Customer Reviews

No Bed of Roses: An Autobiography

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This wonderfully juicy tell-all reveals a new tragedy, illness, or romantic fiasco on almost every page. Joan was born in Japan to British parents who were cold and harsh. Their marriage ended early, and Joan and her sister (Olivia de Haviland) moved to California with their mother. The famous rift (more like a "war") between Joan and her older sister apparently was a case of extreme sibling rivalry that lasts to this day.

Joan was a sickly and lonely child, but broke into movies at the age of nineteen. She tells about making movies such as "Rebecca" and "Suspicion," winning the Academy Award, living a life of globe-trotting luxury, all while enjoying dalliances with such men as Howard Hughes and Joseph Kennedy, Sr. She breezed through four short marriages, always seeking the love she lacked in her childhood.

I heartily recommend this brutally honest tinsel-town memoir to fans of movies from the thirties to the fifties. It's a real page-turner!

Kona

Wasn't Ms. Fontaine on this old quiz show?

In the beginning it seemed clear that Ms. Fontaine's life was no bed of roses, but once her career got into gear, I would have to say she came up smelling like a rose time and again. She was able to do some amazing things in her life-things most people only dream of doing. Today she lives in one of the most beautiful areas in the U.S. As a matter of fact, I don't think she ever lived anywhere shabby.

A veritable globe-trotting VIP, Fontaine wore the best clothes, real jewels and furs, dined at the finest restaurants, lodged at four-star hotels, won the love and admiration of fans worldwide, and rubbed elbows with the rich and famous. She worked hard making movies, acting in theatre, lecturing, and appearing on radio and television. When not working professionally, she proved herself adept at many undertakings and was what one would call an overachiever. Where she stumbled was on the interpersonal front, and I would have to say that her version of what happened would probably not jibe with what family members and friends might report.

Fontaine writes well, but, alas, this book written in the 70s lacks the tell-all quality we've come to expect. For example, Fontaine claims she was in love with director George Stevens, but according to Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. in his autobiography, "The Salad Days" published ten years after Fontaine's book, the relationship between Stevens and Fontaine went a bit further than that as evidenced by what he claims he saw on the set of the movie they made together, "Gunga Din."

I suspect there's a whole lot more to her life than what Ms. Fontaine was willing to share back in 1978, and, hopefully, the so-called definitive biography will one day be written.

Joan Fontaine writes beautifully and I found her book a fascinating mixture of her personal, private life and her public life. She pulled no punches and is honest about her accomplishments as well as her shortcomings. She details her early life in California and the chism between she and her sister with honesty and forthrightness. The custody battles over her daughter with her ex-husband were well-documented in the press at the time they were occurring and she relates this stuggle and at the same time trying to be a good mother and still earn a living. Her life may not have been a bed of roses, but neither was it a crown of thorns. A highly recommended read.

Joan Fontaine's re-telling of her own life is a riveting book for any movie enthusiast to enjoy. As she talks of her childhood, her infamous rivalry with her sister, and her many movies and love affairs, the reader gets the sense that Miss Fontaine is not only a fabulous actress and a beautiful woman, but also a fabulous and beautiful human being.

I really like Joan Fontaine before I read her story. She came across to me as a spoiled, self-centered human being. She put her career and husbands before her children. Why do women have children if they are going to pawn them off on housekeepers, nannies, and ex-husbands? I don't think mother should be used in her vocabulary. She not only had four husbands, but also committed adultery while married to them. Joan did what Joan wanted to do and became very wealthy doing it. If you want a good read about this type of women, go ahead and buy the book, better yet, do what I did and buy it at a garage sale.