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21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hell bent for destruction, November 14, 2007
This review is from: Hollywood's Hellfire Club: The Misadventures of John Barrymore, W.C. Fields, Errol Flynn and the Bundy Drive Boys (Paperback)
Greg Mank has left the haunted mansion of golden age horror film critiques and heads into Hollywood Babylon territory with his newest book; and what he finds would have Kenneth Anger gasping for breath. Mank, with his coauthors Charles Heard and Bill Nelson, tells the tale of the Bundy Drive Boys, a collective of fast living and hard drinking Hollywood actors, writers and artists--- all committed to their friendship and the right to destroy their careers, their families and themselves by any means necessary. Among the hell-raisers are John Barrymore, W.C. Fields, Errol Flynn, John Decker, William Fowler, John Carradine, Ben Hecht and Sadakichi Hartmann; and their stories of childhood tragedy, incest, rape, cannibalism (in a POW camp), drunken brawls, sexual conquests, and even an art forgery scam, will have your jaw hitting the floor.
I read HOLLYWOOD HELLFIRE CLUB in one sitting. My morbid curiosity (wondering just how much worse can things get for the Bundy Drive boys) simply would not let me put this book down. If you are a fan of Hollywood's Golden Age... or the last person to leave the scene of a train wreck, this book will surely entertain and/or horrify you!
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
100 Proof Hollywood, March 22, 2008
This review is from: Hollywood's Hellfire Club: The Misadventures of John Barrymore, W.C. Fields, Errol Flynn and the Bundy Drive Boys (Paperback)
There are only two ways you can look at the lives of these legendary "bad boy" actors and comedians. First is head-on, which this book offers in abundance. And second, philosophically, as suggested by one of the most poignant passages in the book, "They all saw the joke of life, and they teach us not to be scared. There is no bogeyman. Get the essence of love and happiness and joy, and share it with people. All that matters is to leave a legacy of happiness, and to give someone else an inspiration--like they gave us." (Rita Saiz, clairvoyant?)
John Barrymore, W.C. Fields, Errol Flynn, and John Decker were among the most talented individuals of their day, and seemingly, among the most tragic, each drowning his pain in alcohol and prematurely snuffing-out their abilities and lives. But they did so in good company: John Carradine, Alan Mowbray, Ben Hecht, and Thomas Mitchell, to name a few. And best of all, there was Gene Fowler, the writer whom they trusted to keep the record straight. And worst of all, there was Sadakichi Hartmann, a pre-counter-culture beatnik/hippie who seemed to be consumed by his worst impulses, and was kept afloat by Barrymore.
But to concentrate on the tragic is to lose sight of the legacy that includes Barrymore's "Svengali" and "Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde," Fields's trenchant satires of American family life, and the transcendent magic of Flynn's swashbuckling heroes. Authors Mank, Heard, and Nelson offer no apologies for these artists, nor do they cast judgement. This is a book that is both repulsive and yet mesmerizing. In the end, we are left not so much mourning the shortened careers of these men, but marveling that their genius allowed them to perform a weird alchemy that transformed so much personal squalor into artistic brilliance.
This is High-Gothic Hollywood storytelling, and maybe it's about time.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun and fascinating -, November 19, 2007
This review is from: Hollywood's Hellfire Club: The Misadventures of John Barrymore, W.C. Fields, Errol Flynn and the Bundy Drive Boys (Paperback)
I was a bit nervous when I ordered "Hollywood's Hellfire Club" by Gregory Mank, Charles Heard and Bill Nelson.
I love old Hollywood and the stars of its golden age and although I was not looking for a whitewash of their lives, I was worried it might be a book that just trashed them. And yes, the book shows their lives warts and all, but it was clearly written by people who love these guys and the period of Hollywood they lived in.
The interwoven stories of these friends has the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, but all told in an engrossing way that really wraps you up in the tale. I was familiar with W.C. Fields, Errol Flynn, John Carradine, John Barrymore, Ben Hecht and Gene Fowler but I did not know much about John Decker and Sadakichi Hartmann but reading about their exploits and insanity was funny and fascinating (W.C. Fields as Queen Victoria? And who in their right mind would ever think of a perfume concert?!?)
The book is a very enjoyable read, it grabs you with each persons story and pulls the group together as it tells the tale. Organized by decades, the book is lavishly illustrated and although most of the cast of characters had a lot of sadness in their lives, the book does not get morbid, it more looks at the absurdity and fun these people brought each other, and through their work they brought each of us.
These guys personified perfection in their chosen fields, were perfectly decadent in their private lives and the way "Hollywood's Hellfire Club" is presented makes for a perfectly fascinating story.
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