Bøger i Screen Classics serien

"Once described by the New York Times as "the quintessential French Romantic, half adventurer, half-intellectual," actor, singer, and political activist Yves Montand won the hearts of audiences around the world with a charisma and talent that transcended physical and linguistic borders. Born in Italy as Ivo Livi, Montand achieved international recognition for his singing and performances in films such as Salaire de la Peur (1952) and Let's Make Love (1960) with Marilyn Monroe, with whom he had a passionate but short-lived affair. An Oscar and BAFTA Award winner who was also twice nominated for a Câesar Award for best actor, Montand's success was not limited to his work in film. Discovered and mentored by Edith Piaf, his interpretations of French songs were intense and intoxicating. His mellow baritone voice led to Broadway stardom and sent him on tour, making him one of the best-known entertainers of his day. Yves Montand: The Passionate Voice profiles Montand's complex, dynamic, and extraordinary life. From his birth in an Italian village near Florence in 1921 to his "accidental" immigration to France, his international success as an actor, singer, and activist to his sudden death from a heart attack in 1991, Joseph Harriss covers every aspect of Montand's life and career. Drawing on foreign-language biographies, Montand's autobiography, specialized studies, interviews, and other archival materials, Yves Montand is a riveting and multidimensional account of Montand's story and legacy"--

"Jean Gabin was more than just a star of iconic movies. To many, he was France itself. This biography traces his involvement in the râealisme poâetique and film noir movements of the 1930s and 1940s, his Hollywood years, his role in the World War II liberation of France, his affairs and his real-life role as a farmer"--

"Once called "the most gifted character actor of our time" by Broadway theater producer Arthur Hopkins, Lionel Barrymore (1878-1954) was part of the illustrious Barrymore acting dynasty. Although he garnered success on stage and screen and was a talented actor, writer, director, visual artist, and composer, he never quite escaped the shadow of his family members-including his brother, John, famous for his leading roles. Barrymore won the Academy Award for Best Actor in A Free Soul (1931) and was nominated for Best Director for Madame X (1930). However, he is best known for his role as Mr. Potter in It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and as the voice of Ebenezer Scrooge in radio broadcasts of A Christmas Carol from 1934 to 1953. He spent the last two decades of his career playing versions of his signature character-the curmudgeonly but lovable gentleman-in a variety of films from You Can't Take It With You (1938) to Key Largo (1948). Barrymore worked alongside some of Hollywood's most recognizable names, including Humphrey Bogart, James Stewart, Frank Capra, Lauren Bacall, Clark Gable, and Ava Gardner, and his legacy is enshrined at the Hollywood Walk of Fame, where he has two stars-one for radio and one for film. In Lionel Barrymore: Character and Endurance in Hollywood's Golden Age, Kathleen Spaltro examines Barrymore as an individual rather than just a supporting cast member of the famous dynasty. This comprehensive study divides Barrymore's life into three compelling acts. Act One follows Barrymore's early days-his failed endeavor as a visual artist, his performances in the family vaudeville acts, his first silent motion pictures, and his greatest successes and failures on the stage. Act Two details Barrymore's establishment as a fixture at MGM, his foray into directing, his success as the first actor to thrive in the talkies, and his estimable Oscar-winning performance. Finally, Act Three expounds on Barrymore's curation of his trademark character-the endearing grouch-his exploits in radio, and his fateful final years. Spaltro also unearths Barrymore's personal challenges, recounts his difficulties with-and sometimes estrangement from-members of his family, and delves into the devastating losses Barrymore suffered: his divorce, the deaths of his two daughters, and later, the death of his second wife and the accidents that eventually consigned him to a wheelchair. Lionel Barrymore is a detailed, multifaceted portrait of a brilliant character actor"--

"Once described by the New York Times as "the quintessential French Romantic, half adventurer, half-intellectual," actor, singer, and political activist Yves Montand won the hearts of audiences around the world with a charisma and talent that transcended physical and linguistic borders. Born in Italy as Ivo Livi, Montand achieved international recognition for his singing and performances in films such as Salaire de la Peur (1952) and Let's Make Love (1960) with Marilyn Monroe, with whom he had a passionate but short-lived affair. An Oscar and BAFTA Award winner who was also twice nominated for a Câesar Award for best actor, Montand's success was not limited to his work in film. Discovered and mentored by Edith Piaf, his interpretations of French songs were intense and intoxicating. His mellow baritone voice led to Broadway stardom and sent him on tour, making him one of the best-known entertainers of his day. Yves Montand: The Passionate Voice profiles Montand's complex, dynamic, and extraordinary life. From his birth in an Italian village near Florence in 1921 to his "accidental" immigration to France, his international success as an actor, singer, and activist to his sudden death from a heart attack in 1991, Joseph Harriss covers every aspect of Montand's life and career. Drawing on foreign-language biographies, Montand's autobiography, specialized studies, interviews, and other archival materials, Yves Montand is a riveting and multidimensional account of Montand's story and legacy"--

