People Will Talk [Hardcover]

John Kobal (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Kobal's new book should be embraced as enthusiastically as The Art of the Great Hollywood Portrait Photographers and his other bestsellers on aspects of film. Here are interviews with 42 people who represent the movies' golden, influential agethe 1920s through the 1940sand who express personal, sometimes arguable opinions on life in the sternly run studios. Oddly enough, the collection includes the thoughts of only one male star, Joel McCrea, but his anecdotes tell of intriguing dimensions in other memorable leading men of his time. The spotlight remains, for the most part, on the women immortalized on the screen. The book's plentiful photos remind one of the famous words uttered by Kobal's first subject, Gloria Swanson: "We had faces then." Joan Crawford, Katharine Hepburn, Louise Brooks, Joan Blondell, Barbara Stanwyck and many other unforgettables speak their minds on their work and their relations with each other. So do eminent directors, choreographers, scriptwriters and costume designers. The result is an unusually appealing, informative volume by an author whose articulate and stylish writing frequently reveals more than do the accounts of his glamorous respondents. January 30
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Film historian Kobal has spent 20 years collecting these interviews with 29 women and 14 men, all about Hollywood's heyday. The emphasis is on the glamour side: some of Hollywood's best actresses are here, including Hepburn, Bergman, and Crawford, along with some from earlier days who are not well known. The only actor represented is Joel McCrea; the other men are directors, photographers, etc. Kobal prefaces most of the verbatim interviews with a scene-setting introduction in rather syrupy prose and sometimes interjects notes describing tone of voice or body language. Otherwise, the reminiscences stand on their own, sometimes rambling and hard to follow, but often evoking the magic of Hollywood legend. Essential for film history collections, this will be enjoyed by the avid film buff more than the casual reader. Marcia L. Perry, Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield, Mass.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 728 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; 2nd Edition edition (January 12, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394536606
• ISBN-13: 978-0394536606
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,394,896 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some great conversation!, May 17, 2000

By 

Keith Nichols (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: People Will Talk (Hardcover)

We'd know a lot less about American movies if not for a few English movie buffs who crossed the pond to produce some of the best books on the topic. John Kobal was prominent in this group, having been smitten with American films early on. His vast collection of photos yielded several books on its own and is a standard source for illustrating Hollywood's past. "People Will Talk" is not a photo book. In its 700-plus pages appear 41 interviews Kobal collected between 1964 and the mid-l980's. The subjects are Hollywood veterans from various phases of the business. Appearing are directors such as Howard Hawks, dance directors such as Hermes Pan, writers (Anita Loos), photographers (e.g., John Engstead, Hurrell). And of course plenty of actresses - and Joel McCrea, the only actor appearing. When interviewed, most of the subjects were at the end of their movie careers, and this, plus Kobal's insightful questioning, resulted in objective, candid appraisals of their lives and the situations and people involved. While the interviewer was not so rude as to question his subjects' recollections during conversation, footnotes here and there in the text correct what may have been lapses of memory. Each interview is prefaced by a photo of the subject, plus Kobal's summary and evaluation of the subject's career. Although I've read every interview in this volume several times, writing this review was slowed considerably by my inability to stop reading them again and turn to the typewriter. This is just the book for movie fans who like to hear how it happened from the lips of those who made it happen.