Book review - "The Black Path of Fear" (1944) by Cornel Woolrich

 Never read him before. Writes divinely. Gets off to such a brilliant start with its sense of doom - lovers fleeing husband. Then she's killed. It is strong for a while - he meets a mystery woman - then feels padded. Perks up with him murdering the husband. But you can see why it made a solid 30 minute radio drama.

Book review - "Chasing the Panther: Adventures and Misadventures of a Cinematic Life" by Carolyn Pfeiffer

 I read this because I was keen to read about Pfeiffer's adventures as a producer in the 80s with Alan Rudolph, Chris Blackwell, Shep Gordon etc but there is very little of that. This memoir is mostly about her time in Europe in the 60s - as a student, then working in Italy as Claudie Cardinale's assistant, meeting people like Burt Lancaster, Visconti, Delon and Fellini, then working for Delon (being raped by one of Delon's dodgy bodyguards), then Omar Sharif as an assistant (shagging Robert Bolt), being friends with Nathalie Delon and Geraldine Chaplin, becoming a publicisit then eventually working for Shep Gordon, hanging with Robert Altman, dope with Blake Edwards. 

It's pretty interesting stuff - having Sean Connery put his hand on her leg while Diane Cilento was there, a fling with photographer Terence Donovan etc. There is heart break - a daughter (son of an affair with a married man) dies as a child, she finds true love with a journalist who dies of a heart attack. I wish there had been more on her work as producer. But I enjoyed the book.

 

Book review - "Vera Miles: The Hitchcock Blonde Who Got Away" by Christopher McKittrick

 Miles was a solid, pretty actor who delivered solid performances over the years, including some classics - The Searchers, Psycho, The Wrong Man, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. I think it's fair to say she's no one's favourite part of these movies but she doesn't let anyone down. The most interesting thing about her career is Hitchcock was briefly obsessed with her and wanted to star her in Vertigo but she fell pregnant and he ended up using Kim Novak.

This is a conscientous, dogged book, like a Miles performance, not that gripping - her life and career wasn't that interesting. She had a few divorces, the Hitchcock interlude... that was about it. She seems like a nice person who married a few dodgy men. The book might've been better putting more dates and credits in an appendix than the text.

Book review - "We did okay, kid" by Anthony Hopkins

 Is Hopkins a great actor? He's been great - Silence of the Lambs, Howard's End - but  a lot of dreck. Hollywood thinks he's great - Hollywood is like that. It was Hollywood who kept his career going when he walked out of the National in the 1970s.

Hopkins always seemed like he had his head in the clouds. This confirms it. Internal. Quiet. A loud alcoholic.

The book livens up in some spots - being sledged by Paul Sorvino making Nixon, discussing his process in Silence of the Lambs. I wish there had been more of that. But I think he lives in Hopkins land. This is low on anecdotes and actors insights. 

Book review - "Joan Crawford" by Scott Eyman (2025)

 Very good book. Eyman loves to step up when redeeming maligned figures. He's sympathetic to Joan but doesn't gloss over her negative qualities. Solid research. A few too many smart ass asides.

Book review - "Deliver Me From Nowhere" by Warren Zanes

 Read this specifically to see if there was a movie in it. There isn't. Sorry. Haven't seen the movie. But it's a chapter, not a whole story. As a book it's fine because it drills down into songs and so on. But no sweeping narrative. Well written and researched. Springsteen comes out of it well.

Book review - "Flashman" (1969) by George MacDonald Fraser (re-reading)

 Re-read this. Totally works. Fraser had great control from the start. Full knowledge of his character and tone. Full of memorable set pieces - I think his journalism training really paid off. The duel sequence, the riots in Scotland, the initial days in India, the attack that gave rise to Bloody Lance, the fighting in the cell with the pit of snakes, the murder of Sekundar Burnes, the murder of McNaughten, the spectacular collapse of the British army retreating from Kabul., the final battle.

Would it be possible to do this at anything approaching a reasonable budget? Well, the London scenes could be done indoors. You could condense India. There are some Afghans scenes that don't have to be huge budget - stuff in prison cells, the final fort battle. The murder of McNaughten could be done off screen. The retreat itself though that would be hard. 

Book review - "How to Survive a Killer Musical: Agony and Ecstasy on the Road to Broadway" by Douglas J. Cohen

 The story of writing and producing a musical based on William Goldman's No Way to Treat a Lady 0 I was unaware this existed, as in the musical, although I'm a Goldman fan. It has had several productions around the world and made some coin.

The book is kind of interesting - no big epic dramas, not really, a lot of trudge and hard work, some personality clashes. Cohen's always pushing sh*t uphill basically. The work is always being tinkered with.

Goldman plays a decent part in the book - he asks for a big fat cut of the money, though he does ease off later on to help out. And he makes a creative contribution. People like Sondheim and Frank Rich offer thoughts. 

A welcome addition to Broadway books because it does feel more realistic. It's mostly about a lot of hard work and medium success rather than a huge flop or a huge bomb. 

Book review - "The Man with the Getaway Face" by Richard Stark (1963)

 The second Parker has him get plastic surgery, then go off to commit one of his heists but the second half turns into a saga about who killed his plastic surgeon. Interesting concepts of honour. The loyal chauffeur is an interesting character too.

Book review - "The Hunter" by Richard Stark

 The first Parker novel. Comes flying out of the gate, with tough professionalism, cold fury, hate. Bigger female roles here - the wife (quite empathetic), the hooker who helps him. Ending feels padded. Parker gets revenge, then wants money, then gets revenge on the outfit. Like he keeps wanting more.

