Customer Reviews

Hollywood Kryptonite: The Bulldog, the Lady, and the Death of Superman

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Born the year Superman died, I still grew up watching George Reeves save the world. I picked up the book not because I was especially interested in the story but because of the slick cover (raised on "Sesame Street", colors are an intricate part of my literary existance). It's a helluva book. The reconstructed story of everyone's favorite hero is gripping and heartbreaking. From his bright beginnings in "Gone With The Wind" to the grim realization he would never play anyone but Superman, not even himself, you will be possessed by this sad story. His childhood, controlling mother, absent father, domineering mistresses, and twisting life paths were told in a fascinating and novel-style manner. I kept hoping for more concrete documentation regarding Reeves' death, but the compelling details which do exist insure you will never again think of The Man Of Steel as a suicide victim, but perhaps instead a true victim. Read this book!

The movie Hollywoodland is great and brings out interesting theories of George Reeves death and now that I've read this book I realize where they come from. However, the movie left out a lot of the circumstances concerning his strange death because they wasted too much time on the fictional private eye. Actually Reeves' mother and her lawyer did hire a private eye, but this story dwells on all the participants in George's life, and their histories and lives, not on the story of one person investigating his death. It's all here and more. Of course no one has the final answer, but this goes through all the background information and theories. It's a great behind the scenes mystery of Hollywood in the 50s. A very interesting read, indeed.

If you liked LA Confidential, you'll find this book quite an enjoyable ride! Some reviews elsewhere bagged on the Noir-ish, hyped up language, but this subsides after the first few chapters. As a child, I had been told by my grandmother that George Reeves had shot himself and this placed a bit of a stigma on this hero of my youth. This book does a great job of showing George's behind-the-scenes life and provides a great back story to the big mystery . . . did he or didn't he? I had a pretty strong opinion prior to reading this but I found myself flip-flopping a few times during the course of the book. I have passed this one around to my wife and relatives and all have enjoyed it. Its an intersting look at Hollywood and the birth of TV and the subject matter is interesting enough to make this a great "beach book". Even Hollywood history is great escapism. The only disappointment is not being able to hold out hope for a different ending for my hero.

This book was a very exciting read in which I am sure will be made into a movie one day. For me, it made me a little sadder about the man who was my hero and who I tried to figuratively become. Two years ago I did a story in my television series MYSTERIES, MAGIC, AND MIRACLES for the Sci-Fi Channel on the mysterious death of George Reeves. I only wish I knew of this angle before I did the story. Now, I am more interested in the life of George Reeves and the positive influence he had on many of us growing up. Perhaps, one day, the world will celebrate his life, rather than immortalize his death. Jack Larson, if you're reading this, I would love to talk to you about the greatness of this man.

It's a highly enjoyable book which I devoured in virtually one sitting. However, I - like sdr1989@juno.com - would like more more concrete evidence. That is, were Toni Mannix alive, and were someone to take her trial, it would be very difficult to convict her on the items within the pages of this book. That's because virtually everyone's dead, and a lot of the book is hearsay, etc. However, the book is a fantastic read and loads of fun, and I would recommend it to anyone...whether they believe in the book's contentions or not!

As this was the 50th anniversary of George Reeves' death and as I have been a devoted fan all these years, I decided to add this book to my collection of memorabilia of the actor. I must say that the first half of this book was an interesting read as it delved into the dark and sinister world of Hollywood and also gave intimate details of Reeves' life that I was not aware of. However, once the authors started explaining their view of the actor's death, it became apparent to me that their account, in my opinion, was hyperbole and nothing I could accept. There has been so much written about Reeves' mysterious end and so many inconsistencies, and this book unfortunately falls into that trap. It engages in pure fantasy.

This biography is an impressive and readable work of detection, delving into the untimely death of George Reeves, the t.v. Superman beloved by millions of baby boomers. It is a fascinating read to follow the unraveling of a mysterious death. It's packed with gossipy stories of the tinny glitter of B List Hollywood of the 1950's, written in the hard boiled style of Raymond Chandler and Dashiel Hammet. It's got to be a major source for the movie Hollywood Land. It offers up more intriguing details about George Reeves and 1950's Hollywood than any movie could show. But I'm certainly not going to miss the movie, which looks to be a great film noir apparently inspired by this book.

I have taken a keen interest in the life and death of George Reeves, and have read quite a bit on the subject. These authors are spreading around alot of manure in the subtle hope that somethig beautiful will grow. When interviewed about the book Jack Larson, who played cub reporter Jimmy Olsen in the series, actually referred to the tome as Hollywood Kraptonite. While the book does paint a vivid picture of Hollywood in the 1950's, the conclusions drawn simply are not supported by the evidence. The simple truth of the matter is no one will ever know what really happened the evening of June 16, 1959. The principals are all dead, and the evidence destroyed. If the reader takes that into account and treats the book as a fictional account of Reeves' death, it is a quick read.

This book still leaves so many questions unanswered, George Reeves' death is still an open case. The police still have not solved this case, and it has been many years after George's death.

There are still open questions, and which have not been really answered. The book just opens up more questions, that just seem to open up more interest in the man who not only thrilled but gave so much to us in our youth George Reeves!

There has to be someone out there, who will write another great book where this one just leaves us hanging in real suspense. There are many who grew up with George Reeves, and who would really like to know "the real facts" behide what or who killed George Reeves. Was there a coverup? And by who? The Police? George's lover? Did George Reeves step on someone's toes, and they had him killed? There are alot of fans, who would like to know what really happened to this great actor...please find the killer of our hero--Superman/aka/George Reeves!

I have spent nearly twenty years researching a biography of George Reeves. I am one of the people Hollywood Kryptonite is dedicated to. And though I admire the authors' other works and their ability to crank out a book on this subject in almost no time at all, I must repudiate virtually every claim they make as to the circumstances of George Reeves' death. Their conclusions are not borne out by the true evidence, and the evidence they use to support their conclusion is, at the most generous, questionable. My opinions do not matter; the only thing that matters is truth. And Hollywood Kryptonite does not present the truth about George Reeves' death