Customer Reviews

The Shocking Miss Pilgrim: A Writer in Early Hollywood

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It's hard to believe the world described by Frederica Sagor Maas in her memoir "The Shocking Miss Pilgrim" existed within the lifetimes of people alive today. So many of those who were once household names are now forgotten, so many of the places changed irrevocably.

Yet many of Ms. Maas' experiences & views will come as quite a surprise to the younger generation who tend to think they invented sex, drugs & partying. It's a revelation to hear a woman born in 1900, talking about herself at 20 state "I considered sex something natural like eating or getting dressed. Once it was over, it was over."

For a lifelong LA resident (now in exile) like myself, the greatest pleasure of this book was reading about what life was like in the entertainment capital at the beginning of it's reign. Now decrepit apartment houses described when they were desirable addresses; crowded urban corridors that were once sylvan wildlife areas! What surprises lurk here for those who know LA well!

For the general reader, the memoir moves along well, with Ms. Maas' tart comments always enlivening the recollections. The writing style is sparse & not especially descriptive as you would expect from someone who got her start writing scenarios for silent film. I did feel the book could benefit from some fleshing out; entire decades pass in a few paragraphs, the section describing the making of the film the book is entitled after is only a few pages long, & there were many experiences mentioned that would have benefitted from more description. But I guess at nearly 100 the past must often seem a film at fast forward & Ms. Maas' memory is to be commended!

This book is a valuable addition to the memoirs from the Golden Age of Film. It is especially valuable because it's from someone who was not viewing the industry from the heights but rather from the trenches. I salute Frederica Sagor Maas for having the honesty & clear-sightedness to produce this autobiography & for living the life she has led.

"The Shocking Miss Pilgrim" is an entertaining and informative read for film buffs,
history fans, and many others. After I heard Hersey Felder sing "Back Bay Polka" in
the musical review "Gershwin Alone", I traced the song to the Betty Grable movie
with the same title as this book. At the time of the movie's release, George
Gershwin had been dead almost two decades. Supposedly, the songs were previously unpublished Gershwin material. Maas claims some were written
by studio composers.

There are many episodes of early Hollywood, featuring nice people and some of the
really rottens. Many ring true, and some smell false. Maas outlived most of the
people she describes as evil or weak, so they can not complain or sue.

It is not literature, and it is not history, but it provides some interesting
scenes that might be of interest to historians, or to gossips. Some reviewers
have labeled the author "left-wing". There are a few scattered political comments
and a few concentrated pages, but conservatives need not fear an attack on their
beliefs. Maas is after specific Hollywood powers.

The dust jacket cover photo is striking. Serious photographers might want to
learn about the other work of the photographer.

Extraordinary story from many angles: that of a bright, young female writer in the Twenties who could have risen to the top of her profession and should have, were it not for the jealous men who got in her way. That of a woman who was there when Hollywood was still a dirt road and saw it all. That of an emancipated woman who celebrates her independence in every sense of the word. That of a brilliant screenwriting couple permanently scarred by the McCarthy Witchhunts. I would have wished for more on her (and Ernest's) life after Hollywood. Did they stay in touch with Hollywood friends? How did their lives change? Reminds me a bit of today's crop of downsized millions forced to rechart their lives and who face the formidable barrier of age discrimination. Wonderful book! And by a near-centenarian, yet! What a salute to life after 50!!