The auteur theory - the belief that a director's personal influence and artistic control over a movie are so great that the filmmaker is regarded as the key artist in making a film - was first popularized in America by film critic Andrew Sarris. In the New Hollywood Era of the 1960s and 1970s, as weakening studio control granted directors more artistic freedom, the theory gained traction, embraced by both the media and by directors themselves, and it came to be a significant factor in the filmmaking process. With its almost ubiquitous acceptance, the auteur theory also had, in hindsight, a negative effect. It undeniably played a role in establishing and romanticizing the dominance of the white heterosexual male point of view while ignoring the contributions of screenwriters and cinematographers, and worse, excluding marginalized aspiring filmmakers from the industry. Mavericks: Interviews with the World's Iconoclast Filmmakers amplifies the voices of a wide-ranging group of groundbreaking filmmakers whose identities, perspectives, and works don't conform to typical Hollywood standards. Author Gerald Peary, whose experience as a film studies professor, film critic, arts journalist, and director of documentaries culminates in a lifetime of film scholarship, presents a riveting collection of interviews with idiosyncratic directors - including Black, queer, female, and non-Western filmmakers-whose unconventional work is marked by their unique artistic points of view and molded by their social and political consciousness. Beginning in the 1970s and ending at the dawn of the new millennium, the collection includes Peary's talks with more than twenty film pioneers. Prior to Kathryn Bigelow's 2010 win as the first woman to receive an Oscar for best director, Peary interviewed cutting-edge female directors, including Iran's Samira Makhmalbaf (Blackboards, 2000), Poland's Agnieszka Holland (Europa, Europa, 1990), Norway's Liv Ullmann (Sofie,1992), and America's Roberta Findlay (Snuff, 1975), who is the first female director of pornographic films. While some of the collection's conversations focus on a single film, other interviews are an ambitious discussion of the filmmaker's whole career. Interviews with a disparate range of male filmmakers are also included: Howard Alk (The Murder of Fred Hampton, 1971), Ousmane Sembéne (Mandabi, 1968 and Emitai, 1971), Mel Brooks (The Producers, 1967, Young Frankenstein, 1974, and Blazing Saddles, 1974), Gus Van Sant (My Own Private Idaho, 1991, Good Will Hunting, 1997, and Milk, 2008), and John Waters (Pink Flamingos, 1972, Hairspray, 1988, and Pecker, 1998). With contextualizing introductions and insightful questions, Peary reveals the brilliance of these maverick directors and offers readers a lens into the minds of these incredible and engaging artists.

"For decades, James Bawden and Ron Miller have established themselves as maestros of provocative interviews, giving fans unmatched insights into the lives of Hollywood A-listers. In their fourth collection, the authors pay tribute to film pioneers who lit up Tinseltown from the 1930s through the 1960s. They Made the Movies features conversations with legendary directors who created many of film's all-time classics, including Frank Capra (It's A Wonderful Life, 1946), Richard Fleischer (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, 1954), Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho, 1960), Ralph Nelson (Lilies of the Field, 1963), Robert Wise (The Sound of Music, 1965), and Chuck Jones (How the Grinch Stole Christmas! 1966). Tantalizing firsthand details about many acclaimed films are revealed, such as the revelation of Mervyn LeRoy's first-choice of lead actress for The Wizard of Oz ("Shirley Temple . . . but Shirley couldn't sing like Judy [Garland]"), Billy Wilder's insights on directing ("You have to be a sycophant, a sadist, a nurse, a philosopher"), and how megaproducer Hal B. Wallis purchased an unproduced play titled Everyone Comes to Rick's and transformed it into Casablanca ("The part [of Sam] almost went to Lena Horne, but I thought she was too beautiful"). The authors also celebrate the contributions of marginalized filmmakers such as Ida Lupino, James Wong Howe, Oscar Micheaux, and Luis Valdez, who prevailed in Hollywood despite the discrimination they faced throughout their careers. They Made the Movies appeals to film and television enthusiasts of all ages"--

Clarence Brown: Hollywood's Forgotten Master explores the forces that shaped a complex man - part--dreamer, part-pragmatist - who left an indelible mark on cinema.

