93 photographs in text
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
The more you learn about Stanley Donen, the more he appears to be the Orson Welles of the film musical. Like Welles, he produced his greatest successes at the very beginning of his career, going on to create daringly original films that did not fully satisfy critics and audiences. Born in 1924 in Columbia, South Carolina, he befriended Gene Kelly early in life, became a choreographer for MGM Studios in the 1940s, and rose quickly through the ranks. Before he was 30 years old, he had directed On the Town, Royal Wedding, Singin' in the Rain, and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. His later experiments with his medium yielded cult classics such as It's Always Fair Weather, The Little Prince, and Movie Movie, as well as the nonmusical Charade and Two for the Road.
Stephen M. Silverman, the author of this biography, is enthusiastic about Donen's work to the point of ferocity. He defends almost every film Donen himself believed in as a masterpiece and belittles Donen's rivals at MGM, particularly Vincente Minnelli. But Silverman's passion for his subject is infectious and his approach lively. He narrates much of Donen's life by looking at it through the eyes--and the commentary--of the people who knew him. Particularly engaging is his account of how Singin' in the Rain was made. It is full of juicy commentary by Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Cyd Charisse, Donald O'Connor, and Donen himself. Audrey Hepburn's warm introductory appreciation is one of the last pieces she wrote before her death.
From Publishers Weekly
Readers won't learn much about film director Stanley Donen's private life here (former Broadway chorus boy, Jewish, born in South Carolina, five wives, a discreet love affair with Elizabeth Taylor) or his film technique ("blithe, seamless, effortless looking" pretty much sums that up), but the book is a rich chronological catalogue of entertaining anecdotes about the movies themselves and the people who made them. The main reason to pick it up is Singin' in the Rain (1952), and Silverman (David Lean) makes the most of it, with many of the principals heard from: Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Betty Comden, Adolph Green and Donen himself. Silverman calls the movie "perfect," while Two for the Road (1967), with Audrey Hepburn, is Donen's "best work." Other films include Royal Wedding (in which Fred Astaire indeed dances on the ceiling), Funny Face, Pajama Game, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Charade. Among the names dropped?or heard from?are Cary Grant, Billy Wilder, Busby Berkeley, Frederic Raphael and Kay Thompson. The villain of the piece, for reasons not made clear, is Gene Kelly, and there are just enough hints to make one suspect that Donen, not yet 20 when he began directing, may well be a good deal more interesting than he appears here. Filmography; photos.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Just like a Donen movie,
By A Customer
This review is from: Dancing on the Ceiling: Stanley Donen and his Movies (Hardcover)
Stylish, all-star (the author was able to track down primary sources, from Audrey Hepburn, to George Abbott, to the great Kay Thompson -- all before they died), and entertaining -- and beautifully researched. (Not sure what book the previous "reviewer" wrote about .) the chapter on "Singin' in the Rain" alone is worth the price of admission. And Richard Avedon offers some brilliant insights into the making of "Funny Face," and, perhaps, settles once and for the the differences between Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly.
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Mean-spirited,
By Deb "DebraLib" (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Dancing on the Ceiling: Stanley Donen and his Movies (Hardcover)
As the Publisher's Weekly review said, "the villain of the piece, for reasons not made clear, is Gene Kelly." There are continuous jibes at Kelly throughout the book, from the point of view of Donen (and anyone else who supports it) through the pen of Silverman -- that Gene Kelly was an egotistical, credit-seeking, no talent, nasty person. I can only imagine the personal and professional jealousy that drove Donen and Silverman to make these claims.
6 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
A waste of time,
By A Customer
This review is from: Dancing on the Ceiling: Stanley Donen and his Movies (Hardcover)
Full of contradictions, this book seethes with poorly researched data, questionable "facts" and is, in a word or two, a Donen Diatribe. Using repetitive jibes at such greats as Gene Kelly, both the writer and his subject utilize 3/4 of the tome blaming others, fault-finding and whining that Donen was not THE mentor, THE legend, THE venerated ONE. How sad that a life or life's work is so pitiably sprinkled into one chapter of 28 presented, and that the author found himself compelled to throw in almost 40 unnecessary pages at the end to fill up the otherwise laborious vituperation. I'm so glad I got a library copy instead of having purchased this waste of good time.
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