Mark A. Vieira

“Nineteen thirty-nine was a watershed year. The Great Depression was barely over, but America was again feeling the chill winds of change. Politics, economics, and art braced for war. There was a lull before the storm, and Hollywood, as if expecting to be judged by posterity, produced a portfolio of classics. What year before or since has yielded as many masterpieces?” – Mark A. Vieira, Majestic Hollywood

Told in chronological order by month, this book provides a summary of 50 movies released in 1939. The structure is the same for each film: title, release date, a quote, a one-sentence plot summary, production highlights, critical reactions, and photos of the performers. It is amazing how many classics emerged in one year.

We also get a glimpse into the culture of the time, in such gems as: “In the 1930s there was a code of etiquette in movie theaters. Audience members did not wear hats, talk, or put gum under theater seats. It was customary to applaud when “The End” flashed on the screen. It was also customary to applaud at the end of a satisfying or well-acted scene.”

The substance of the book lies in the production notes. Some films get more attention than others, and avid film buffs may already know some of the content, but most was new to me. It is well-packaged, and the photos are wonderful. It evokes a bygone era and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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Excellent biography of the "boy genius" Irving Thalberg who did so much to make MGM a success in its early days by promoting stars such as John Gilbert and Norma Shearer (who eventually became his wife). Thalberg was a fragile child who was born with a heart defect and was told he would not live past the age of 30. With an overprotective mother, he spent much of his childhood in bed reading the classics. When he started out in the film business at Universal, he learned the business and became head of production at MGM. He developed a team of great writers, producers, directors, and stars but eventually clashed with studio head, Louis B. Mayer. Thalberg made it to age 37 but passed away of pneumonia. As a fan of early Hollywood of the 20's and 30's, I found the book hard to put down. The author relied on interviews with those who knew or worked with Thalberg, previous biographies of Thalberg, and an unpublished work by wife Norma Shearer. I would recommend the book to anyone who wants to know the history of Hollywood or MGM. I would have given the book 5 stars but felt the print too small and too light on the ink making it difficult to read.… (más)

Forbidden Hollywood traces the Pre-Code years in Hollywood right after the Silent Film years. Of course, these risqué movies all were filmed in black and white. So many young and unknown actresses rose to fame in this era: Jean Harlow, Myrna Loy, Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Greta Garbo, and many others. The 1934 Code that outlined what was acceptable in films: violence, sex, topics, and language. The book includes pictures of these beautiful actresses in their pictures and scenes from Scarface with Paul Muni. The book covers all the problems and the solutions to many of the banned films.… (más)

Five stars for the large photos alone. I knew many of these images (or similar poses) from movie books and blogs, but it's nice to see so many together. Hurrell's story is also an interesting one; the way creative people "fell into" prominence in early Hollywood is fascinating to me.

I do wish there was a little more depth on the middle part of GH's life, and less minutiae about photo collectors. I suppose their story is part of his story, but those last chapters felt overly long and not enough of Hurrell's story. (Incidentally, it didn't paint collectors in the most flattering light, either.)

All in all, a very nice coffee-table book, or classic Hollywood eye candy. I would read more about portrait photographers, if only every book could be so attractive.… (más)