Rooney was a fascinating star - someone who was born in a trunk, acting from the age of 2, a headliner at 3, a film star at six (in a series of short films), then washed up at 11, rediscovered by MGM and Max Reinhardt (who put him in Puck in Midsummer Night's Dream), became a star again at MGM particularly as Andy Hardy but also in a series of musicals with Judy Garland. By the end of the 1930s he was the biggest star in the US.
Rooney found the perfect studio in MGM - Louis B Mayer loved Americana and musicals, and Rooney thrived in both genres. He also did well in schmaltzy dramas such as Boys Town and The Human Comedy. Rooney earned a lot of money but spent it just as fast, on loans and gambling and other bad habits. He womanised like there was no tomorrow but fell for Ava Gardner before she was famous. His popularity began to ebb as he got older and he missed two crucial years of his career serving in the army.
Nonetheless he was still a draw when he came back - some of his post war films were popular such as Love Laughs at Andy Hardy and (surprisingly) Killer McCoy, where he played a boxer. Summer Holiday and Words and Music lost money however and Rooney and MGM parted ways - a stupid decision on Rooney's part because he missed out on the studio pension. He also ventured into independent filmmaking for which he was temperamentally unsuited and was soon washed up as a major star. Does anyone remember Quicksand, The Fireball, He's a Cockeyed Wonder, My Outlaw Brother, The Strip, Sound Off, Off Limits, All Ashore, A Slight Case of Larceny, Drive a Crooked Road, The Atomic Kid?
But he was still Rooney, still very talented, with a phenomenal work ethic. He did TV, radio, Las Vegas, made a reputation as a character actor (The Bridges at Tokyo Ri, Requiem for a Heavyweight). He was never out of work. A good thing too for his private life was a mess - constantly getting married and divorce, always burning through money, associating with gangsters (he played Vegas a lot and was always in hock to dodgy people) - a lot of people he knew wound up murdered, such as business managers and one wife.
Things turned around in the 1970s - Rooney had a run of genuine good film roles (The Black Stallion, Bill) and a stage smash with Sugar Babies. This earned him a fortune - which he proceeded to blow. His last years were a depressing mixture of lawsuits and allegations of dementia and elder abuse - one was never sure what Rooney was genuinely suffering and what he was making up.
This isn't a fun book - for all his talent Rooney seems to have been a pretty appalling person, constantly making stupid decisions and pronouncements, grasping for cash, turning on those who loved him, generally being insufferable. It's very sordid with it's gangsters, gambling, murder, abuse, dashed hopes and dreams. Rooney never learns his lesson and keeps making the same mistakes so he's a frustrating person to follow.
The book felt well researched though maybe over reliant on secondary sources. It "goes there" - there's descriptions of Rooney's lovemaking with Gardner including about her nipples. I wish they'd referred to primary sources more such as studio documentation. But generally this is a good book.
As an aside - I've sometimes wondered whether Rooney's status as a star could've been maintained after World War Two. If he'd stayed at MGM longer and they'd looked after him. It was a challenging time for Hollywood and Dore Schary was never going to be an exec who liked stars like Rooney but MGM did still make musicals and comedies. The last proper Andy Hardy film made a comfortable profit - I think it was a big mistake to end the series; there were plenty of stories to be had with Andy going through college, becoming a young lawyer and getting married. I'm not saying it wouldn't be a challenge but I think it could've been done. Anyway, we'll never know...
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