Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
George Raft Biography is Insightful, January 31, 1998
By A Customer
The biography, although not totally accurate when reciting Raft's early existency (no Raft biography is), is heartfelt and insightful in explaining the motivations behind one of the most interesting figures of the 21st century. You see George Raft as he was, a sweet, charming "gentle"-man who's rise to fame was fueled by feelings of inadequacy. Mr. Yablonsky's has done a masterful job in bring the real George Raft to life; in contrast to the mean-spirited attempt by James Robert Parish. Please visit the George Raft Family and Friends Memorial Website to share your feelings and sights about George Raft.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Man After My Own Heart, November 6, 2007
I have been in love with George Raft from the moment I first saw him in "Manpower", and this book just made me love him more!
His story is poignant because he seemed to have been a man who truly had so much to give to the right woman but was barred from that all his life because of a greedy, clutching estranged wife.
I loved reading his own accounts of his life, his loves, his behind-the-scene accounts during the making of his films.
I admired the fact that he was such a gentleman, never resorting to bad-mouthing those who were his antagonists. The man had class with a capital "C". He did not turn his back on his friends, many of whom were big names in organized crime, and stood by them, in spite of Hollywood's trepidation and warnings. He was a true man who stood by his own code.
His sexual prowess was intriguing reading, but was delightfully pretty much what I would have suspected, as his physical chemistry has always been so overpowering and alluring. The accounts of his intimate encounters and relationships were exactly as my fantasies had always portayed them to be.
I relished the author's insight and portrait of what made George Raft click---his surprising lack of self esteem which pursued him all his life. His amazing generosity and sensitive heart. His gritty determination and ability for survival during a crazy days of 20's; his screen image cementing during the 30's into the most mermorable "gangster" of all time; his leading man image of the 40's; and his gradual decline afterwards.
If you are a George Raft fan (and even if you're not) this biography is fantastic reading and an intimate portrait of one of the sexiest, vital and sensitive actors in film history.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
A Really Genuine Guy!!!, November 17, 2009
George Raft is often held up to ridicule as the actor who single handedly put Humphrey
Bogart on the road to stardom (Raft turned down roles in "Casablanca", "High Sierra" and
"The Maltese Falcon" for various reasons). It was part of a deep rooted psyche - of not
wanting to be identified in the public's mind with his criminal associations.
I have always loved George Raft - he always struck me as a really genuine guy. This book is
written with his co-operation and there are some quite funny stories he remembers. I
suppose because of Raft's imput, there isn't really an indepth look at why he did some of
the things he did. Why did he marry Grace Mulrooney - the woman who completely wrecked
his personal life. He thought she was a sweet kid but she was anything but and it didn't
take him long to realise it.Her not allowing him a divorce changed his life and after a few lengthy affairs (Virginia Pine, even Norma Shearer and Betty Grable, whom the book quotes as saying "I would have married him on our first date") settled into a life of mostly one night stands. I found that part of the book very sad - that he wasn't able to live the normal life he so wanted. But this book shows his determination to better himself - initially through dancing. In the 1920s he was the fastest charleston dancer in the world and Fred Astaire thought he was one of the best dancers. Not the definite biography about this complex man but definately worth
reading for some of Raft's personal, racier stories.
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