Customer Reviews

Bring on the Empty Horses

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Looking for that excellent read which will make you or someone in your life laugh? Then look no further. Bring on the Empty Horses (and "The Moon's a Balloon!") are two of the funniest and most satisfying books I have ever read. There is something about the way in which David Niven writes about other people from which you just know they would approve of what he has said. As an actor, David Niven always seemed to play the good guy, the dashing hero, the sort of character to whom we would all wish to aspire. As an author, however, he writes about his fellow personalities from the Hollywood of yester-year with whom he worked and came into contact. Where others might expose drunkenness or sordid behaviour, Niven simply makes us laugh and, as I say, those of whom he writes would, therefore, approve.

In this book, Niven confirms his credentials as an ingenious writer as he pours his own brand of humour onto each and every encounter he describes. Not once does he stoop to the level of cheap gossip, not once does attack another person. Instead, we have a first hand account of that golden age of Hollywood written by a master wordsmith who has also mastered the art of writing humour. Only a writer who had also been a central part of that of that glorious cast of characters and people could possibly have produced this work.

Was it me, or did I detect a certain disappointment from within his own relationship? More likely it was that David Niven was far too much the perfect gentleman to mention such things.

If you are a fan of the olden days - the golden days of Hollywood, you will enjoy this book. If you simply want a damned good read, you will enjoy this book even more. Truth is, I cannot imagine anyone could not enjoy such an excellent product.

NM

This book and the one preceding it("The Moon's a Balloon") just might be my two favorite books, EVER. I practically insist every friend I make read them. Niven had a very unique life, and had a rare gift for story-telling that makes these books real treasures. They are laugh-out-loud, effortlessly funny stories that tell us of his entry into Hollywood (an unusual career path, it involved prohibition, fish and polo) as well as his checkered career in the military in England. I guarantee you'll read these two books over and over again. I just wish he'd written more of them!

This book is one of the best books about Hollywood I have ever read. Many books of this kind are written in a bitter, sometimes nasty voice as an attack on the people involved, but Niven does not stoop to that level. Not only do you get an excellent first-hand history of the golden studio days of filmmaking, but you get to see a more personal depiction of many of the stars of the era. His style is so charming, and dare I say "witty", that I couldn't help but laugh aloud at many of his observations. Finally, a book about Hollywood that doesn't leave a bad aftertaste!

I READ THIS BOOK WHILE ON HOLIDAY IN MADERIA AND COULD'NT PUT IT DOWN. IT TELLS THE TRUE STORY OF HOLLYWOOD.YOU WILL LAUGH & CRY .YOU WILL FEEL SADNESS FOR PEOPLE YOU THOUGHT HAD IT ALL. THE WRITER TELLS IT AS IT IS. IF YOU LIKED THE MOONS A BALLOON YOU WILL LOVE THIS.DAVID NIVEN WILL BE REMBERED FOR HIS ACTING,WRITING & MOST OF ALL HIS COMPASSION .AN OLD BOOK BUT A MUST READ.

Upon rereading this recently, I discover many areas in which Niven's memory is faulty in recalling certain events. This isn't surprising, given the fact that he was writing his memoirs decades after said events took place.

Some are frantic to know who "Our Little Girl" could have been. It can only have been Vivien Leigh. No, she wasn't from Arizona, she wasn't a blonde, etc. This would have been Niven's way of protecting her identity by creating an entirely different look and background from Leigh's own. When Leigh had her famous breakdown, Niven stayed with her for two days until Laurence Olivier, who was still married to her at the time, could come from England. Niven writes about this very occurrence in "Our Little Girl", which helps to identify the actress as Leigh. He was good friends with both of them, which may be why he chose to hide her identity rather than to give it out straight - Leigh died years before the book was published, but Olivier was still very much alive.

Niven has a style that is very easy to read, very human, warm, and often hysterically funny. He shows us a Hollywood apart from the glamor, the opening nights of movies, the gorgeous people. His Hollywood is populated by real people with real faults. A widower himself (his first wife died as the result of a tragic accident), he treats the stories of Clark Gable and Fred Astaire, both widowers, with empathy and compassion.

Tricky memory notwithstanding, it's still a wonderful read.

I NEED TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT. I HAVE READ THIS BOOK AND THE MOON'S A BALLOON. I got my stories mixed up in reference to the Gloria Swanson story, this was actually in The Moon's a Balloon. Bring on the Empty Horses is the book to read for hilarious stories. I know you won't be disappointed.

One of the few books I can re-read and never tire of. Niven is at his best. Insightful, funny and honest. Pull up a chair and let David Niven do the rest. A classic.

In this book you learn a lot about Hollywood and the people in it, some part very infomrative, happy and some very sad. David Niven gives you his true experiences in Hollywood and about the peo ple he knew there.

It's a Shame "Bring on the Empty Horses" is out of print!!!
I am not a reader by habit......but this book came by recommendation and when I read it.....I felt like I was one of the very few people allowed into the real golden age of hollywood.
I love Classic movies and the stories David shared with us made me love them even more.
That has to be a gift to be able to write like he did......
to be where he has been and put into words that allow the reader to enjoy it as we were there with him.

(on a side note.......the Unnamed actress He respectively contributed a few chapters to is Rita Hayworth isn't it?)

I would give this book and this author David Niven 10 stars. I find myself thinking of some of the stories he tells in both this book and The Moon's a Balloon, and I have to snicker. He is able to describe a situation in such a way, that you can visualize the incident.There is one part where he talks about his stage scene with Gloria Swanson that totally broke me up and still does. This is a MUST READ, worth every penny you spend on it.