Otto Preminger: The Man Who Would Be King [DECKLE EDGE] (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Meticulously researched with nearly 100 new interviews with family members and co-workers, this epic biography offers a multifaceted portrait of the Viennese-born filmmaker and reappraisal of his films. Preminger's creativity was fueled by abrasion, says Hirsch, so nearly every film boasts testimony from actors who were verbally abused. His explosive rows extended to censors, crew members and studio heads. But Hirsch also reveals the gentler side of Otto the Terrible, protecting fragile stars and doting on his family. With family, Otto was like a marshmallow, and capable of great love in a primal way, says Erik, his son with Gypsy Rose Lee. Film buffs will enjoy the candid looks behind his volatile productions (including Laura, Anatomy of a Murder, Hurry Sundown). Historians will appreciate Preminger's belated recognition for breaking the blacklist (he credited Dalton Trumbo for writing Exodus nine months before Kirk Douglas did the same with Spartacus) and dismantling the oppressive censorship board (he released The Moon Is Blue and Man with the Golden Arm without the Production Code's seal of approval). This is a long-overdue critical biography of the temperamental titan with a genius for self-promotion. Photos. (Oct. 21)
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Review

Preminger (1905—1983) could not have asked for a more assiduous or generous biographer than Hirsch (Film/Brooklyn College; Kurt Weill on Stage: From Berlin to Broadway, 2002, etc.), who has visited the archives, studied the films, interviewed the principals, walked the ground and read all relevant documents. The result will endure as the definitive life of one of film's most intriguing and volcanic personalities....Executed with the conviction and meticulousness of a Preminger production.
–Kirkus Reviews (starred)


Meticulously researched with nearly 100 new interviews with family members and co-workers, this epic biography offers a multifaceted portrait of the Viennese-born filmmaker and reappraisal of his films...Film buffs will enjoy the candid looks behind his volatile productions (including Laura, Anatomy of a Murder, Hurry Sundown). Historians will appreciate Preminger's belated recognition for breaking the blacklist....This is a long-overdue critical biography of the temperamental titan with a genius for self-promotion.
–Publishers Weekly

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 592 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; 1ST edition (October 16, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375413731
• ISBN-13: 978-0375413735
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #486,951 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AN OUTSTANDING BIOGRAPHY OF AN OUTSTANDING IMPRESSARIO, December 2, 2007

By	Laurence Jarvik "laurencejarvikonline" (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Foster Hirsch has done a masterful job putting together a study of the life and times of Otto Preminger--a "rebel with a cause," namely the expansion of individual freedom against forces opposed to it. He was a figure from a time when people were serious about arts and culture, and 'adult entertainment' did not mean xxxx-rated porno. A better producer than director of actors, that is Hirsch's main argument, but Preminger still gets points for being a masterful "Noir" auteur, as well as a decent director of social-issue films of the 50s and 60s. He broke censorship taboos, the blacklist, the color-line, and created an overtly pro-Israel classic in Exodus (though not pro-Israel enough for author Leon Uris), and dealt with the Alger Hiss case in Advise and Consent (also pulling punches, to the dismay of Alan Drury). But he made the type of films that, while familiar in the 1950s and 1960s--think of Stanley Kramer, Sam Spiegel, Elia Kazan, and so on--are all but gone today. Serious, thoughtful films, posing philosophical dilemmas in the middle of melodrama.

If Preminger's reach exceeded his grasp, Foster Hirsch makes the case that he deserves credit for trying. There's also material on Preminger's colorful personal life--his illegitimate son by stripper Gypsy Rose Lee, Dorothy Dandridge's abortion (Otto's fault per Hirsch), his temper tantrums (Dexedrine use may have been a factor), and his interesting relationship with his brother Ingo (talent agent and producer of Robert Altman's MASH) and his parents (father was former Attorney-General of Austria-Hungary). His final marriage, to Hope, seems to have worked out OK--his son became a doctor in New Jersey and his daughter a lawyer who manages the Preminger business today. His son by Gypsy Rose Lee was responsible for some of Preminger's more peculiar films, such as Skiddoo and Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon.

He directed Porgy & Bess, which was pulled from distribution, as well as Carmen Jones. Laura is his most enduring hit. But many others have withstood the test of time. Preminger's last film, The Human Factor, was written by Tom Stoppard. Foster Hirsch says it is worth another look--like many other Preminger productions.

If you are interested in movie history, America in the 1950s and 1960s, or Viennese refugees and their Kultur, this is the book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you are interested in Hollywood, November 28, 2007

By	Edward H. Utley "bigdogspotty" (Bethesda, Maryland) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a well written book. If you like biography and you like Hollywood, especially the golden age, you will enjoy it. You will be especially interested in the discussion of his classic films. Also Preminger was a leader and ground breaker in elimination of censorship of films and the McCarthy era of blacklisting writers.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great introduction to a complex, fascinating individual..., June 7, 2008

By	Grigory's Girl "Grigory's Girl" (NYC) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This is a great book about a complex, fascinating man/filmmaker. As an avid cinema fan, I've always found Otto's films overly long, self important, and way too episodic. I recently saw Preminger's The Cardinal, and I was surprised at how much I loved the film. I've decided to go over Preminger's work again, and that's one of the main reasons I read this book.

This book is very well written and researched, and gives you a complex, measured portrayal of a great showman. Whether you like Preminger's work or not, he had a brilliant knack for getting great publicity for his films, and tackling then controversial subjects. He made films like The Moon Is Blue (which had pretty saucy sex talk, especially for 1953), The Man with the Golden Arm (about heroin addiction), Advise and Consent (which had a homosexual plot line in it, which was very bold for its time), and Anatomy of a Murder, which is one of the most riveting, complex courtroom dramas ever made.

The book shows how Otto became one of the biggest powerhouses in Hollywood during his heyday, his shooting methods (he shot very lean and came in under budget, something Hollywood loves), his relationships with actors (he got along wonderfully with Patricia Neal and John Wayne, and was constantly at the throat with Faye Dunaway and Dyan Cannon), and his dedication to family and to liberal politics. Otto helped smash the blacklist by hiring Dalton Trumbo to write the screenplay for Exodus, and insisted on him using his real name. While some of Otto's work is a bit dated and not as shocking as it used to be, it's still extremely well made and head and shoulders above other "message" films of the era (particularly films like Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, which is rather painful to watch nowadays).

The book has none of the intellectual, film professor talk on what his films mean, and that's always welcome. It's an absolutely fascinating portrait of a very complicated, polarising filmmaker, one whose films still invoke strong reactions from people today.