Customer Reviews

The Merchant Prince of Poverty Row: Harry Cohn of Columbia Pictures

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Although not as detailed or as well-written as it could be, this is a sold book focusing on one of the most talented (as well as one of the toughest) studio presidents ever. Vulgar, often hated, Cohn is still a fascinating figure in Hollywood history. Highlights of this book include Clifford Odets actual Eulogy for Cohn and information about the relationship between Frank Capra and Cohn.

I was expecting backstage stories and details about his arguments with Roz Russell and his insatiable lust for starlets.

I suppose I was looking for a grood sloppy Hollywood tell-all.
What I got was something entirely cerbral and concerned with mergers and wheelings and dealings of the studios going back to the Nickolodeon days.

If you are an accountant, you'll love it. If your looking to get to know Harry Cohn....forget it.

Harry Cohn has been a study in Hollywood reality for decades. Since the foundation of Columbia Pictures, Cohn has been referred to as everything from "mean" to "monster". The many memorable stories about "Horrible Harry" have been made public by various reliable sources --- from stage-hands, producers and directors --- to the top stars under contract to the little company once isolated to a small section of Gower Street in Los Angeles. Of course, Columbia Pictures is no longer a Poverty Row film outlet. The company is now recognized as being superior to Cohn's "dream-studio", Metro-Goldywn-Mayer. However, Harry Cohn still retains the reputation as being "the meanest man in Hollywood" to many of those who collect and cherish movie rumors.

This book presents a fair study of Cohn, although the author leaves the impression that he is more dedicated to a "word study" than he is to the subject. To me, the pages fail to fall into the category of "easy-reading" material. Harry Cohn was not only one of Hollywood's leading movie merchants, he was also a "character" who reflected fierce determination. The limited education achieved during his youth seemed to cause extreme anger after he had become a huge success in the complex motion-picture community. It obviously bruised his ego to a point where he seemed to be "searching for a fight" with anyone falling short of his difficult demands.

Granted, Bernard F. Dick has done a very good study of Harry Cohn, but falls short of Bob Thomas' book, "King Cohn". Bob presented more simplicity while creating words to describe this tough movie boss and his diversified antics.