Joan Crawford: Hollywood Martyr (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: being outed, taxi dancer, casting couch, New York, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bret, who has written several celebrity bios, details Joan Crawford's rags-to-riches story in this able biography. Born Lucille LeSueur in 1905, Crawford lived a hardscrabble life in the Midwest; as the product of a Dickensian childhood, she slept her way to the top. She became a taxi dancer who turned tricks; discovered by an MGM talent scout at age 20, she headed to Hollywood. From silents to talkies, in a career that spanned from 1925 to 1970, Crawford, glamorous and vulnerable, became a gay icon and hero to working-class women in films like Possessed and the Oscar-winning Mildred Pierce. Renowned for sleeping with her leading men, she had an on-and-off affair with Clark Gable (who Bret claims swung both ways). Three of her four husbands were bisexual; two were abusive. Her voracious sexual appetite was legendary. Bret chronicles her films, her feud with Bette Davis and dismisses her daughter's Mommie Dearest tirade, but he revels in Hollywood's sexual excesses, and fans who crave a lively insider view will most appreciate this bio. (Jan.)
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Review

Skyscraper, Winter 08
“Full of salacious stories and juicy scandals…A fascinating read.”

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (November 7, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786718684
• ISBN-13: 978-0786718689
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #846,034 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Joan deserves better, October 22, 2006

By	J. Abercrombi - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I purchased the British edition of this book a couple of months ago because I was so hungry for a new Joan Crawford biography. Most of the other biographies do not really describe this fascinating, and talented star.

According to Mr. Bret, just about every major male star during the golden-era was a "switch hitter." And, that seemed to be all he wanted to write about and discuss, which is of no interest to someone who wants to learn about Joan Crawford.

The author claims that Joan's first three husbands had some sugar in their respected tanks. However, the author does not include any exclusive interviews, new information, or background on any of these people (especially Miss Crawford in this regard.) Instead, David Bret relies on old interviews (the newest interviews were more than thirty five years old) pieced together to give these salacious claims the ring of truth. But, it's just second-hand gossip that has been talked about and reported on for nearly forty years.

Joan's life also is not scrutinized or detailed or even fully explained. I am so fascinated with Joan Crawford and I have so many questions about her, but none of my questions are answered. Because the author does not describe the Academy Award Winner in any circumstantiated manner. And if anything, I have more questions.

Instead, the author describes the plots of (most) of Joan's movies and then gives his "professional" critique on Miss Crawford's performance. This should be about Joan Crawford, not about the plots of her films. Roughly 75% of the book is about a movie which made for sloppy reading, and lazy writing on Mr. Bret's part.

As stated, there were no interviews conducted for this book. It would have been so much more interesting for the author to include interviews with Joan's family. Joan's adopted son recently passed away last month, so this would have been extremely interesting to read his story. None of Miss Crawford's family, close friends, or business associates were interviewed for "Hollywood Martyr."

The book also does not include any worthwhile or rare pictures of Joan, which is very unfortunate. (BTW, the British book does include an alternate cover, where Joan looks more youthful.) And there also are not any pictures of Joan before she signed on with MGM. The oldest picture of her being taken in 1927; more than two years after she made her first feature film. And, there also aren't any candid pictures of Joan.

"Hollywood Martyr" included all of Joan's French movie titles with the English translations (in the back of the book) which I really appreciated. I have a good friend in Paris that also likes Joan so this will come in handy for me, but I wonder why the author included this information?

Joan deserves a better biography. Joan, your fans still adore you after all these years and will never stop loving you!!

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Shallow and gossipy dross, October 27, 2006

By	Douglas M - See all my reviews

At first glance, this book seems as if finally someone has pulled together the story of Joan Crawford, warts and all, but the book does not withstand analysis. The only difference between it and the many antiseptic biographies of Crawford is that this book openly acknowledges her promiscuity. It reads like a very long fan magazine article. Even the title smacks of fan magazine junk because if there was one thing Crawford was not, it was a martyr!

The author makes the fatal mistake of padding the story with very detailed plot descriptions of all of Crawford's movies. They take up pages and pages. Given that her films, with very few exceptions, were unashamedly studio products with contrived plots designed to showcase her (she played the same role endlessly), this is really dumb. Having done this, the boredom is compounded by almost no comment on Crawford's performances.

Also, there is more rubbish about that stupid Crawford/Bette Davis feud. Would you believe it began in 1933 when Davis's film "Ex Lady", a film for which she was vocally ashamed, was released and ignored because Crawford stole the headlines on other matters? Give us a break!

Don't be fooled by the description of this book by Amazon. It is a shallow read. Borrow it from a public library because you will knock it over in one night but don't waste your money to add it to your own bookshelf.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't do justice to Ms. Crawford plus fact checking needed, November 2, 2006

By	Reviewer from Queens - See all my reviews

This book is gossipy and rehashes some of the stories circulating about Joan Crawford for instance the alleged stag films, her alleged bisexuality and even dips into other gossipy stories about Jean Harlow, Ramon Novarro, and Rudolph Valentino among others.

Also, I wondered why the author or the editors didn't check this over and remove obvious errors. The author states that Norma Shearer never remarried out of respect for her late husband Irving Thalberg. Ms. Shearer had a very well documented marriage to Martin Arrouge, a Ski instructor and their marriage lasted until her death. Also, he states that John Gilbert was replaced by Gary Cooper in Desire. Actually, John Halliday replaced Mr. Gilbert--Gary Cooper was always in the cast. There are other errors but these I found the most striking.

What is good in the book are the summary of the plots of Ms. Crawford's films plus the illustrations. Indeed, Ms. Crawford is one of the most notable actresses of the 20th century along with Bette Davis, Greta Garbo and Katharine Hepburn. The author does do justice to her film career nd chronicles her rise from a bit player at MGM to a Hollywood icon. Her four marriages (two to actors--Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Franchot Tone)also receive attention, though there is much gossip thrown in, which has neither been proved or disproved over the years. Her long term relationship with Clark Gable is also discussed.

Overall, the book could have been better. I was disappointed in the factual errors also. Those who admire Joan Crawford should get a copy of her biography by Bob Thomas.