Easy to read. Entertaining. 

Book review - "The Outfit" by Richard Stark

 Third Parker novel is terrific. The Outfit are out to kill him. He finds out who. Figures out it's the head guy. Makes a deal with the number two guy to knock him off. Gets his mates to hit the Outfit. Would they do so that easily? Well you go for it. It's a series of short stories of various robberies. Then a satisfying ending.

Parker was harder in these early novels - killing guards and stuff. He wouldn't later on. 

Book review - "Flashfire" by Richard Stark (2000)

 This gets off to a slow start with Parker being betrayed feeling very rote, and the baddies not really bad more amiable, and Parker raising cash from other jobs too easily. But it picks up when he arrives in town and befriends Leslie. These two have a nice by play and she's enjoyable and it's great that Parker gets really badly injured and can't do what he normally can.

Book review - "Slayground" by Richard Stark (1971)

 So much better than the film it's not funny. Brilliantly tight, gripping account which starts with Parker in a robbery - dodgy driver crashes, Parker seeks refuge in a fun park, is seen by corrupt cops and crooks who figure out he's got money so don't turn him in but go after the money. So it's a siege story.

Why didn't they film this instead of stupid stuff about killing a nine year old girl and being killed off one by one (here he kills a gangster which annoys a crime lord but that's so much better). In the film Parker (called Stone) was a whimp, an idiot, who only shoots one person. Here he's a complete bad ass.

I guess there's a lot of internal action but you could add a character for Parker to talk to. 

Book review - "The Uncool" by Cameron Crowe (2025)

 Superb memoir. Focuses on Crowe's childhood and career as a rock journo - winds up after he writes Fast Times at Ridgemount High apart from a book end of Almost Famous musical because that incorporates his mother's death. Not a lot of film stuff but plenty of rock stars - Bowie (didn't realise they were such friends), Allman Brothers, Kris Kristofferson etc. Also that random appearance in Other Side of the Wind.

Essential fact check against Almost Famous. Great read. Hope there's a second volume on the films. Why doesn't he do a second autobiographical film, like about him being a more established journo, or going to high school to write a book? 

Movie review - "Clint: The Man and the Movies" by Shawn Levy

 Underwhelming. Relies on work done by others especially Patrick McGilligan. Nothing really new or fresh. A lot of reviews. A few smart arse comments. I get the feeling Levy wrote it because he could turn it out in a short time though I might be wrong.

Eastwood's career meants this was easy enough to read but it's a recap really. 

Most interesting characters are Eastwood daughters who come across as hot messes who get involved in escapades. 

Book review - "Kubrick: An Odyssey" by Robert P. Kolker and Nathan Abrams (2024)

 Fantastic book. Big subject but superbly done, great research (access to archives) very thorough and fair. Deep dives on unmade films such as Napoleon and AI. Discusses Kubrick's interest in sex, often ignored by critics. Covers his arseholeness and eccentricities. The book is really fair.

Full of interesting stuff - his battles to make things, a daughter turning into anti-Semitic neo con, his dreams of moving to Australia, James Brolin was considered for The Shining.

Splendid.  

Book review - "There's No Going Back The Life and Work of Jonathan Demme" by David M. Stewart

 Solid biography of the director - I'm surprised there hadn't been one before now. It packs a fair bit in - his publicist, flashy dad, who had progressive politics and was a bit of a sleaze, like his son, really, who didn't always treat women well. Like his Australian first wife who he refused to allow produce.

Demme broke in as a publicist, worked in New York, interned for Joe Levine, benefited from a wealthy background, move to London, did some work on Eyewitness, then hooked up with Roger Corman, stayed with Corman a few years. Obviously talented, so much so that people kept giving him work despite a lack of hits. Indeed, he only had a few hits throughout his career. Quality of his work seemed to slip after Philadelphia with too many remakes but in his defense his focus seems to have been split, doing a lot of producing and documentaries, being involved in Haiti. A heavy smoker which is why he died relatively young.

I'm not a huge Demme fan. Something slightly lacking in the book. Maybe a layer of depth or something.

Book revue - "Future Indefinite" by Noel Coward

 Coward's adventures in the war makes compelling reason in part because he simply went so many places - Poland, Russia, Finland and Norway before the war, Paris after it started, Australia.

Book review - "Ready When You Are, Mr. Coppola, Mr. Spielberg, Mr. Crowe" by Jerry Ziesmer

 Memoir of an assistant director has some decent moments but needed an edit. Too much Apocalypse Now and schedules not enough personalities. Fun sketches of Sly Stallone (nutty but endearing), Cameron Crowe (all positive), Tom Cruise (hyper), Robert Redford (charming but a c*nt), Babs (into everything), Peter Bogdanovich (didn't expect Illegally Yours to be made), Otto Preminger (a bully who was a pussycat).

Most memorable bit is fact Ziesmer's son killed himself. I did like him schmoozing extras on The Way We Were. I guess interesting how they did Superbowl in Black Sunday.  

Book review - "The Magic Hours: The Films and Hidden Life of Terrence Malick" by John Beasdale

 Beasdale runs a terrific podcast on film books and here is his own - a solid book on Malick, the most enigmatic and experimental of the movie brats. Well researched, decent insights - the main problem isn't Beasdale's fault it's that Malick isn't that interesting. A few divorces and a suiciding brother hints at something. None of the films included a memorable disaster. I'll be honest - also I'm not super familiar with Malick's ouvre. It s a very good book.