Customer Reviews

Gentleman: The William Powell Story

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Written by actor Charles Francisco and published in 1985, a year after the death of it's subject, Gentleman is the only ever biography published about one of Hollywood's greatest stars of the golden era, the man who first set the standards for light comedy acting in motion pictures - William Powell. Francisco's main sources were Powell's own writings (most of Powell's contemporaries had already passed on) which undoubtedly make the main bulk of this book very satisfying to read. The author gives very good accounts of Powell's days studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Art and even better accounts of his meetings with the women in his life - sometimes going into intimate details about his marriages to Carole Lombard and Diana Lewis and his relationship with Jean Harlow (she died before Powell ever proposed marriage) as well as a sometimes harrowing account of Jean Harlow's final illness and Bill's own battle with cancer in the late thirties. The author also gives us a good account of Powell's career - from his stagework in the 1910s (though the First World War goes unmentioned) to his debut in films in the early 20s (often playing suave villainous types) to his eventual arrival at stardom in the 30s as well as his working relationship with Myrna Loy, how his parents helped in his career (his father became his manager). The best accounts of his career are his years of stardom at MGM which saw a peak in 1936 with films like My Man Godfrey, The Great Ziegfeld and Libeled Lady. The problem I have with the book is that so much of his life is missing - we are give a very fleeting look at Powell's childhood and the last years of his life are similarly rushed (Powell retired in the mid 50s and it is only a few pages from there until his death - what Powell did in the 1970s isn't mentioned at all) and there are few recollections from other people (Myrna Loy appears to have been interviewed though). Apart from that this is a good biography (which every Powell fan should read) and the author is in no way derogatory about his subject. Francisco sums up Powell and his screen image perfectly in the epilogue.

This first-and-only full-length biography of the fabulous William Powell is regrettably short and shallow. While the reader can forgive Francisco's dry and lackluster writing, what cannot be forgiven are the glaring errors. Anyone interested in old Hollywood knows that Powell's second wife Carole Lombard was born in Indiana - her moniker was The Hoosier Tornado! - but Francisco claims her home state to be Ohio (perhaps confusing her with Lombard's second husband Clark Gable who was born in Cadiz?). He also erroneously credits Powell with having appeared in the film Dishonored opposite Marlene Dietrich. I read this book to learn; the fact that I (with very little knowledge of Bill Powell's life) detected these mistakes made me doubt the veracity of the entire book.

This amiable bit of under-researched Hollywood fluff has been out of print for many years and is currently demanding top-dollar. While its hard-to-find status greatly increases its value, if you can hold out for a reasonably-priced copy to come along, do so.

For a more in-depth and intelligently written read about Powell, I highly recommend William Powell: The Life and Films by Roger Bryant. While not a full-blown biography (focusing as it does on his career), it comes very close and is infinitely more satisfying and more fully researched than Francisco's work. Sadly, the "ultimate" Powell biography may never be; he lived such a private life that these two volumes may indeed represent all that is possible to learn about the great actor.

As a fan of old Hollywood movies and of William Powell in particular, I have always wanted to read this book. Since it is out of print, the typical asking price is exorbitant for what you get. This is a very thin, bland rehash of his life with the primary focus on his work. You learn very little about his relationships with his three wives (Eileen Wilson, Carole Lombard and Diana Lewis) and even less about Powell the man. There is a bit more coverage of his brief romance with Jean Harlow and lovely comments from his longtime friend and frequent co-star Myrna Loy.

It's really a shame that it doesn't go more in depth because in 1985 plenty of Powell's colleagues and acquaintances were still alive. Perhaps this bio reads like a Citadel Press "Complete Films of..." book at the behest of his then widow, Diana Lewis. His death was just a year prior to the publication so maintaining her privacy may have been the biggest concern. One can certainly respect that.

To learn more about Powell, you would do better reading biographies of Carole Lombard (Screwball), Jean Harlow (Bombshell) and Myrna Loy (Being and Becoming).