"One of the oldest and most recognizable studios in Hollywood, Warner Bros. is considered a juggernaut of the entertainment industry. Since its formation in the early twentieth century, the studio has been a constant presence in cinema history, responsible for the creation of acclaimed films, blockbuster brands, and iconic superstars. These days, the studio is best known as a media conglomerate with a broad range of intellectual property, spanning movies, TV shows, and streaming content. Despite popular interest in the origins of this empire, the core of the Warner Bros. saga cannot be found in its commercial successes. It is the story of four brothers-Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack-whose vision for Hollywood helped shape the world of entertainment as we know it. In The Warner Brothers, Chris Yogerst follows the siblings from their family's humble origins in Poland, through their young adulthood in the American Midwest, to the height of fame and fortune in Hollywood. With unwavering resolve, the brothers soldiered on against the backdrop of an America reeling from the aftereffects of domestic and global conflict. The Great Depression would not sink the brothers, who churned out competitive films that engaged audiences and kept their operations afloat-and even expanding. During World War II, they used their platform to push beyond the limits of the Production Code and create important films about real-world issues, openly criticizing radicalism and the evils of the Nazi regime. At every major cultural turning point in their lifetime, the Warners held a front-row seat. Paying close attention to the brothers' identities as cultural and economic outsiders, Yogerst chronicles how the Warners built a global filmmaking powerhouse. Equal parts family history and cinematic journey, The Warner Brothers is an empowering story of the American dream and the legacy four brothers left behind for generations of filmmakers and film lovers to come"--

"Before Salma Hayek, Eva Longoria, and Penelope Cruz, there was Lupe Velez-one of the first successful Latin-American Hollywood stars, who swept past the xenophobia of Old Hollywood to pave the way for future icons from around the world. Her career began in the silent era when her beauty was enough to make it onto the silver screen, but with the rise of talkies, Velez could no longer hope to hide her Mexican accent. Yet Velez proved to be a talented dramatic and comedic actress (and singer) and was much more versatile than such legends as Greta Garbo, Katharine Hepburn, and Gloria Swanson. Velez starred in such films as Hot Pepper (1933), Strictly Dynamite (1934), and Hollywood Party (1934). In the 1940s, Velez's popularity peaked after appearing as Carmelita Fuentes in eight Mexican Spitfire films, a series created to capitalize on Velez's well-documented fiery personality. Nicknamed "the Mexican Spitfire" by the media, Velez's personal life was as colorful as her screen persona. Fan magazines mythologized her mysterious childhood in Mexico, while mainstream publications obsessed over the drama of her romances with such figures as Gary Cooper, Erich Maria Remarque, and John Gilbert, along with her stormy marriage to Johnny Weissmuller. In 1944, a pregnant and unmarried Velez died of an intentional drug overdose. Her tumultuous life and the circumstances surrounding her early death have been the subject of speculation and controversy. In Strictly Dynamite: The Sensational Life of Lupe Velez, author Eve Golden uses extensive research to parse fact from fiction and offer a thorough, riveting, and comprehensive examination of the real woman underneath the gossip columns' caricature. Through astute analysis of the actress's iconic filmography and interviews, Golden illuminates the path Velez blazed through Hollywood. Her success was unexpected and extraordinary at a time when her distinctive accent was an obstacle, yet very few published books have focused entirely on Velez's life and career. Written with even-handedness, humor, and empathy, Golden has finally given the remarkable Mexican actress the uniquely nuanced portrait she deserves"--

"When considering the best dancers in Hollywood's history, some obvious names come to mind-Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, and Bill Robinson. Yet often overlooked is one of the most gifted and creative dancers of all time, Eleanor Powell. Powell's effervescent style, unmatched technical prowess in tap, and free-flowing musicality led MGM to build top-rate musicals around her unique talents, including Born to Dance (1936) with James Stewart and Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940) with Fred Astaire, in which she became known as the only female tap dancer capable of challenging him. In a male-dominated industry, her fierce drive for perfection, sometimes to her detriment, earned her a place as one of the most accomplished performers in vaudeville, Broadway, and film. Powell's grace, precision, and power established her as one of the greatest American dancers. In 1943, she married actor Glenn Ford and largely stepped away from the spotlight for the duration of their tumultuous marriage. After their divorce, Powell made a courageous comeback, successfully performing in Las Vegas and on the nightclub circuit. Cancer claimed her life at the age of sixty-nine. Eleanor Powell: Born to Dance by Paula Broussard and Lisa Royáere is an all-encompassing work following the American dance legend from her premature birth into a single-parent home in Springfield, Massachusetts, to her first Broadway performance at age fifteen, through her days as a blazing icon in the world of Hollywood, and finally, to her inspiring comeback. With access to rare documents, letters, and production files, as well as drawing on the authors' intimate personal relationships with Powell, this is a thoroughly researched, comprehensive, and fascinating look at an incredibly talented and unforgettable woman"--

