Customer Reviews

Bela Lugosi - Dreams and Nightmares

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having followed the books of Gary Rhodes for quite a long time, I must say that he has outdone himself on this effort! Rare photos never before published of Lugosi's wives and early stage career make this book probably the most complete book on Lugosi's life ever published save for Rhodes' first book on Lugosi. It is clear that he put a lot of effort into this book (20 years worth!) Once I picked it up I couldn't put it down! I highly recommend Mr. Rhodes' new book. You will not be disappointed at all! Not to mention the insight given from Mr. Sheffield, what a delight! If you have never read any of Mr. Rhodes' books, pick up this one it is sure to knock you over with all of the new information. You don't know Lugosi until you have read this book from cover to cover!
Well done Mr. Rhodes!

Having read all of Mr. Rhodes books, and they all have been 5 stars,this is the best.Not to many people know about this part of Lugosi's life as well as Mr. Rhodes. This was truly a labor of love and dedication. All that is left is BRAVO, authario,BRAVO. Mr. Sheffield also deserves kudo's on all his knowledge of Lugosi. The stills and other bits of entertainment pieces make this a great read. HIGHLY RECOMENDED.

Wow! I've read lousy books with great covers and layout. I've read great books with lousy covers and layout. Here we have a book that is both visually stunning (one of the best book cover designs ever!)(lavishly seasoned with illustrative delight after delight) and a book that is superbly written: entertaining, informative, deeply moving and highly evocative of a time and place in the life of the legendary Lugosi - primarily covering the final decade of his days. I never wanted this book to end! Alas, I have just finished reading it...and was moved to tears at Mr. Rhodes' poignant description of the death and subsequent removal of Bela Lugosi's body from his home. All great things come to an end! Lives - and books! (One morbid and vague part of the book - and a few typos here and there - are the book's only flaws. The morbid and vague part of the text is the description of Richard Sheffield's unearthing of a corpse and the keeping of its skull. We never learn whose grave is desecrated and the reason why!!! Is an avid love of horror films enough of a reason to commit such a Norman Bate-ish act of vandalism? It may be poorly excused as a folly of youth, however as a lover of horror films from pre-school on I had, myself, as a teen, contemplated doing a Dr. Frankenstein on some stray gravesite...but never really could...or would! Apparently, Mr. Sheffield had no qualms about desecrating some poor, unfortunate's grave...and polishing up the gold tooth of the stolen skull. The recounting of this teen "prank" did, I must admit, leave me somewhat angered. The book could well have done without it. Is nothing sacred?) But back to the work at hand: Bela Lugosi must be smiling that wonderful smile of his down upon Gary Rhodes from that Castle Dracula in the sky!

First off Bela Lugosi was always one of my favorite actors! I always thought that even when Lugosi was in a low-budget film he brought the movie up to a "higher level" because of his talented acting and his "commanding" presence! "Bela Lugosi - Dreams and Nightmares" is definitely one of the BEST books written about Bela Lugosi! Gary Don Rhodes in my estimation is one of (five) top leading expert-scholars on Bela Lugosi! This incredible book proves it! Rhodes's VAST knowledge on Bela Lugosi is "amazing!" This great book definitely had to take many years of thorough reseach! That beautiful cover only......... showing Bela Lugosi as Dracula draws a reader to the book with that mesmerizing stare! There are so many beautiful rare photos through-out the book showing Bela all through his career! Photos from his home life, photos from his stage and film career. This book is also co-authored by Richard Sheffield. Sheffield as a teenage was a big fan of Lugosi's and he found Lugosi and he became one of the Lugosi's closest friends in the last three years of Lugosi's life! Sheffield was like a son to Bela Lugosi! He would take Bela in his car on shopping trips helping him buy clothes, groceries, shoes etc. Sheffield's wonderful memories of Lugosi are beautifully written in this book! Some of the many photos I enjoyed in the book are the photos showing Sheffield and Bela outside Bela's apartment at 5620 Harold Way. Again like other books that I have reviewed on here, once you pick this book up to read, it is hard to put down! Its all here from Lugosi's days in Budapest to his rise as a major horror film star to his tragic downward spiral! Yes it is all here; Lugosi's battle with drugs and alcohol, his many romances such as his "torrid love affair" with beautiful Hollywood super-star Clara Bow, and his love for acting to his political convictions! The highly intelligent film historian author Gary Don Rhodes had to work hard to get this well-written book out and he deserves MUCH praise for this excellent book! And also MUCH praise should also go to the wonderful co-author Richard Sheffield! Sheffield's wonderful collaboration with Gary Don Rhodes on this book, definitely helped make this book one of the "definitive" books on Bela Lugosi! There is so much rare well-researched information in this book not only about Lugosi's many movies, but about his different television appearances and stage career! This book is one of four of the best books I have read in the last three years. If you are a Bela Lugosi fan like me I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this great book! And like I have stated about other authors on this site in my reviews, I will say for Gary Don Rhodes, he is one of the BEST writers in the literary field! Thank you so much Gary Don Rhodes and Richard Sheffield for giving us, the many Bela Lugosi fans this magnificent book! AGAIN TO ALL BELA LUGOSI FANS BUY THIS BOOK YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID!

I had no idea that Bela Lugosi was such a complex person. It is obvious to me that very comprehensive research was done on Mr. Lugosi's life to have compiled such a thourough life story. Very entertaining reading!!
Two thumbs up!
Matt

This is a wonderful book for all of us Lugosi fans. He was an amazing presence on film and this book recounts not only his later years but the years that led up to them, as well. Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Sheffield obviously share a great affection for Bela and so say all of us. Highly recommended.

What I liked best about Bela Lugosi Dreams & Nightmares is the abundance of photos scattered throughout the book, especially from the early years of Lugosi's career. The photos from the early 1930's and before, including photos from Lugosi's early stage performances in the States, to stills from his Hungarian and German films are priceless. The glimpses that we are given into Lugosi's life during this period are also wonderful - the time when Lugosi was on top of his form and still had all his hopes in place.
The book also spends a great deal of time on Lugosi's later life, just before his death. This period of time is difficult to read about. It's just plain sad reading how far Lugosi's career had fallen and how much pain the man was obviously in. The parts about his friendship with Richard Sheffield and his chums is a relief. It's good to know that there were some people that really stood by him in the end.
However, I received the most enjoyment reading about the early parts of Lugosi's life, before type-casting and morphine took their tolls.

This book is a wonderful companion to other books on Bela Lugosi who I beleive was one of the best actors around!!

I very much enjoyed Mr. Rhodes analysis of Lugosi's life, and even added material in addition to his first book. But Rhodes tends to overlooks Lugosi's shortcomings and failures, and doesn't connect his obvious ties to the Communist party with his lackluster Hollywood career.

Nevertheless, there are many interesting tidbits and trivia additions.