Customer Reviews

Lana: The Lady, the Legend, the Truth

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

For quite some time, I didn't know what I thought about this book. It baffled me because it alternates between excruciating details about clothes, shoes, and hairstyles, and Lana's heartbreaking stories of love and betrayal. Lana Turner was married seven times. The reasons she gives for marrying each of her husbands are about as trivial as the reasons she gives for divorcing them. For instance, she was dating someone, and then Joan Crawford called her up and said he was HER man. So what does Lana do? She bumps into bandleader Artie Shaw at a party later in the evening, and MARRIES the guy-- THAT night. THEN, even though she had never even met him before their wedding day, she writes with genuine amazement that SHE didn't know he had been married twice before, or that he was abusive. She leaves him, finds out she is pregnant, and aborts the baby. Exit marriage one. Enter husband #2, Stephen Crane. She marries him on an impulse, finds out that he's still legally married to his first wife, and leaves him, angry and pregnant. She reluctantly goes back,(after alot of "fatherly persuasion" from her mentor, Louis B. Mayer, President of MGM Studios) has the baby,a daughter named Cheryl Christina Crane, who infamously stabbed her mother's abusive gang- tied lover to death in a trial that rocked 1950's Hollywood to its core. However, long before this incident, Lana had already discarded Cheryl's father, Stephen;so it's so long husband number two. HELLO husband #3: Millionare Bob Topping became her third husband, and she writes that she accepted his proposal because- get this- although she did not love him, and he was still married to someone else, "there's something awfully compelling about a big, diamond ring". To my utter bafflement, she actually leaves this husband,too. And on and on, right down to the last matrimonial drop- a "drip" which consisted of a charlatan Hollywood hypontist doctor,Dr. Dante, Lana's seventh and last groom. FYI: in a strange turn of events, this last husband dumped HER, via a memo he'd taped to her bathroom mirror. It said something to the effect that he just couldn't do "this" anymore, and, therefore, she would not be seeing him (or most of her money) again. He signed the note, "Love, Muggs". Upon reading it, Miss Turner fell to the floor in a dead faint; not because he left her high and dry, but because she "had no idea" his nick-name was "Muggs." The only thing she writes about with poignancy is her various failed attempts at motherhood and her countless miscarriages. She writes about how badly she wanted each pregnancy, and she becomes pregnant by movie idol Tyrone Power (who-- gasp!- was still legally married to HIS first wife). I actually saw a glimmer of maturity and strength of character, because she told Tyrone, "D--- it!! NObody is going to take THIS baby away from me!" Tyrone Power left the decision entirely in Lana's perfectly-manicured hands,vowed to support any decision she made- then took the first thing smoking out of the country. Lana began to plot and scheme.... she even tried to formulate some plan whereupon she would fly away to some far away, private island, then come back after having the baby, giving the columnists that age old story of "adopting" the baby on the spur of the moment, due to said baby's cuteness, and her generous spirit. In the cooler light of reason (and in the harsh light of gradually realzing that Tyrone does not consider her either "wife" or "mother" material, she comes to accept the absurdity of her proposed plan- "How on earth", she scoffs on these pages, "could Lana Turner return from the islands with a baby that was the spittting image of Tyrone Power and claim she'd "found" it?" So, sadly (in her words) she came to the same conclusion she did when faced with the prospect of being Artie Shaw's "Baby-Mama". And Lana terminated the pregnancy, telling herself that she and "Ty" could always get married and have scads of children. It seems almost pointless to write that this dream never materialized, as upon returning to the states and visiting with Lana, Mr. Power informed her that not only was he done with HER, he planned on getting married to Lana's stand in; Linda Christian, who subsequently bore him three bouncing, healthy children. Good Grief. Ironically, I think Lana Turner wrote this book to prove that she wasn't as shallow as people thought she was. It was apparently lost on her that this book underlined that theory indefinitely.

Although this book is jam-packed with lots of behind the scenes movie star action and photographs of this physically beautiful woman, this story is definitely a one-sided view of Lana's excuse for her often lurid life. It seems everyone in Hollywood was "out to get" Lana, and she desperately needed to marry (over and over) to rise above it all. She speaks glowingly of every husband, until they, too, turn out to be less than wonderful. It's a bit of a hoot that she becomes disenchanted with these fellows who she spent all of a week dating before saying "I do." Regarding her career, she often talks about how professional and hardworking she was on the set, but I think about 90% of her hard work went into perfecting her nearly flawless appearance. It is no wonder that her make-up man played such a big role in her life. She explains that she was "horrified" at herself on the screen in her debut performance as a "sweater girl", as if she was unaware of her attributes as she flounced across the screen. Although Hollywood back in the 40's and 50's did contain alot of despicable characters, Lana did few selfless acts herself. She professes to loving her only child, but continuously leaves her in the care of her long-suffering mother while she jetsets around the globe with new lovers or new husbands. The reader can only assume that she's (1) incredibly naive or (2) incredibly stupid. She sums it all up to "love" or a "what's a girl to do?" attitude. I don't doubt that given her physical beauty such a lifestyle would be very easy to fall prey to in Hollywood. It's a shame she felt it necessary to drag a child through it with her with disastrous adults. When her daughter begins to act out, (you know, like stabbing Lana's mobster boyfriend) Lana wonders if maybe it's due to her many marriages, houses and lifestyle. Duh! But in the end, she takes credit when her stunning daughter turns out to be a "brillant businesswoman". And, just when you think all hope for redemption is lost, she devotes her last chapter to her devotion to God. Afterall, what's a girl to do?