"Brilliant, beautiful, driven, uncompromising, elusive, iconic-Jessica Lange is one of the most gifted and fascinating actors of her generation. From her rise to fame in Dino De Laurentiis's remake of King Kong (1976) and her Oscar-winning performances in Tootsie (1982) and Blue Sky (1994); to her Emmy-winning work in Grey Gardens (2009) and the American Horror Story series; and her Tony Award-winning turn in Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night (2016), Lange has had a long and illustrious career on-screen and onstage. She has worked with some of the most celebrated names in the business, including Jack Nicholson, Bob Fosse, Martin Scorsese, Kim Stanley, Halle Berry, and Kathy Bates. Jessica Lange: An Adventurer's Heart, the first full-length biography of Lange, presents a comprehensive study of the life and work of an exceptional actress. Beginning with her upbringing in Minnesota, author Anthony Uzarowski traces Lange's formative years as a restless soul who found solace in art and a life on the road before turning to acting. While critics initially questioned her talent, she refused to be dismissed as yet another pretty face. She continued to study her craft and immersed herself in her roles, honing the poignant and emotionally charged performances for which she is renowned. Lange was introduced to a whole new generation of fans with her acclaimed work in Ryan Murphy's anthology series, American Horror Story. Murphy later created another chance for Lange to shine with his television miniseries, Feud: Bette and Joan, costarring Susan Sarandon. This meticulously researched and wide-ranging biography also gives a glimpse into Lange's carefully guarded private life: her years as a free-spirited artist in the 1960s, her dedication to motherhood, and her legendary partnership with Sam Shepard, which was one of the most passionate, tumultuous, and secretive long-term relationships in Hollywood"--

Nazimova: A Biography is a brilliant re-creation of the life and work of this complex, dark, glamorous, and important figure.

Featuring a foreword by Academy Award-winning film historian Kevin Brownlow, Leteux's intimate biography paints a fascinating portrait of one of the leading pioneers of early cinema and provides a new window into the origins of the moving picture.

"Lawrence Tierney (1919-2002) was the kind of actor whose natural swagger and gruff disposition made him the perfect fit for the Hollywood "tough guy" archetype. Known for his erratic and oftentimes violent nature, Tierney drew upon his bellicose reputation throughout his career-a reputation that made him one of the most feared and mythologized characters in the industry. Born in Brooklyn to Irish American parents, Tierney worked in theater productions in New York before moving to Hollywood, where he signed with RKO Radio Pictures in 1943. His biggest roles would come in Dillinger (1945), in which he played 1930s gangster and bank robber John Dillinger, and Robert Wise's film noir classic Born to Kill (1947). Despite his natural talents, Tierney was trouble from the start, struggling with alcoholism and mental instability that emboldened him to start fights whenever and wherever he could. The continued bouts of alcohol-fueled rage, his subsequent stints in jail, and his continued attempts at rehabilitation curtailed his acting career. Unable to find work throughout much of the 1960s, he did a stint in Europe before eventually returning to New York, where he took odd jobs as a construction worker, bartender, and hansom cab driver. In the mid-1980s Tierney returned to acting. With a somewhat cooler head, he established himself again with recurring roles in shows such as Seinfeld and Star Trek: The Next Generation. He would take on his final projects as a septuagenarian in Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Armageddon (1998), where his on-set behavior would once again draw the ire of his colleagues and studio representatives. He would go down swinging just shy of his eighty-third birthday, his tough-guy image solidly intact until the end. In Lawrence Tierney: Hollywood's Real-Life Tough Guy, author Burt Kearns traces Tierney's storied life from his days as Dillinger, to his clash with Quentin Tarantino at the end of his film career, to his final public appearances. The first official biography of the late actor, the book draws on the writings of Hollywood reporters and gossip columnists who first reported on Tierney's antics, and exclusive interviews with surviving colleagues, friends, family members-and victims. Through their words and his research, Kearns paints a portrait of Tierney's brutish behavior and the industry's reaction to the pugnacious star, drawing parallels-and the line-between the man and the characters that made him a Hollywood legend"--

