Customer Reviews

Norma Shearer: A Biography

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a fascinating look at the life of one of the most memorable stars of the 30's. Chronicles her life from her humble beginings to her arrival in Hollywood and her marriage to Irving Thalberg. Richly detailed, including interviews with Ms. Shearer done just before her death. Anyone with an interest in Ms. Shearer, or movie buffs in general, will fnd this book a delightful read. Illustrated throughout with exclusive photos of Ms. Shearer and her family. I highly recommend this book and it is well worth the search to find an out-of-print copy.

This is a must-read for anyone interested in early Hollywood, when stars had class. Norma Shearer is not as well remembered as she should be today, but after reading this book, you will be craving for more! This book is the best source there is out there for a look at this Queen of the MGM Lot (as she was called during her reign throughout the '30's) even though it has flaws. It gets some details of her career wrong, but the overall sense is that this is someone who accomplished a lot in terms of roles for women during the pre-code era of film. She played sophisticated society ladies who were just a bit naughty and flirtatious (and unapologetic!) She is worth remembering, so please seek out this book where you can find a copy and realize what those of us who have been captured by her star quality already know.......she was a star like no one else!
I also recommend a companion book to this(or if you can't locate a copy) Mick LaSalle's Complicated Women. He explains the glory that is Norma better than anyone can!

Gavin Lambert does not seem to feel especially warm toward the subject of this book. His brief descriptions of meetings with her, when she was an elderly woman, seem designed to show her in the worst possible light. His constant mention of the fact that a woman in her seventies has wrinkles and that her memory sometimes failed irked me. It was as if Lambert was bitterly disappointed that his subject was a mere mortal after all.

Lambert also seems to think he was privy to Miss Shearer's most private of thoughts. I seriously doubt she confided in him about her sexual history, fulfilling or otherwise. He also veers toward taking her attitudes toward mental illness completely out of context; people still struggle with their feelings about it, and to condemn Miss Shearer for her shame and alarm regarding her sister's illness is to single her out for criticism, in my opinion very unfairly.

Having said all that, overlooking his personal interjections and, as others have noted, an overly long look at the early life of Irving Thalberg, for those interested in Miss Shearer's life this is an interesting and absorbing book. After reading it I feel I know the facts about her career and biographical details, but I am hoping to find another book which will give me more of a sense of who she really was.

As this item is out of print, copies tend to be somewhat expensive. While I am glad I read it, I am also glad I paid less than $50 for the privilege.

This is a generally well written and researched book.There is a lag in the center section were the topic veers from Norma Shearer to husband, Irving Thalberg. It also suffers from not having insights from Shearer's intimates, including her daughter and second husband, who were both alive at the time of the book's publication. Shearer's post MGM years, from 1942 to 1983, are given a thin treatment. Lambert makes a couple of glaring errrors, such as when he describes a scene in "Marie Antoinette" where the Shearer character learns she is to die. There's no such scene, and given the wide availablily of the video, no excuse. Also, Lambert gets the inscription on her tomb wrong. He wrote that it reads "Norma Shearer Arrouge," when in fact it reads "Norma Arrouge."

Gavin Lambert's "Norma Shearer: A Life" is the definitive biography of MGM's brightest star of the 1930's who is currently being rediscovered by the American viewing public. Lambert weaves actual interviews with Miss Shearer, conducted before her death, with the story of her humble beginnings in Canada. The author particularly proves that Miss Shearer had tremendous drive and eagerness to be a star, Thalberg marriage or not, and did not receive nearly the advantages that legend has created. Mr. Lambert does not try to hide Miss Shearer's mistakes, but instead gives a balanced and fair picture of a remarkable, yet complex woman. A fascinating must read for any film buff...

Norma Shearer was incredibly private, and her children continued the tradition. Even her widower didn't want to talk to Mr. Lambert, saying that Norma's life was a closed chapter. You can imagine how daunting it would be to put together a complete biography of such a person, yet Lambert manages it in a way that is scholarly, objective and compulsively readable.

Norma was complex. She had insecurities and was mercurial at times. Her marriage to Irving Thalberg, while a loving one, was not terribly passionate (the description of their courtship is one of the many highlights of this superb book). Her relationship with her children was difficult in the extreme. Lambert manages to describe all of this while looking at all sides of the issues faced by the family members.

Fascinating reading, and I'm so glad I was able to get my hands on a copy. It will rest on my shelf with a very few other well-written biographies.

I thought that this book was well written and provided as much information as possible, given the fact that Ms. Shearer and her children were/are very private people. The only thing that I thought he did a poor job on was her later years. Ms. Shearer didn't decend into "madness"..she evidently suffered some form of dementia or possibly Alzheimer's. Instead of treating her disease with compassion, she was a human being, he treats her bizarre behaviors as a neurotic actress who couldn't stand growing old.

Excellent account of Hollywood's first major leading lady. A lady of intelligence, glamour and beauty. This biography captures her allure as well as depicting the Hollywood studio system of the 1930s and 40s.

There are so few books on Norma Shearer that each one is a treasure. I find myself, as a Norma Shearer fan or fanatic, that I look at the pictures and reread this book over and over, If you are a Norma Shearer fan this book is a must have...