Years ago I read a book by Paul Zollo which was a collection of interviews with (at the time) living and still cognizant pioneers of the film industry. A screenwriter, Sagor Maas was the first interviewee and the oldest one as well. The entire collection of interviews was interesting and revealing and Sagor Maas' interview was among the best in my opinion. That's how I came to read this book the first time.
Sagor Maas came up in conversation a couple of weeks ago and I figured her death might have gone unnoticed. Reasoning that very few people make it to 110+ I did the perfunctory check online and could not confirm or deny her passing. The other day I saw her obituary and decided to reread her book. At 111, she had survived her earliest contemporaries and was probably one of the last links from the silent era excluding some juveniles that may still be with us.
On my first reading of this book, I liked it quite a bit. I still like it. While the writing wasn't /isn't all that great, she was extremely old when she wrote it. With that in mind, this is a good book that serves as a portal to the past that starts before movies talked.
Sagor Maas was unique in many ways. The daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants, she had unique opportunities for a young woman of her time. She had a university education, was intelligent and imaginative, and she had the chutzpah that even a man could appreciate and begrudgingly admire. While women had not broken through the glass ceiling in the film industry, in many ways they banded together both literally and figuratively to make their presence known. Sagor Maas enjoyed the upward mobility that her position afforded her, but she was hindered by many things. She was unflinchingly blunt and advocated unpopular causes.
This book was enjoyable because it was crammed with anecdotes depicting life on the MGM lot and beyond. While not a star herself though she possessed the looks to have been one, she had access to well-known celebrities such as John Gilbert, Norma Shearer, and Greta Garbo. She viewed the talent as somewhat bereft of intellectual gifts, but still I found myself swooning a bit as she talked about the old days, her perceptions, and spiced things up with anecdotes a-plenty.
By the time she and her husband Ernest Maas sold their screenplay of what became The Shocking Miss Pilgrim, the face and landscape in Hollywood was rapidly changing. The Maas' felt their concept/story was savaged (an understatement). Their socialist leanings put the final nail in the coffin as they were broke as well as finished in the film industry which was increaingly ruthless. They contemplated suicide but reconsidered it because they realized quite accurately that they had one another and left the film industry. Their story alone is worthy of a screen treatment.
I'm in no position to evaluate their work as writers/scenarists, but given the post WWII sentiment which preceded full-blown McCarthyism it is safe to assume that Sagor Maas was not exaggerating on that aspect of her life.
Given this book's limited availability, if you can score a copy it is an interesting read.

Fredricka Sagor was the daughter of immigrants, the youngest sibling and the most independent. She chose a writing career rather than a respectable lawyer or doctors life. She lucked into writing for a film studio when she had to cover for her alcoholic boss there. Before long she was running the show, and she had a very fine wardrobe to show for it. After a string of lovers and related film industry jobs, Sagor met Ernest Maas and promptly married him.

This story is fascinating not only for its glimpse into the not-often profiled writing industry of early Hollywood but for its solid writing style and critiques of an era that is often glamorized. Maas is not afraid to name names, but she does not attempt to scandalize them. She often expresses pity, even for those who stole her hard work.

The most poinent part of this book is the ending when Maas describes losing her husband.

In spite of the fact that the narrative wanders at times, this is a worthy read for a broad audience.

I enjoyed having a woman's perspective on the early Hollywood Era but found the writing style a bit dry. Still a worthwhile read.

An interesting view firsthand of women writers of that day. I highly recommend it.

An incredible biography by an extraordinary 99 year old who was employed by Hollywood studios from the 20's to the 40's. She knew many stars, including Clara Bow, and Garbo, and has much to say about them and other stars.GREAT BOOK!

Mrs. Maas obviously has a talent for writing and unfortunately doesn't let us forget it for one minute. She talks about socialism with a fervency, slamming the studio bosses at every opportunity (they are the ones with the money after all) but has no objection to riding her ego through Hollywood while being well-paid for her work. She flays many well-known celebrities to the bone. Even the individuals she likes, she finds fault.
Some utopia she leaves in her wake. If you can put up with these shenanigans, it's an interesting book about the Silents and offers background other books neglected.

P.S. Did you know she was more photogenic than Greta Garbo?

I came across this book a few years ago when I learned that the author -- a next door neighbor of my great, great-grandparents 1908-11 -- was still living at 102! (They are featured on pg. 6) I phoned her and had a wonderful conversation.

She had written this book three years earlier. She has some wonderful experiences, and reports them with untethered opinion and vigor. But her style -- weighed down by cliches -- fast becomes wearisome. Maybe we should give her a break --- she was 99 when she wrote this.

There is lots of interest here -- turn of the century Russian, secular Jewish life in Manhattan, early Hollywood, left-wing politics (McCarthy wasn't being paranoid about all the communists within the gates).