Reel Characters: Great Movie Character Actors - Hardcover

Young, Jordan R.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 094041080X ISBN 13: 9780940410800

Publisher: Past Times Pub Co, 1986

Synopsis

Home video and cable TV have brought these unforgettable faces from Hollywood's Golden Era into millions of homes. Interview-profiles with 12 of the movies' best loved supporting players -- including Sam Jaffe, Beulah Bondi, Elisha Cook, Fritz Feld, Iris Adrian, John Carradine, Charles Lane, John Qualen and Anita Garvin -- offer a fresh perspective on the stars and directors of the past. The actors' candid remarks, hilarious anecdotes and shrewd observations give the reader rare glimpse behind the tinsel. What was it really like working with W.C. Fields, Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, John Barrymore and Laurel & Hardy? You'll find out here. Movie Entertainment Book Club main selection. Includes foreword by Fritz Feld, over 100 photos, extensive filmographies (including unbilled bits), index. Hardcover out of print; limited stock available.

About this title

About the Author

Jordan R. Young is a show business historian whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor and other publications. He is the author of 12 books and 600 articles. His original plays include "Hollywood Is a State of Mind," a trilogy of one-acts produced by California Artists Radio Theatre. He has worked as a writer or consultant on documentary films, radio and TV shows, stage productions, CDs, websites and online publications.

From Library Journal

"Reel characters" refers to character actors, a dozen of whom are admiringly profiled. For film buffs, some of the subjects will be familiar (e.g., Beulah Bondi, Elisha Cook, Sam Jaffe), but others such as Anita Garvin and Feld are more obscure. Photographs are copiously spread throughout the text, and the filmography for each actor is very detailed, including unbilled bits and even some appearances as an extra. The body of the book is based on interviews Young had with his subjects, and while it reads easily enough, on the whole the book is shallow. The book isn't bad, but John Kobal's People Will Talk ( LJ 1/86) offers more interviews for the money. Movie Entertainment Book Club main selection. John Smothers, Monmouth Cty. Lib., Freehold, N.J.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Past Times Pub Co
• Publication date: 1986
• ISBN 10: 094041080X
• ISBN 13: 9780940410800
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208