Customer Reviews

Gene Tierney: A Biography

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Michelle Vogel's long-awaited book about the life of Gene Tierney is a monumental disappointment, both as a biography and as a reference guide to the actress' distinguished forty-year career on stage, screen, radio, and television. In terms of recounting the story of Tierney's turbulent life, there's very little new material here for readers familiar with the existing Tierney literature, and unfortunately, the author offers few fresh insights into the actress' personality. Most of the book simply recounts events and conversations already covered in Tierney's 1979 autobiography; a perusal of the Bibliography also discloses that the author included many old movie fan magazine articles among her sources.

Factually, the book is riddled with errors in terms of dates and chronology. For example, throughout the text, Vogel refers to award years according to the dates the ceremonies were held rather than the period for which work is being honored. Thus, Vogel states: "Gene lost the 1946 Academy Award for Best Actress to Joan Crawford ..." when in truth, Tierney lost the 1945 Academy Award for Best Actress to Crawford at the ceremony held on March 7, 1946. Similar discrepancies appear throughout the text. A more serious gaffe appears in a photo caption (and is repeated in the filmography) where it falsely states that "Hudson's Bay" was filmed before "The Return of Frank James"; curiously, this error is (correctly) contradicted within the text. Conversely, Vogel fails to mention or explain why "Dragonwyck" (filmed February - May 1945) was pulled from its scheduled September 1945 release date (after having been favorably reviewed by the press) and was shelved by 20th Century-Fox until Easter 1946; and she completely omits any mention within the text of Tierney's appearance on an episode of "G. E. Theatre", which served as the actress' 1960 comeback vehicle after years of treatment for mental illness.

While the photographs in the book are adequately reproduced, many of them - including the bulk of the film scene stills - will already be familiar to dedicated Tierney fans, and do not justify the book's high suggested retail price. Nor does the filmography serve as an adequate selling point; it is filled with errors and required more careful proofreading prior to publication (release and premiere dates are frequently incorrect; top-billed Jean Simmons and Victor Mature have been dropped from the cast listing for "The Egyptian"; cast and production credits for Tierney's television appearances are not included, etc., etc.). Overall, this book is regrettably not recommended. Gene Tierney and her legion of fans deserve much better than what is offered here.

After having carefully combed through this book, I am very disappointed with my purchase. I've read Gene Tierney's autobiography 5 or 6 times, and kept referring back to it as I read this new biography. Michelle Vogel repeats many specific passages from Tierney's book: for example, both authors conclude the story of Gene's acting being complimented by Noel Coward with a reference to the actress' Aunt Lelia thwarted theatrical ambitions ("If only Lelia could see me now!"). And Vogel recounts quotes made by Tierney differently than did the actress herself: for example, Tierney says she answered John F. Kennedy's question about the end of their romance being final by saying simply "It is," while Vogel writes that Tierney repeated the phrase, declaring "It is. It is." It's this kind of soap operatic invention that makes Vogel's reporting both suspect and overly melodramatic.

About half of the much-lauded photos in the book were familiar to me from other publications. The most interesting of the photographs are the personal and candid shots. I had hoped to find a photo of Tierney and Kennedy together, but none was included. The extensive filmography in the back of the book is full of errors and typos: the names of actors and their characters are frequently incorrect. (Dana Andrews played Thomas Crail in BELLE STARR; that's John Shepperd in RINGS ON HER FINGERS; the portrait of Gene in LAURA does indeed appear in the final cut of ON THE RIVIERA; THAT WONDERFUL URGE is based on the 1937 Tyrone Power vehicle LOVE IS NEWS; the top-billed cast members in the listing for THE EGYPTIAN are missing; etc. etc.) Most perturbing of all is the mangling of dates concerning the films were released and awards were given out.

Overall, this was a far cry from the definitive biography of Miss Tierney that I had expected when I bought it. Those looking for a scholarly reference-quality volume will not find it here. Those who are less exacting about accuracy and fond of florid sentimentality may be more appreciative of this pricey tome.

The strengths of the book are the pictures of Gene Tierney and the filmography in the back with some interesting tidbits. However, the book is largely superficial, and contains relatively little information beyond that included in Ms. Tierney's autobiography published in 1979.

One of the major disappointments is that beyond her former husband, and a few people in Houston where Gene settled in retirement, the author apparently conducted very few, if any, interviews of people who worked with and knew Ms. Tierney. Yet there are many actors, actresses and other film professionals living today who worked with and knew Ms. Tierney. They could have shed a lot more insight on what Gene was really like, as well as her acting ability and style.

The book, in general, lacks much, if any, analysis of Gene's acting talent and style or the qulaity of her films. There were many themes that could have been pursued, such as why the quality of her roles declined sharply after 1948, as well as her relationships with her co-stars, but in general, this was not done. There was also relatively little about her life after 1960, beyond what was already included in the 1979 autobiography. (Ms. Tierney died in 1991.) In addition, the author did not include notes on sources of information, as would be expected in a more thorough book.

As someone who was eagerly awaiting the publication of this book, I was disappointed. There's just not much depth in the book. Without the filmography and the index, the book is less than 200 pages.

In the movie LAURA, Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb) remarks of the artist who painted the portrait of Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney): "Jacoby was in love with her when he painted it ... but he never captured her vibrance, her warmth." That is an apt description of this illustrated biography of Gene Tierney. The author is clearly a devoted fan of the actress, but the book covers very little new ground. Having been a neighbor of the actress when she lived on Willowick in Houston, I was especially hoping that the three decades Miss Tierney spent in Texas - and her many charitable activities and contributions to the city she adopted as her home - might be more fully covered. I had also been anticipating a more in-depth look at her process as an actress, and greater critical assessments of her performances on stage, screen, radio, and television, and how her life informed her work. Those stories about Miss Tierney are yet to be told, and it is very unfortunate that this golden opportunity was missed within these pages.

