The Other Side of the Moon: The Life of David Niven (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The title is a play on David Niven's first bestseller, The Moon's a Balloon, a memoir that Morley maintains tells about other people, not the actor himself. With help from Niven's friends and professional associates, the distinguished biographer (Gertrude Lawrence, etc.) has written a compassionate account that goes past the blithe persona Niven presented, into his failings, disappointments and tragedies. Born in London in 1910, the future suave performer tempted expulsion with schoolboy devilry; he later served in the British army before emigrating to the U.S. His film career started in 1934 and lasted nearly to his death in 1983, but he failed to achieve "stardom." The terrible sorrow of Niven's life was the death of his wife Primula, killed in a fall during her 20s when their sons were babies. His second marriage, to a Swedish model, was unhappy. There were other romantic involvements in Niven's life and many facets to his career that Morley reveals. During World War II, for instance, he gave up Hollywood and returned to his homeland to fight for England; he was self-seeking and so afraid of poverty that throughout his career he accepted demeaning parts in many movies. The moon's other side was darkest at the end when Niven succumbed to sclerosis, the Lou Gehrig disease. And yet, there is much humorthe actor's and his biographer'sin this notable book. Photos. 25,000 first printing; author tour. October 30
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Why a major biography of raconteur-writer-actor Niven after the star himself had published two marvelous bestselling memoirs, The Moon's a Balloon and Bring on the Empty Horses ? Morley, a British theater critic and veteran biographer (Coward, Dietrich), and Niven's family feel that previous accounts have merely scratched the surface of the story. Morley sees Niven as a ``grin and tonic man,'' whose talent to amuse hid a darker, driven personality, and who made one terrible movie after another and became sexually ``insatiable'' after his first wife died in a freak accident. Careful, balanced, but intent on debunking the Niven myth, this is far more comprehensive and insightful than Tom Hutchinson's Niven's Hollywood ( LJ 10/15/84). Recommended. Christopher Schemering, Arlington Cty. P.L., Va.
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins; First U.S. edition. edition (October 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060154705
• ISBN-13: 978-0060154707
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,453,600 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fair and unbiased biography, February 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Other Side of the Moon: The Life of David Niven (Textbook Binding)

Sheridan Morley's biography of David Niven is a more concise an indepth look at the British actor's life and career than that portrayed by Niven in his own autobiography "The Moons a balloon". As Morley points out Niven writes more about his Hollywood experiences then actually about himself, creating a narrative that delves superficially in terms to his own life story as to that of his famous friends. Morley is an equitable writer who provides a fair and detailed account of the man and actor who was always slightly bemused by his own success. Morley offers no nasty hidden skeletons in the Niven closet but does clarify those stories that the actor alluded to in his books, especially the affair he had with Merle Oberon and the traumatic mental breakdowns that plagued Vivian Leigh. An interesting biography of a truly charming man.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 'Absorbing but unvarnished look at a great Hollywood star', October 28, 2003

By	Ralph Schiller (Winfield, IL, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Other Side of the Moon: The Life of David Niven (Textbook Binding)

Sheridan Morley's 'The Other Side Of The Moon' is an incredibly absorbing biography of Hollywood film great David Niven. Niven starred in over 80 motion pictures, but the charming, suave actor is revealed to be a hollow man deeply wracked with personal insecurities. David Niven won the 1959 Academy Award Oscar in a starring role for his magnificent performance in 'Separate Tables', yet he spent the rest of his career looking over his shoulder. Author Morley does extensive interviews with many of Niven's co-stars and former close friends that reveal something of the darker side of the star. A horrible turning point in Niven's life, was the death of his young British wife from injuries sustained at a Hollywood party, while playing 'hide and go seek' at the house of Tyrone Power! On the positive side, the writer highlights David Niven's heroic service in the British Army in World War 2, and his nearly lone defense of the long deceased Errol Flynn against charges of being a Nazi sympathizer.
Sheridan Morley's 'The Other Side of The Moon' is a terrific, page-turning look at the complex actor we knew and loved as David Niven, and is a must have book for movie buffs.