Between Flops: A Biography of Preston Sturges [Paperback]

James Curtis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 21, 2000

Writer-director Preston Sturges set a new standard for creativity in Hollywood. Three volumes of his screenplays have been published, and he is acknowledged as one of the grand masters of screen comedy. Between Flops was the first full-length biography of this great American humorist."One of the most entertaining and engrossing film biographies I've encountered, doing justice not only to that truly eccentric genius at the core, but also to his time and place in both Hollywood and our culture." Judith Crist"A sobering picture of the sweat and disappointment that lie beneath the Hollywood hoopla." Newsweek

Editorial Reviews

Review

" ...remains the definitive telling of Sturges' life." -- Variety, October 15, 1990

"A sobering picture of the sweat and disappointment that lie beneath the Hollywood hoopla." -- Newsweek

"A thorough, factual account of Sturges' complex life, a considerable feat of research and synthesis." -- Film Quarterly, Fall, 1983

"One of the most entertaining and engrossing film biographies I've encountered... " -- Judith Crist, May 4, 1982

From the Publisher

Writer-director Preston Sturges set a new standard for creativity in Hollywood. Three volumes of his screenplays have been published, and he is acknowledged as one of the grand masters of screen comedy. "Between Flops" was the first full-length biography of this great American humorist.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 396 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (September 21, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595007821
• ISBN-13: 978-0595007820
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,077,364 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James Curtis is the author of "W.C. Fields: A Biography", which was awarded the Special Jury Prize by the Theatre Library Association and named one of the Notable Books of the Year by the New York Times. He is also the author of "Spencer Tracy: A Biography," "James Whale: A New World of Gods and Monsters," and "Between Flops," an acclaimed biography of writer-director Preston Sturges. He is married and lives in Brea, California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best bio of Preston Sturges, November 21, 2002

By 

George Matusek (St Louis, MO United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Between Flops: A Biography of Preston Sturges (Paperback)

An outstanding biography. Though concise, this is much better written than longer biographies of Preston Sturges. Curtis provides all the essentials, and does so in a well-structured and well-written style. Takes less time to read than the bios by Spoto and Jacobs, but the reader comes away with a much more vivid portrait of Sturges.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The title says it all..., January 7, 2012

By 

A. J. Sneed - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Between Flops: A Biography of Preston Sturges (Paperback)

I am a big fan of Sturges' comedies, and I still watch several of his films on a yearly basis. I was curious to know what happened to Mr Sturges in the late 1940s that effectively saw one of the most commercially successful directors in Hollywood become unemployable within 5 years of his greatest hit.

I was familiar with the short bio of Sturges as the wunderkind who ran afoul of the powers that be, and suffered the consequences. However, the story is much more complex than that, and so we have a full-length biography providing a sympathetic, but balanced view of Sturges' career. The author gleans most of the information on Sturges childhood and early adult years from Sturges' own autobiography. But once we get into Sturges career years, Mr. Curtis exhibits his research skills, and provides a pretty extensive amount of corroborating material for most of the books facts and theses. Many of Sturges contemporaries were still alive at the time the book was being written which allowed the author to personally interview many of these people.

Sturges life is an interesting mix of talent, bravado, egomania, eccentricity and luck; and despite the legend of the genius in theater and film, he had a pattern of brilliance interspersed with mediocrity( or worse) from his beginning as a self-made playwright. His move to Hollywood was motivated by failures in the theater. He had an early silverscreen hit with the "Power and the Glory"(1933), but he was as much as a journeyman Hollywood writer ( albeit a well-paid one) as anything else through the 1930's. What he had in spades was an incredible confidence in his own material, and a desire to direct that material exactly as he had imagined it.

He got his chance in 1939 and made good on his promise to deliver a hit, under budget, on time and with a "B" cast. Over the next 4 years, he went on to turn out 5 more commercial and critical successes before his run-ins with studio head Buddy DeSylva made him leave Paramount. He would never deliver a commercial hit again.

Mr. Sturges subsequent fall from grace was as much a result of his own egomania and eccentricities as a studio system run by moguls and corporate half-talents mostly interested in preserving their fiefdoms. By the early 1950s, he alienated almost everybody who had been a friend, colleague, or collaborator in his life.

I enjoyed this book tremendously. While giving Sturges the benefit of his writing talent, the author lays out his failures and foibles for all to see. Of course, the difficulties of working in Hollywood also are highlighted, but clearly many other talented people were able to navigate these difficulties for long periods ( Wilder, Wyler, Hitchcock, et.al.) of success, and Sturges was not. The film legacy remains to attest to the periods of brilliance. Great story, told well.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Thoughtful Study of a Comedic Genius, October 8, 2011

By 

Gail K. Powers "Abra" (Harbor Country, Mi,N. Naples, FL, Chicago area) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Between Flops: A Biography of Preston Sturges (Paperback)

James Curtis has again proven himself as an accomplished biographer in this study of Preston Sturges' life and art. Curtis examines Sturges' seemingly meteoric rise as a film director/screenwriter and his equally sudden fall from grace over a period of approximately 10 years. By 1950 Sturges was virtually unemployable in Hollywood.
Hard drinking and hard living may have been contributing factors in his reversal of fortune, but this book also looks at the madcap style of comedy which Sturges perfected and for which he is still known.
The beauty of this book is its lack of pretension and directness. Curtis manages to speak volumes without wordiness and/or empty paragraphs. This book is interesting, comprehensive, and involving. Amazingly, it resurrects a man who has been dead for over a half century and makes the subject seemingly new and fresh.
I enjoyed this book because I've always thought Preston Sturges was an interesting and talented fellow who has often been under rated and this book does much to restore his legend.