Gene Tierney was my mother's favorite star, and I have seen most of her movies, even listened to some of her radio shows on cassette tapes. Gene was a wonderful actress, a great beauty, and had a very fascinating life, marked not only by tragedy, but ultimately, by triumph. In fact, Gene told her story herself in an autobiography titled SELF PORTRAIT, which is by far a better written book than this one, which sometimes gets very close to cheesy. (I cringed when the author wrote concerning the happily married Gene's reaction to the assassination of JFK, whom she had dated almost two decades earlier: "He was not only her president. He was also her Jack.") Both volumes cover many of the same incidents, and even the same conversational quotes. But as has been pointed out, this new book has more than a few factual errors and not enough new information to please readers of Gene's self-history. Some readers have said that the best part of the book is the foreward by Gene's daughter with Oleg Cassini, Christina. But I found the foreward to be sad and reserved, because Miss Cassini hints that she and her children did not know her mother well, due to Gene's celebrity and her later physical/emotional problems. Gene told her own story best.

Take Gene Tierney's autobiography, add the autobiography of her first husband Oleg Cassini, rearrange their contents into chronological order, throw in some photos and fan magazine stuff and voila, a new book. Oh yes, charge a high price too! Any serious fans would have read the autobiographies already so there is nothing new here.

Tierney was an actress who generated a wide range of critical opinion about her work. She was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful woman on film in the forties. There is no attempt to analyse her performances which still provoke opposing opinions from critics 60 years later. Many of her films are available on DVD with accompanying commentaries.

The author boasts that Tierney's daughter wrote the Forward but it is strangely detached and impersonal. There is also very little about Gene Tierney's life in Texas after she retired from films, but hey, that might have entailed some original research and effort, because this is also thinly coverered in the afore mentioned biographies.

The book is full of errors too which other reviewers have already noted. This is a cynical effort only of interest to those who know nothing about Gene Tierney.

I was doing a school paper on psychology and the breakdown of the mind. The project had to be about someone in the public eye who had mental problems, etc...I was having a hard time coming up with my topic and my grandmother started telling me about Gene Tierney. She seemed to remember her battle with mental illness and we went online to see if we could find out more about her and what actually happened. While my grandmother remembered her struggle and her time away from Hollywood, she was vague on the details. She said she'd like to refresh her memory so we bought this book. I read it first because my deadline was looming and all I can say is - WOW! I went into this project with dread. I wasn't interested in doing it at all but after reading Gene Tierney's story, I was really motivated to get it done.

This is NOT just another Hollywood biography, this is a very emotional account of someone who had EVERYTHING and even that wasn't enough to protect her from her own private hell.

While reading the parts dedicated to Gene Tierney's illness, I felt like I was really experiencing it with her. I couldn't stop thinking about what she went thru for days. I'd be lying if I didn't say it bothered me. It was exhausting! What happened to her was awful and I'm glad institutions are no longer operated the way they were back then. I'm horrified that people were treated the way they were, they were abused for being sick. Experimented on. Locked in dark rooms. Isolated. Wrapped in icy sheets. Awful stuff. Gene Tierney wasn't given any special treatment because she was famous.

I was pleased to read that she did come out of it on the other side and she learned to live her life under certain terms so that her illness wasn't triggered again, but aside from her career, if you're struggling with mental illness or you have a family member or friend who is, buy this book. It's inspirational. Very easy to read. My grandmother is reading the book now and I'm just about finished with my paper. No one in my class knows who Gene Tierney is but I think they'll still be interested in hearing her story.

Poor reproduction of images, all black and white (don't let the color images on the Amazon ad fool you) There is no color.
Perhaps, someone will produce a beautiful coffee table book of images of Ms tierney. (Ms. Christina Cassini, please take note) I hope so, but this book is definately not it.
At $45.00 this book is a steal....from your wallet...save your money

As a long time fan of Gene Tierney I was eager to read this long awaited biography. This book is gripping in a sense that once you pick it up, it's very hard to put it down. I found myself saying, "just one more chapter..." - the sign of a good book!

Tierney's life was heartbreakingly tragic. Raised in an upper class family, she realized her dream of becoming an actress, a movie star, only to have years of tragedy following the birth of her first daughter, (who was born deaf, dumb and near blind) and her own lifelong battle with mental illness, possibly triggered by her daughter's retardation and her inability to fully accept it.

The photographs, over 100 in all, are a pictorial diary of Tierney's life both on and off camera. I don't think she ever took a bad photo.

The foreword, by Tierney's youngest daughter, Christina, is remarkably candid. Not one to openly speak of her mother publicly, the fact that the author was able to get her involvement speaks volumes for the quality of work here.

A beautiful book. Buy it for yourself of someone who needs to be inspired with some extra strength and courage to continue with life's battles.

"Gene Tierney: A Biography" is one of the best biographies written on a classic Hollywood star in recent memory. It gives a well rounded viewpoint of Tierney's somewhat turbulent, roller coaster life and completes the picture with a wonderful selection of photos (many of them candid), that shows us why Tierney was once quoted as "the unluckiest lucky girl in the world." The photos alone are worth the price of the book.

Tierney's daughter, Christina Cassini, now a Paris resident, wrote the touching foreword and thanked the author for helping her to relive her own life by reading the book. Is there no greater compliment? I was very pleased to see the authorization of Tierney's family on this book, up until now they've remained extremely private. It's a true testament to the author and her work that they've supported the release of this book.

Tierney has always been an underrated actress, perhaps it was because of her early exit from Hollywood, a direct result of her struggle with mental illness. Still, her body of work was solid enough before her mental collapse to give her a much deserved place in classic cinema history.

A wonderful read!