From Publishers Weekly
This account of the intertwined lives of James Dean, Montgomery Clift, Natalie Wood, Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor is a shabby rehash of the stars' already well-documented excesses. Except for cursory praise for Dean's talent as a method actor and a note of appreciation for Taylor as the only survivor among the five subjects, Parker ( King of Fools ) has little positive or new to say. The elaborate cover-up of Hudson's gay lifestyle, Wood's stormy relationship with Robert Wagner, Clift's addictions and Taylor's many marriages are detailed, as is Dean's troubled life. With Dean dead 35 years, Clift all but forgotten, and with our era's more enlightened attitudes toward sexual preferences and addictive personalities, the book is unlikely to cause a scandal with its revelations, or titillate and enthrall readers. Photos. BOMC and Preferred Choice Book Club alternates; first serial to the Star.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Elizabeth Taylor, Natalie Wood, James Dean, Montgomery Clift, and Rock Hudson burst on the Hollywood scene in the 1950s and succeeded in becoming stars. English journalist Parker shows how their lives became intertwined through professional and personal contacts. Little of the information is new, most having been previously reported in biographies, autobiographies, and fan magazines. What is new is Parker's approach: a mixture of composite biography and sociological interpretation that examines the Hollywood system during a time of drastic change. The style is readable and entertaining, while the research is obviously thorough. Synopses of film plots, a filmography, and a detailed index add reference value. For public libraries, theater arts, and sociology collections.
- Shirley L. Hopkinson, California State Univ., San Jose
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Shirley L. Hopkinson, California State Univ., San Jose
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
