Customer Reviews

The Real Joyce Compton: Behind the Dumb Blonde Movie Image

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Some twenty years ago, author Michael Ankerich ended his interview with Classic Film Actress Joyce Compton, by saying her autobiography had yet to find a publisher. Mr. Ankerich persisted, and with the help of Bear Manor Books, THE REAL JOYCE COMPTON is the very readable, insightful product.

The book begins with a very thorough interview with Ms. Compton, whose memory and evaluation of her co stars brings to life Hollywood in the late 1920's and the 1930's. As Ms. Compton moves into telling her own story, she details her childhood and love of her parents, who guided much of her life.

The book works well, in intertwining her film work with her private life (it is not just one of those, "And then I did this movie...). There is reflection on decisions she made, some which did not help either her career or her private life, but that honesty makes Joyce Compton all the more real, and not just the image one remembers from many films.

The book is full of great photographs from her private collection, some of which show her with co stars: Clara Bow, George O'Brien, Loretta Young, Cary Grant, and many others.

The love and friendship between the two authors of this book is apparent, and has produced a book that needs to be in every film lover's library.

I was extremely impressed by "The Real Joyce Compton," the autobiography of Joyce Compton, the legendary character actress of umpteen movies from Hollywood's golden age. The late, great Compton co-authored this book with the talented film historian, Michael Ankerich. I swiftly read their terrific collaboration from cover to cover, totally engaged in each and every page. To my surprise, Joyce comes across as a truly fascinating person, much more complex than I had imagined; she seemed to be at once disarming, wholesome, saucy, intelligent and quite perceptive. Her memories of both her professional and personal lives are always sharp, sometimes very witty, sometimes quite poignant. I can well imagine the vast amount of effort that went into Ankerich's coordination of Compton's many words and thoughts into one volume that flowed throughout. Congratulations to both authors, for creating such a fascinating work.

Though I did not know who Joyce Compton was, the book revealed much about her life and the life of Hollywood in the years between silent movies and talkies. The personal and financial struggles Compton experienced give an insight into the life of actors and their families.

I found this book an absorbing easy read. The author is refreshingly candid about herself and those meaningful others. She respected and loved her parents,and wasted no effort in assisting them to their end. Much of the content is interesting and easily identifiable .