Customer Reviews

Mitchum - In His Own Words

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

 

 

Having read another book written by Mitch's brother John(which I might add was VERY good) this is next to that. This was previously taped interviews and various stories told by Mitch himself. His wife, son Chris and Rodger Ebert also were involved. It is a real must for any Mitchum fan!! For those who are not familiar with his style, it will be up to them to figure out what many of the hosts had to discover about the star much to their delight. This book has many parts, such as quotes, documentaries etc. Truly a delight to read with many surprises. PJ Peake

This book about a major movie star was put together with a minimum of effort. If it took more than two days to xerox or get a transcript of these old interviews I would be surprised. The book is short and padded at the end with random quotes by or about Mitchum. You can digest this book in about thirty minutes. Mitchum is amusing as an interview subject but the interviews are mostly question and answer and have no context and the questioners often don't know much about Mitchum's career or at least don't know when he's got his facts right or wrong. Most of the interviews were done during publicity jaunts so you get a superficial, one-sided view of the actor's experiences. If that's all you want to know about Mitchum and his movies okay but otherwise this is a waste of money.

I was somewhat disappointed with the way the book was written. Robert Mitchum responds to interviewers questions. The book is not written by him. It is simply a dialogue between him and the interviewer. I learned about a very interesting man--a nonconformist, laid back, doesn't take himself too seriously, and seems to be a very stable person. He married his childhood sweetheart. They raised four children. He and his wife remained married until his death July 1, 1997. He was not the most refined person. He used profanity excessively. He was a kind and gentle man.

This book is another one in a series of biographies I have purchased from Amazon.com. The condition was good and processing was within a reasonable amount of time.

Excellent compilation of Mitchum's interviews. Shows not only his personality, but also the perspectives and values of the period. Very entertaining.