Customer Reviews

Irene Dunne: First Lady of Hollywood (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series)

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

 

 

For the exhorbitant price of $45.00 and higher, I expected a nice coffee-table style book chronicling Dunne's career and her life as well, loaded with pictures. This is not what I received.

What I received was a 178 page synopsis style of Dunne's non-scandalous life (rare for a Hollywood star...she was married to the same man for 45 years!! Amen to that...refreshing...) devoted to her family, a jewel to work with, and never gave a bad performance. Along with Barbara Stanwyck she was the best actress never to have received an academy award (she was nominated five times).

However, the author skims over Dunne's life, briefly analyzes the periods of her career and says almost nothing of Dunne's later years!! There Are a few pictures in the middle insert...but none of Dunne as a child or as a mature woman.

Irene Dunne was a classy lady who deserves better than what she gets here...a tepid, rushed biography (which doesn't even include a dust jacket) finely printed on glossy paper with the high price that is just not worth it. I'm sorry I bought it as I really learned nothing new about Dunne that I didn't already know. This book is acceptable at perhaps $7.95. $45.00??? Ridiculous! Trust me!

If you want a university style thesis on Irene Dunne, then you will be happy with this highly priced book. It is analytical as one might expect from an academic but the author has failed to make a story out of it. This makes for a very tedious read. Dunne was a model citizen and there are so many aspects of her public life beyond her prolific film careeer which are of interest. The content simply is not here. It is indicative of the academic approach that each chapter contains a lengthy index which is of almost no interest to the reader. Such Indices are better left at the end. The author also has the annoying habit of itemising things which give the feeling that the book was compiled from a series of dot points instead of a smooth flow of text. Finally, illustrations are scarce and this always contributes to a "dry" read. One plus, however, is that the book has been published in a nice hardback edition (minus dustcover) and an easy size to handle.

Overall, Margie Shultz, in her bio-bibliography of Dunne, does a much better and simpler job. In fact, I would say the biography of Irene Dunne is yet to be written.

I think this book is excellent for students and people who are discovering the world of classic Hollywood. It goes into detail without getting "too personal". Please realize that this book is intended for educational purposes (although it is entertaining at points about her life).

If anyone wants to know more about Irene Dunne personally, then you should start collecting old movie magazines from the 1930s to the present. Otherwise, I would recommend this piece of well-written art, to anyone who is willing to learn about a great actress and a great human-being! Thanks for your tribute to Irene, Prof. Gehring. Since she didn't write a book herself, there are lots of us fans who really appreciate your hard work (not to mention how envious we are that you got to talk to her). We commend you!

This is a lovely book about a woman who certainly did her best in her field and private life. She was indeed unique as one can easily tell when watching her wonderful films....old and well as the later ones.

I think the author did a wonderful job researching his subject. I wanted more and didn't want the story to end. Thank you.

The author did a good job including as much as possible about her life before, during and after movies. But Irene Dunne was a lady. There is truly nothing to write about. She is one of the very few that had a nearly perfect career and life. And she is everything you'd expect her to be based on her roles in pictures. I don't see what everyone is complaining about, do they want the author to make up scandals to keep it interesting? The book is only boring if you don't like Irene. And that is not possible.