The Hustons [Paperback]

Lawrence Grobel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2000

In this candid biography Lawrence Grobel chronicles the remarkable story of the Huston family, which boasts three Oscar winners, from Walter to John to Anjelica, with particular attention to the rich career and tumultuous personal life of director/actor John Huston (1906-1987). This updated edition covers Anjelica's stormy relationship with Jack Nicholson, her liberating marriage to artist Robert Graham, the exploits of her brothers Tony and Danny, the mysterious silence of Maricela, John's last love interest and more.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starting with Walter (1884-1960), peaking with John (1906-1987) and continuing with Anjelica (born 1951), three generations of Oscar-winning Hustons have enriched American theater and films. In this anecdotal composite biography, based on talks with family members, friends and associates, Grobel ( Conversations with Capote ) follows the careers of all the Hustons but focuses on John. His research is the most impressive aspect of this massive volume, and he is even-handed, if undiscriminating. No detail is too insignificant for inclusion; no single reaction to an event or version of a story will do if many are available. Thus, the reader comes away with myriad impressions of John's parents, five wives, numerous mistresses, several children, in-laws and paramours. But as Edna O'Brien observes here, although he was a man "whom women had been in love with all his life," he was anxious and sadistic and felt that "the biggest unhappiness in his life had been caused by women." John Huston bestrides this book like a colossus, but after 812 pages he remains a mystery. Photos. BOMC and Movie Entertainment Book Club alternates.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

An ambitious family biography, embracing actor Walter, his writer-director-actor son John, and John's three children, actress Anjelica, writer Tony, and director Danny. The focus is on John, who over the last three years of his life granted extensive interviews to the author. By including Walter (and his redoubtable wife, Rhea Gore), we get important glimpses into John's character. And that character is endlessly fascinating. Alternately charming and cruel, John was the ultimate director, manipulating people on and off a set. The stories behind his famed films ( The Maltese Falcon, The African Queen ) are here, but perhaps more revealing are the accounts of the "failures," such as Freud or The Red Badge of Courage . And the portraits of his children attempting to deal with such a dominating father are touching.
- Thomas Wiener, formerly with "American Film," Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 872 pages
• Publisher: Cooper Square Press; Updated Edition edition (March 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815410263
• ISBN-13: 978-0815410263
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,440,292 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hello, Hollywood?, January 27, 2006

By 

quillet (AL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hustons (Hardcover)

I read "The Hustons" several years ago and am now rereading it. Sure, it's about many of the brightest stars in Hollywood, and John Huston is a giant among them, but it's also very much about the creative process. Anyone who is interested in writing, directing, acting, or any other of the creative roles in the making of a film should read this book. It is thoroughly researched and brilliantly written. Go on, you'll find it inspiring.

Congratulations, Lawrence Grobel, on this great work. Why hasn't it become a movie too? Hello, Hollywood?

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Huston, not a city in Texas, October 30, 2000

By 

Patrick Brown (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hustons (Paperback)

Hollywood (and much of the United States, for that matter) was built by powerful families. The Zaibatsus of early Hollywood -- the Barrymores, the Zanucks, the Gish sisters -- gave us some of the finest films ever made, as well as a template for film production that has survived for eighty years.

Add to this list the Hustons. In many ways, they represent the last half of the Twentieth century in Hollywood. This book brilliantly captures the power, fame, and scandals in which the Huston's were involved. The prose is informative without sacrificing readability, and the book is thoroughly researched. I recommend it for anyone interested in the Hollywood Studio System and how it changed after the 1940s. Fantastic reading on an important subject.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars John Huston's Story, And A Hell Of A One At That, October 10, 2009

By 

Chris Ward (Costa Rica) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hustons (Paperback)

Though the title is "The Hustons," this is really John Huston's book. Walter and Angelica are bookends to the wild brilliance and debauchery that was John Huston's improbable life. It's fitting that he receive the lion's share: as remarkable an actor as Walter was, and as talented as Angelica continues to be, the son and father in this dynasty is the real story, after all. Grobel digs deep and speaks to as many people as he can to evince a towering portrait of a writer/director/actor who ranks at the top of the Hollywood pantheon, and must surely also rank at the top of the list for unmitigated son-of-a-bitchery of all kinds. His behavior to the women in his life is almost pathologically cruel on uncountable occasions-- and surprisingly tender at times, if only sporadically. There's nobility here, but it struggles to rise above the utter misogyny of his many marriages and unceasing affairs. He was one of a kind, and this book captures him-- it's a fascinating behind-the-scenes guide to his many fine films as well. This is likely the most complete portrait we'll get, and it makes for compelling reading.