"In the early days of motion pictures-before superstars, before studio conglomerates, before even the advent of sound-there was a woman named Pearl White (1889-1938). A quintessential beauty of the time, with her perfectly tousled bob and come-hither stare, White's rise to stardom was swift; her assumption of the title of queen of American motion picture serials equally deserved. Born the youngest of five children in a small, rural Missouri farm town, White left high school at only 15, taking on jobs to help keep her family financially afloat, work that included small parts in plays for a local stock company. At 18 she began a three-year stage career with the Trousdale Stock Company, touring on the road and sinking her teeth into leading roles in productions such as Jane Eyre. As she continued to build her professional repertoire, White joined the Powers Film Company in New York and made her film debut in 1910. Her reputation for fearless performances and her penchant for doing her own stunt work soon set her apart from her female colleagues. It was that same daring attitude that would put her on the map internationally as an actress. From flying airplanes to swimming across rapid rivers, to racing cars in serials like The Perils of Pauline (1914), White was undaunted by the demands of her onscreen career. She would go on to star in popular serial classics such as The Exploits of Elaine (1915), Pearl of the Army (1916), The House of Hate (1918), and The Lightning Raider (1919). As active socially as she was professionally, White would also translate her audacious spirit outside of her career by playing a part in the early feminist movement. Her projection of a positive image of bravery on screen served as a model for suffragettes battling for women's rights in the US. William M. Drew's The Woman Who Dared: The Life and Times of Pearl White, Queen of the Serials, is the first full-length biography of this pioneering star. A study in film and female agency, Drew delves into the cultural impact of Pearl White's work and how it evolved along a concurrent trajectory with the social upheavals of the Progressive Era"--

After 10 years of research and writing, Frank Brady has written the first comprehensive life story of Orson Welles--the legendary genius, filmmaker, and actor whose contribution to the art of moviemaking has never been surpassed. 16-page black-and-white photograph insert.

For the first time, everyone who was close to Natalie Wood speaks freely--including her husbands, Robert Wagner and Richard Gregson, famously private people like Warren Beatty, intimate friends such as playwright Mart Crowley, directors Robert Mulligan and Paul Mazursky, and Leslie Caron, each of whom told the author stories about this remarkable woman who was so full of life but always on the brink of despair.

Bringing together exclusive cast and crew interviews, a wealth of previously unseen archive material, and extraordinary accounts of the local people who took Lean and his epic to their hearts, this fast-paced, entertaining, and often jaw-dropping account is everything you ever wanted to know about David Lean's great 'fillum' and its tragic aftermath.

In this full-scale biography of the controversial, underrated, yet greatly admired movie titan, Foster Hirsch shows us the man--enraging and endearing--and his brilliant work.

Anne Bancroft: A Life offers new insights into the life and career of a determined actress who left an indelible mark on the film industry while remaining true to her art.

"e;Insightful, often humorous, and always fascinating remembrances by some of the greatest names in entertainment history . . . a vibrant portrait of a bygone era."e; -Brent Phillips, author of Charles Walters: The Director Who Made Hollywood DanceDuring television's first fifty years-long before Hulu, Netflix, and the like-families would gather around their sets nightly to watch such shows as I Love Lucy, Gunsmoke, M*A*S*H, The Beverly Hillbillies, Fantasy Island, and The Rockford Files.Seasoned journalists James Bawden and Ron Miller have captured provocative and entertaining interviews with beloved stars of shows like these, important figures from TV's first half century. These thirty-nine interviews, selected from conversations conducted from 1971-1998, present a fascinating glimpse of some of television's most influential performers. Featured are exclusive interviews with major stars (including Donna Reed, James Garner, and Ricardo Montalban), icons of comedy (including Lucille Ball, George Burns, and Milton Berle), TV hosts (including Dick Clark and Ed Sullivan), and notable musical entertainers (such as Glen Campbell, Mary Martin, and Lawrence Welk). Each chapter explores the subject's television work-with detailed behind-the-scenes disclosures-and includes additional information about the subject's performances in film and on stage.

