Book review - "Michael Reeves" by Benjamin Halligan

Some directors have long interesting careers never get a biography -Michael Reeves made three features, only one of them really outstanding, and he's had two books written about him (the other was an oral biography by John B Murray). The reason is two fold: Reeves worked in the horror genre, which breeds devoted fans; also, he died while only 25, which is always good to give a story extra resonance. Having said that, this is a very good book, with covers the main facts of Revees' life, and goes into his films in detail, particularly Witchfinder General.
Reeves still comes across as shadowy at times, which I guess can't be helped; perhaps a bit more detail on his mother and final girlfriend might have helped, as they were obviously key players in his life. How did Reeves get to make so many films so young? He was talented, sure, but he basically bought his way in (he was a "trustafarian", as I believe rich kids are known in the UK) - used mummy's money to fork up the fifteen thousand pounds to make his first feature. It did well enough for him to get finance for the next two. (Some of his films were made with money from a strip club and porn empire who were going respectable by investing in films such as Polanski's Repulsion); AIP helped fund Witchfinder. Witchfinder was a good film (I think Reeve's death has caused it to be a little over-rated), which did well at the box office - which makes it surprising the last year or so of Reeve's life was spent trying to make another film. The one he came closest to doing was The Oblong Box (made by another director - Reeves pulled out because of the script); he also considered De Sade" (which I reckon he could have saved) and a number of others. It seems Witchfinder simply took it out of him (there was a battle with the censor over it).
Incidentally, this book argues one of the main reasons behind Reeves' clash with Vincent Price wasn't just that Reeves originally wanted Donald Pleasance for the lead, but that Price made a pass at Reeves and was knocked back. I'd never heard of that before (or that Price was gay,although when you think about it he was fairly camp) and the sources for this aren't strong - do stars normally try to crack on to their directors? I guess Tallulah Bankhead, yes, so... In addition, the author argues Reeves' death was accidental - though he was in a depressed state at the time, and he doesn't rule it out entirely.