Goldwyn [Hardcover]

A. Scott Berg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 18, 1989

A biography of one of the greatest figures of the heyday of the American film industry, famous for his ruthlessness in business. Of this biography Billy Wilder said: "the best book I have ever read about Hollywood".

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his first 40 years, poor, Warsaw-born Shmuel Gelbfisz walked 500 miles to Hamburg, then from London to Liverpool, arrived in America at 19, became a U.S. citizen as Sam Goldfish, worked as a glove salesman, established a company to produce and distribute films and took the name Samuel Goldwyn. This comprehensive, amusing account of his private life and lengthy career as a Hollywood studio head--by the author of Max Perkins: Editor of Genius --depicts an often unscrupulous businessman, gambler, woman-chaser and inadequate father, who frequently burst into tears when overcome by emotion or frustration and who was married for more than 40 years to a charming, witty, tough-as-nails social lioness. The book is peppered with hundreds of Goldwyn's famous and infamous malapropisms, dozens of anecdotes about his critical and commercial failures as well as his outstanding successes ( Wuthering Heights ; The Little Foxes ; The Best Years of Our Lives ), and details of his relationships with, among scores of others, Eddie Cantor, Ronald Colman, Merle Oberon, Gary Cooper, George Cukor, William Wyler, Billy Wilder. This is a thoroughly engrossing book about an unadmirable man. Photos. 45,000 first printing; first serial to the New York Times; Movie-Entertainment Book Club dual main selection; BOMC featured alternate.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Among the legendary Hollywood moguls, Samuel Goldwyn occupies a special place, if not for his famed "Goldwyn touch" (indicating a film project with distinction) or his malapropisms, then for his fierce independence. He broke into the business in 1913 with partners Jesse Lasky and Cecil B. DeMille, but Goldwyn soon personified his most famous "Goldwynism," "Include me out," forming his own company. Among his classics (with director William Wyler) are Dodsworth , Wuthering Heights , and The Best Years of Our Lives . Granted complete access to Goldwyn's archives, Berg has produced a lively portrait which bears none of the earmarks of an authorized, sanitized biography. Recommended for all collections. BOMC alternate and Movie-Entertainment Book Club dual main selections.
- Thomas Wiener, formerly with "American Film," Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 579 pages
• Publisher: Knopf (March 18, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394510593
• ISBN-13: 978-0394510590
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #272,647 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rags to riches, March 17, 2002

By 

Marco Polo - See all my reviews

This review is from: Goldwyn: A Biography (Paperback)

What a story! A remarkably easy to read account of Sam Goldwyn's rags-to-riches life. Did you know "Goldwyn" was not his real name? Did you know he was thrown out of the MGM company after a few years?! Goldwyn worked at some stage or other with just about every famous name in the business, and also fell out with just about everybody he ever met. A cantankerous and perverse character who loved contradicting people. When people quit because he made their lives intolerable, he sometimes felt personally attacked and betrayed. The book is full of colourful characters, and Scott Berg has done a wonderful job of using quotations and dialogues to really bring these people alive: Gary Cooper, Marlon Brando, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Lillian Hellman, William Wyler, Billy Wilder, and the remarkable Hilda Berl. It reads like a movie! By tracing Goldwyn's history, the book also covers the story of many of the other famous movie companies that are still famous today: United Artists, Universal, Paramount, Warner Brothers, RKO and of course MGM. Goldwyn also came across many young actors and actresses before they were stars: Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, David Niven, Marlon Brando, John Wayne, etc. And of course the famous Goldwyn malapropisms are here, though limited to the ones actually traceable (as far as possible) to Goldwyn himself: "Anyone who sees a psychiatrist should have their head examined! Include me out! A verbal agreement isn't worth the paper it's written on," to pick just a few.

A remarkably well-written and well-researched biography that brings this vigorous, infuriating, yet oddly attractive ugly duckling to vibrant life. This must rank amongst the best biographies, up there with Ron Chernow's book about the Morgans. Anyone at all interested in movies and movie history will enjoy this.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great bio of a genius's life, August 25, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Goldwyn: A Biography (Paperback)

Great book! I enjoyed reading about a man who literally came from poverty to be on of Hollywood's pioneer filmmakers. He was a rough man to work with no doubt, but knew what worked and lasted in an industry that is hard to last in! A. Scott Berg did a wonderful job of writing a respectful book about this man!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional Hollywood Bio - the best of the bunch, January 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Goldwyn: A Biography (Paperback)

A most compelling, intricate, mesmerizing, passionate, heartfelt and respectful account of Goldwyn's life! A. Scott Berg has created a profound work as equal an opus to any of Goldwyn's best stuff. The neat thing is that you feel as if you were there - the birth, growing pains and maturity of Hollywood - brutally recreated for our pleasure. Bravo!!