Charming and classically handsome, John Gilbert (1897--1936) was among the world's most recognizable actors during the silent era. He was a wild, swashbuckling figure on screen and off, and accounts of his life have focused on his high-profile romances with Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich, his legendary conflicts with Louis B. Mayer, his four tumultuous marriages, and his swift decline after the introduction of talkies. A dramatic and interesting personality, Gilbert served as one of the primary inspirations for the character of George Valentin in the Academy Award--winning movie The Artist (2011). Many myths have developed around the larger-than-life star in the eighty years since his untimely death, but this definitive biography sets the record straight.Eve Golden separates fact from fiction in John Gilbert: The Last of the Silent Film Stars, tracing the actor's life from his youth spent traveling with his mother in acting troupes to the peak of fame at MGM, where he starred opposite Mae Murray, Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, and other actresses in popular films such as The Merry Widow (1925), The Big Parade (1925), Flesh and the Devil (1926), and Love (1927). Golden debunks some of the most pernicious rumors about the actor, including the oft-repeated myth that he had a high-pitched, squeaky voice that ruined his career. Meticulous, comprehensive, and generously illustrated, this book provides a behind-the-scenes look at one of the silent era's greatest stars and the glamorous yet brutal world in which he lived.

This memoir by the Academy Award nominee "e;proves that Dern off-screen is every bit as unpredictable, compelling and explosively honest as he is onscreen"e; (Newsday).One of Hollywood's biggest personalities, Bruce Dern is not afraid to say what he thinks. He has left an indelible mark on numerous projects, from critically acclaimed films to made-for-TV movies and television series. His notable credits include The Great Gatsby, The 'Burbs, Monster, Django Unchained, and Nebraska, for which he won the Best Actor award at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. He also earned Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor in Coming Home and for Best Actor in Nebraska.In Bruce Dern: A Memoir, Christopher Fryer and Robert Crane help the outspoken star frame the fascinating tale of his life in Hollywood. Dern details the challenges he faced as an artist in a cutthroat business, his struggle against typecasting, and his thoughts on and relationships with other famous figures, including Elia Kazan, Alfred Hitchcock, Jack Nicholson, Paul Newman, Bob Dylan, Matt Damon, Jane Fonda, John Wayne, and Tom Hanks. He also explores the impact of his fame on his family and discusses his unique relationship with his daughter, actress Laura Dern.Edgy and uncensored, this memoir-filled with "e;amusing, illuminating, and occasionally heartrending anecdotes"e; (Philadelphia Inquirer)-is a wild ride and an insider's view of fifty years in the film industry.

A biography of the Oscar-winning director and a study of his acclaimed films, like All Quiet on the Western Front, The Front Page, and Of Mice and Men.This comprehensive biography is the first to present Lewis Milestone's remarkable life?a classic rags-to-riches American narrative?in full and explores his many acclaimed films from the silent to the sound era. Creator of All Quiet on the Western Front, Of Mice and Men, the original Ocean's Eleven and Mutiny on the Bounty, Lewis Milestone (1895-1980) was one of the most significant, prolific, and influential directors of our time. A serious artist who believed in film's power not only to entertain, but also to convey messages of social importance, Milestone was known as a man of principle in an industry not always known for an abundance of virtue.Born in Ukraine, Milestone came to America as a tough, resourceful Russian-speaking teenager and learned about film by editing footage from the front as a member of the Signal Corps of the US Army during World War I. During the course of his film career, which spanned more than 40 years, Milestone developed intense personal and professional relationships with such major Hollywood figures as Howard Hughes, Kirk Douglas, Marlene Dietrich, and Marlon Brando. Addressed are Milestone's successes?he garnered 28 Academy Award nominations?as well as his challenges. Using newly available archival material, this work also examines Milestone's experience during the Hollywood Blacklist period, when he was one of the first prominent Hollywood figures to fall under suspicion for his alleged Communist sympathies.Praise for Lewis Milestone"e;This highly readable biography of Lewis Milestone delivers the definitive study of a leading Jewish emigre director in Hollywood from the 1920s to the 1960s who worked successfully across multiple genres. Robinson seamlessly layers the scholarly expertise of a noted film historian of Russia and the Soviet Union with a novelist's gift for narrative power and dramatic flair, bringing long overdue attention to Milestone's fascinating life and enduring artistic achievements."e; -Catherine Portuges, University of Massachusetts Amherst"e;A welcome biography of a man whose films remain better known than his name . . . . Robinson concentrates on the key aspects of Milestone's life and career, never getting bogged down in plot synopses or other minor issues. Rather than shoveling up endless rubble, he offers us the milestones of Milestone. Robinson's story is as tight as most classic Hollywood films, and that deserves to be heralded. This is a book equally as valuable to film buffs as to academic scholars, speaking to readers inside and outside the academy."e; -LA Review of Books