handed.
Sample Text:
Today,
again with hindsight and admittedly without the benefit of ever having known
her, it appears to me that Joan Crawford was totally unreal. Joan Crawford was a
film star and that's all she was. That was all she ever wanted to be. She was
the very epitome of a film star, the most durable of all the female stars in
Hollywood and she played the part with relentless dedication for twenty-four
hours a day, every day of her life.
Hollywood Heavies (1994)
Edited by J.C.
Suares
Description: A collection
of portraits of past and contemporary Hollywood "heavies" such as Edward G.
Robinson, Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Barbara Stanwyck, Arnold Schwarzenegger,
etc. Includes three photos of Joan taken from Queen Bee, The Women, and Harriet Craig.
 Hollywood Jewels (Abrams, 1992)
Penny Proddow,
Debra Healy, and Marion Fasel
Description: From the dust jacket: "Hollywood means make
believe. But, believe it or not, much of the jewelry worn on the screen by the
great Hollywood stars of the past - and many of the present - is the real
thing...Photographs from these films and dozens more, along with exquisite color
photographs of the jewels themselves, fill these pages."
The book includes
several publicity photos of Joan, an inventory from Raymond C. Yard's ledger of
gems for her star sapphire bracelet dated February 11, 1938 and pictures of her
jewelry including her feather brooch by Ruser (which was worn by Mildred Pierce in the film of
the same name -- the scenes were cut), her marquise-cut diamond earrings, her
baguette-cut diamond riviere by Ruser (both mounted in platinum), her poodle
brooches and three charm bracelets.
Sample Text:
When
shopping for her cabochons in the 1930's, Joan Crawford went to an exclusive East
Coast jeweler. Known for dramatic roles projecting inner strength,
self-sacrifice, or sophisticated villainy, offscreen the actress projected a
hard, knowing look. In a 1932 Photoplay article entitled "Spend!" she
made it clear that she regarding spending as an almost sacred duty. In the
depths of the Depression, she expressed a unique type of patriotism: "I, Joan
Crawford, I believe in the Dollar. Everything I earn, I spend." In this pursuit
she worked her way to the top, making her way by 1938 into the very select
clientele of New York jeweler Raymond C. Yard, a firm that never advertised.
From them, among other things, she picked out a wide fancy-cut diamond bracelet
punctuated with star sapphires. The center stone weighed 73.15 carats and the
two side stones 63.61 and 57.65 carats. The bracelet became the prime attraction
of her suite of cabochon sapphires that the press dubbed Joan Blue in her
honor.
Click here to see 12
photos and excerpts from the book. (Thanks, Vincent!)
Hollywood Poolside (1997)
Frans Evenhuis and
Robert Landau
Description: A
collection of photographs of celebrities taken at or in the pool. The photos,
originally intended for fan magazines, comprise this "family album" and explore
the realities behind the images to create a nostalgic and telling study of
Hollywood myth-making. Includes a photo of Joan circa 1933 signing autographs
poolside, Joan and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. sitting on a diving board circa 1931,
Joan in the back yard by the pool of her Brentwood home circa the forties and
publicity photos from Chained
and Dancing
Lady.
 Hollywood
Portraits (2000, Amphoto Books) Roger Hicks and Christopher Nisperos.
Holly-Would! (1974) John
Milton Hagen. Illustrated by Feg Murray.
Description: A collection of silver-screen non-sequiturs that
ran in movie columns in the early days of filmdom. John Milton Hagen, a fixture
of the period and the man responsible for perpetrating most of the zinging
one-liners that were once viewed as gospel truth by avid readers, has collected
over 2,500 of his best capsule commentaries. Also includes illustrations by Feg
Murray, a syndicated cartoonist. Joan is mentioned several times throughout the
book which provides us with a peek into how stars were portrayed to their
audiences (sometimes incorrectly) by the huge Hollywood publicity
machine.
Sample Text:
JOAN
CRAWFORD, 'tis whispered, has two heads of hair. One is her own - as lovely a
thatched roof as ever the sun shone upon. The other cranial covering was sent to
her by a woman admirer, who learning that Joan was to wear false hair in a
certain picture cut off all of her hirsute adornment and sent it to the
star!
Horst: Salute to the Thirties
(1971)
Description: Published in the UK, 192 pp. Horst photographs from Vogue and Vanity
Fair.
  How to Take a Trick a Day with Bisquick
(1935, General Mills) As told to Betty Crocker
Description: A cookbook featuring film stars and famous
people of the era and how they use Bisquick recipes with meal planning. The book
is 9 x 6-1/2 inches, 40 pages, and includes several full color photos of the prepared food and
blue-toned photos of stars and celebrities. Includes photos of Joan, Dick
Powell, Bing Crosby, Beulah Gillespie, William Gargan, Bette Davis, May Robson,
Clark Gable, Warren William, Jean Parker, and others.
Click here
to see the page with Joan's menu. (Thanks to Nolan for sending this
scan.)
 Hurrell's Hollywood Portraits (1997, Harry N. Abrams)
Mark
A. Vieira
Description: 223 pages. From
the dust jacket: "This book presents in depth the work of George Hurrell,
the photographer who more than anyone else was responsible for inventing the
Hollywood "glamour" portrait - the essential publicity tool for the major
studios during the Golden Age of the movies. The book traces his immense impact
on the portrayal of the leading stars year by year, from his arrival in
California in 1925 until his departure in 1943. During that time he photographed
all of the greatest personalities at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Warner Brothers, and
Columbia as well as independently."
Joan and husband Franchot Tone appear
on the cover; there are numerous photos of Joan and
large sections of the text are devoted to Hurrell's work with and admiration for
her. Includes a before-and-after photo of Joan showing how after six hours of
retouching, her freckles were nonexistent.
Sample
Text:
If her face was Hurrell's favorite, it was because it
photographed the same from every angle. It was camera-proof. Its only problem
angles involved her right rear jaw, which was a little heavier, and the bridge
of her nose, which was so slender that it could make her nostrils look too
large.
The Hurrell Style (1976)
Photographs by
George Hurrell; text by Whitney Stine
Description: From the back cover: "The photographs of
George Hurrell epitomize the glamour and style of Hollywood. A leading
photographer there since 1925, Hurrell has photographed them all: Garbo,
Dietrich, Harlow, Cagney, Gable, Rita Hayworth, Robert Taylor, and many
more...Here are Hurrell's most breathtaking photographs - and text in which he
discusses his methods for evoking the charismatic images that came to define the
stars."
There are numerous photographs of Joan and also Hurrell's anecdotes
about working with her.
Sample Text:
Crawford
never grew irritated or bored with posing. She was Hurrell's most enthusiastic
subject. They made something of a record when he exposed five hundred plates in
one setting. After that session, St. Hillaire collapsed from fatigue after
loading so many holders, and Hurrell, completely spent, took of the next day, a
Friday, and spent the entire weekend in Carmel painting landscapes.
"I'd Love to Kiss You..." (1968)
Whitney
Stine
Description: From the
dust jacket: Illustrated with exclusive photographs, many from the author's
collection, "I'd Love to Kiss You..." is the ultimate Bette Davis book, as
fascinating and viv |