That, in my opinion, is a good summary of Lana Turner's rise to fame. Lana Turner was one of the most beautiful and talented actresses of her time, with unforgettable performances in classics like "The Postman Always Rings Twice", "Homecoming", "Johnny Eager", and "The Bad and the Beautiful". This autobiography is very gripping and provides a very entertaining look at Hollywood as experienced by Lana during her long and impressive career. There are three sections of great photos which show how timeless her beauty was. I agree with the previous reviewers' comments about Lana's descriptions of her failed marriages and not-so-perfect relationship with her daughter, but after all, a Hollywood legend like Lana had to defend and preserve her character. She's very candid about many events and scandals, and her writing style makes the book impossible to put down. For a "no-spin" account of Lana Turner I recommend searching for a biography, but unfortunately there are not many. This book is a definite must for all Lana Turner fans!

First of all, skip the hardback original edition selling used for only one cent - totally not worth your time. At $900 million, the paperback version is the only way to "really" understand what the author intended. I scanned through this treasure of a read during my solo rocket trip to the moon last week and have only a couple of points. First, I'm not entirely sure what this book is about. This really shouldn't matter because at this cost I can pretty much buy every book ever written. I mean ownership is knowledge and knowledge is power... and at $900 million, lets be honest, we could all use a little more of that. Second, well, I have no second point because the cost of power is money, and money is time... and after this magnificent purchase I don't have any more of those.

Perhaps that would have been a better title, as Lana Turner, otherwise known as "The Sweater Girl" (a moniker she detested), certainly glosses over the truth of her life, as well as scandals and her upbringing of her daughter, Cheryl Crane. It was for the sake of the latter that Turner was very discreet and careful in the way she discusses Cheryl and the Stompanato case. But at the same time, Lana presents herself as an emotionally immature, if likeably gullible woman who lived in the moment with little thought of the consequences. She fails to take responsibility for her actions, never mentioning when she talks about Cheryl's "deep-rooted emotional difficulties" that she herself was cause of the majority of the damaging problems that her only child suffered. Also, her claims that she and Frank Sinatra were never more than friends was disputed in later years by her close friend, Evie Wynn Johnson, who knew full well that Lana and Old Blue Eyes were romantically involved for some time. And she doesn't give her mother Mildred the credit that she deserved, as Millie without a doubt raised Cheryl (along with the hired help that came and went), while her movie queen daughter was off partying, making films, travelling and carousing.
However, I cannot bring myself to dislike Lana, for she seems to have had the best of intentions, searched for love several times without satisfactory results, and had a true survivor instinct the enabled her to endure in both her career and private life. As a little girl, from when her con man father was found murdered, to all the men that would figure in her life, she was only looking for true love, albeit in mostly the wrong places. The one man she loved above all others she never got to the altar with. But she was able to re-establish a relationship with her daughter in adulthood, and achieved solace in her faith and the simple joys and pleasures of life. The photos in the book are also a plus. It is a enjoyable, if fluffy read, but if you want something a little closer to the truth, read Cheryl Crane's book "Detour: A Hollywood Story".

I think Lana Turner wrote a wonderful autobiography.
Her life was very complicated, interesting and glamorous.
She covers everything in this book.
She starts with her childhood, and talks about how she really was discovered. She talks about her career in movies, her co-stars, her relationships with men, her daughter, everything.
She does go into all the rumors about her life. She openly discusses the scandals and questions people have about events in her life.
She also goes into the difference between her real self and "Lana Turner" the movie star.
I think this is an in-depth, interesting autobiography by a beautiful, smart and talented movie star that is absolutley worth reading.

what a great book, i think it has a above average p0rice for the billions i learned whith this book

I enjoyed this book very much. I love reading books on old movie stars, Lana gave a lot of truthful insight.

I found the book by Miss Lana turner to be so insightful, so many amazing details from the woman that was known as THE Sweater girl, the girl discovered at Schwabs sipping a soda, the girl groomed at M.G.M the BEST studio as was said "With more Stars than in the Heavens", she at 16 after her first check told her mother, "Momma you never have to work again" and that was true.
She Very honestly tells what it was like working so much, so much responsibility, having a gorgeous daughter, and what it was like in a different era, dating, so public, living out lives the way the studios made the movies for mass consumption, I admire her and her life, I feel very similar to Miss Turner, I feel if it were I, back then, I don't know I would do so well.
God Bless Lana Turner & her daughter Cheryl Crane.

As I read Lana Turner's book, written in her words, I really felt like I knew her. Her personality was so familiar to me and made the book that much more interesting than other star biographies. Very well written and fascinating! I treasure this book.