You may have to Search all our reviewed books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
During his lifetime, Spencer Tracy was known as Hollywood's 'actor's actor'. Critics wrote that what Olivier was to theatre, Tracy was to film. Over his career he was nominated for nine Academy Awards, and won two. But there has been no substantial, intimate biography of the man, until now. From his earliest days in stock theatre, Tracy was a publicist's trial, guarding his private life fiercely. Most of the people associated closely with him shunned the limelight - notably his wife, his children and the great actress Katharine Hepburn, with whom he had an affair that lasted over 26 years. Although his screen roles often depicted a happy, twinkling Irishman, Tracy struggled with alchoholism to the end, a fact which the studios managed to keep out of the papers. With the help of Tracy's daughter, Susie, and access to previously unseen papers, James Curtis has now produced the definitive biography of a tortured, complex and immensely talented man. The book contains 124 integrated photos, many published for the first time.
**One of Literary Hub’s Five “Most Critically Acclaimed” Biographies of 2022** From acclaimed cultural and film historian James Curtis—a major biography, the first in more than two decades, of the legendary comedian and filmmaker who elevated physical comedy to the highest of arts and whose ingenious films remain as startling, innovative, modern—and irresistible—today as they were when they beguiled audiences almost a century ago. "It is brilliant—I was totally absorbed, couldn't stop reading it and was very sorry when it ended."—Kevin Brownlow It was James Agee who christened Buster Keaton “The Great Stone Face.” Keaton’s face, Agee wrote, "ranked almost with Lincoln...
First published in 1938, this is the second James Curtis title to be reprinted by London Books (The Gilt Kid appeared in 2007) and sees the author take his favourite themes of justice and equality on a rollercoaster ride through the streets of the capital and onto the great roads heading north. This new edition comes with an introduction by the well-known writer, broadcaster and Curtis fan, Jonathan Meades.
James Curtis belongs to a tradition of novelists, Patrick Hamilton among them, whose left-wing politics shapes not only their lives but also their fiction. Curtis used his plots to highlight the unfairness of society and dearth of opportunity that all too often leads people to break the law. The Gilt Kid (first published in 1936) focuses on a convicted burglar and Communist sympathiser, freshly realeased from prison who wastes little time in plunging back to the London underworld, a milieu that few writers have depicted with such empathy and clarity.
Feel uplifted with this hilariously romantic story about a second chance at love 'Charming, funny and very relatable!' JOSIE SILVER 'Made me laugh out loud, cry my heart out and put a big grin on my face' 5***** Reader Review 'Utterly adorable and romantic. I feel uplifted!' GIOVANNA FLETCHER **THE WAY BACK TO YOU, the new book by James Bailey, is available to pre-order now!** ________ It's love . . . what could go wrong? When Josh proposes in a pod on the London Eye at New Years' Eve, he thinks it's perfect. Until she says no. And they have to spend the next 29 excruciating minutes alone together. Realising he can't trust his own judgment, Josh decides from now on he will make every decisio...
They were calling it the Twentieth Century -- "She is a little animal, surely" -- "He's my son, and I'll break his neck any way I want to" -- "The locomotive of juveniles" -- A little hell-raising Huck Finn -- The boy who couldn't be damaged -- "Make me laugh, Keaton" -- Speed mania in the kingdom of shadows -- Pancakes at Childs -- Comique -- Roscoe -- Brooms -- Mabel at the wheel -- Famous players in famous plays -- Home, made -- Rice, shoes, and real estate -- The shadow stage -- Battle-scarred risibilities -- One for you, one for me -- The "darkie shuffle" -- The collapsing façade -- Grief slipped in -- The road through the mountain -- Not a drinker, a drunk -- Old times -- The coming thing in entertainment -- Coda: Eleanor.
'Powerful' Closer 'A darkly quirky story of love, obsession and fear . . . a beautiful story hung around the enchanting and heartbreaking voice of teenager Greg' Anna James Miss Hayes has a new theory. She thinks my condition's caused by some traumatic incident from my past I keep deep-rooted in my mind. As soon as I come clean I'll flood out all these tears and it'll all be ok and I won't be scared of Them anymore. The truth is I can't think of any single traumatic childhood incident to tell her. I mean, there are plenty of bad memories - Herb's death, or the time I bit the hole in my tongue, or Finners Island, out on the boat with Sarah - but none of these are what caused the phobia. I've always had it. It's Them. I'm just scared of Them. It's that simple. For fans of Sarah Winman, Junot Diaz and Maria Semple, Alice and the Fly is an unforgettable book about phobias and obsessions, isolation and dark corners, families, friendships, and carefully preserved secrets. But above everything else it's about love. Finding love - in any of its forms - and nurturing it.
Curtis penned the critically acclaimed and award-winning biography of one of the most highly recognizable motion picture stars of all time who rose to fame during the early days of Hollywood.
Presents the result of conversations between writer James Curtis and Mae Clark (1910-1992), an actress who has the misfortune of being best known for a scene in which James Cagney grinds a grapefruit into her face, but whose talent and hard work in the acting business, in spite of personal misfortune, shine through. Includes an introduction by Curtis and bandw film stills. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR