Book review – “Jean Arthur: the Actress Nobody Knew” by John Oller

Being a recluse seemed to suit Greta Garbo – she was so enigmatic on screen, so “foreign”. It didn’t seem to suit Jean Arthur – she always seemed so warm and friendly, one couldn’t help assume that she was happily married and lived in a country town. Well, she was happily married for a time, and did live in a country town (Carmel), but then she got divorced and lived as a recluse, and often was a nervous wreck..

Oller was faced with a difficult task, writing about Arthur, as she rarely spoke to the press once she had the power not to. But he succeeds magnificently, a combination of solid research (for instance, clarifying that she was born in 1900 – she was amazingly well preserved, doing a swimsuit photo in 1941), and analysis, looking at what she studied when she went back to school at the height of her fame, and the various comments she’s given in interviews. Arthur has been called a lesbian in recent years, for a few reasons (passionate friendship with Mary Martin, preference of manly roles such as Peter Pan) but nothing conclusive – Oller sort of sits on the fence on that one, doesn’t accept it but doesn’t discard it either. Often with eccentric people sexuality can be used as an easy explanation – “ah, she was gay, that’s why” – but I think Arthur’s personality was more shaped by other things, a desire to hide despite being an actor (something not that rare), her adoration of an alcoholic father, insecurity about her intelligence, her desire for women to be treated the same as men. Arthur sort of drifted into acting, it doesn’t seem to have been a grand passion with her (she started young at her parent’s prompting and put in about a decade in thankless roles before becoming a star); her passion was for ideals. I also got the impression Arthur used her nervousness as “fuel” for her performing energy – but sometimes the fuel exploded, especially when working on a play and/or with a director she didn’t trust.

The structure of the book is slightly odd – by the half way mark we’re already at the year 1943, when Arthur pretty much gave up film acting, and the whole second half of the book is dedicated to Arthur’s studies, theatre experiences and television work, with the odd film, plus her life as a recluse. I would have preferred more on the films, but this is a very good book.