Customer Reviews

Somebody: The Reckless Life and Remarkable Career of Marlon Brando

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Marlon Brando (April 3, 1924 - July 1, 2004) is usually ranked among the greatest screen actors because he performed brilliantly in a series of major films that began with A Streetcar Named Desire and continued with Viva Zapata! and On the Waterfront at least until The Godfather and (arguably) Last Tango in Paris. He also made a number of others of much lesser quality but in at least a few of those - The Men, Julius Caesar, The Wild One, One-Eyed Jacks, Superman, and Apocalypse Now -- his performance was memorable. What was he like off-screen? That depends on who is asked. Opinions vary. In this volume, Stefan Kanter quotes dozens of persons who knew Brando at various stages of his life and career. He also offers some opinions of his own. We now know that Brando made several films only because he desperately needed the money. As for Brando the person, he seems to resemble "the little girl with the curl" who, when she was good was very, very good but when she was bad, she was terrible. He had several wives, countless lovers (including men as well as women) and at least ten children and yet was unwilling and/or unable to sustain a relationship with most of them. He developed few close friendships (e.g. Wally Cox, Jack Nicholson, and perhaps Karl Malden) and little (if any) respect for most of his directors and other actors. Over the years, a number of those who worked with Brando or at least were directly associated with him have very specific opinions about him, some of which are quoted in Kanter's book or in other sources to which he refers.

To me, one of the most revealing statements was made by Jack Nicholson: "I think Marlon knew he was the greatest. I don't think he dwelled on it, nor did he ever say as much to me. But, come on, there was a reason people expected so much from him right to the end. That's why people always expected him to be working. And believe me, there were times when he told me he wanted to work but couldn't." Indeed, Brando once admitted that he had spent a lifetime trying to be less lazy" and in that acknowledgment, Kanfer asserts, lies the key to all that came before. "If there was a `Rosebud' in Brando's life it was the mental illness that had dogged him for decades, probably from childhood...In the competition with his great rival Montgomery Clift, he seems to have won the self-destruction contest."

Frequently Brando did indeed express a sense of shame because he earned his living as an actor. He ridiculed most films (including many of his own) as well as those involved with them. "He had stated for the record that acting was a `bum's life in that it leads to perfect indulgence. You get paid for doing nothing, and it all adds up to nothing.'" Another time, he "spilled his guts" to Elia Kazan: "Here I am, a balding, middle-aged failure...I feel a fraud when I act...I've tried everything...fucking, drinking, work. None of them mean anything. Why can't we be just like - like the Tahitians?" Kanfer is among those who believe that Brando hated himself and what his life had become so much that he committed a form of suicide through excessive consumption throughout the last years of his life. When he died, the cause of death was initially withheld at the request of his attorney but later revealed to be respiratory failure brought on by pulmonary fibrosis. He also suffered from congestive heart failure, failing eyesight due to diabetes, and had recently been diagnosed with liver cancer.

Kanfer seems to have poured over all available research resources that include books and articles by and about Brando and interviews of those who were associated with him at various points in his life and career as well as any other relevant historical material that would help to establish a frame-of-reference for dominant influences and major developments in Brando's "reckless life and remarkable career." Kanfer offers a wealth of insights into Brando's most significant and invariably dysfunctional relationships, as with his parents. Marlon senior earned more than enough to maintain his family in solid comfort. Affection, however, was in short supply. "He grew up rude and misogynistic, given to binge drinking and bullying." As for Dorothy ("Dodie") Brando, "the neighbors whispered that [she] was the kind of woman who saw the glass as half full. That was because she had drunk the other half...Too many afternoons [she] disappeared into an alcohol-saturated haze, unreachable by her children" who included two daughters, Frances ("Frannie") and Jocelyn ("Tiddy"). Kanfer helps his reader to understand why, once Brando became a father, he was a dysfunctional parent. Why, while growing up feeling inadequate and unworthy, he could not later accept praise or offer it to others. And why he became convinced that "if you want something from an audience, you give blood to their fantasies. It is the ultimate hustle."

I only wish that Stefan Kanfer had spent less space discussing Brando's inferior films (e.g. Sayonara and The Ugly American) and more space when examining his great films (e.g. A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront). That said, I do not know of another source that offers more and better information about Marlon Brando's life and career than does this one.

...but it's not. I saw Karl Malden on some interview on TV recently and he mentioned how Marlon called him a few times in the weeks or so before he died telling Karl how he'd been falling down lately and didn't know the reason. I nearly wept when I heard this: the great, powerful Brando, falling down as his body was failing him. But you won't find this tragic bit of information in the pages of SOMEBODY. There is a helluva lot you won't find in the pages of this book. If you want details, stick with the Manso book - even though the author of this one rather dismissively (and perhas a tad jealously) refers to it as a "doorstop of a book" because of its 1,000 plus pages and weighty size. He knocks it in other ways, too.

But for a subject like Brando you need weight (even if he, himself, didn't!) - and more pages. In Kanfer's quick read we get a page or two on certain Brando films, whereas in Manso's tome we get 20 or more pages per film. About the only thing SOMEBODY has going for it is coverage (albeit quick coverage) of the years after Manso's book was published which include Brando's death and some aftermath. But the Devil is in the details, and this book is not rich in detail. It ends up seeming like a boiled down, condensed, quick-read version of the Manso work; even moreso a linear accumulation of press clippings. Not much original homework was done on this one.

So - if you want a casual knowledge of Mr. Brando, this book is for you. If you want those devilish details, Manso's book is the one to read.

One further thought, since the book is entitled SOMEBODY, a better cover photo would have been of Brando as Terry Malloy at the moment he reflects on his failings in the famous cab scene with his brother from "On the Waterfront." A closeup of his anguished face at that historic cinematic moment would have better captured the anguish and self-laceration of the real Marlon Brando, an anguish and self-laceration which is a theme of this work.

Have you ever wondered if acting is truly something that is learned, or is it just that, an act? The book "Somebody: The Reckless Life and Remarkable Career of Marlon Brando" answers alot of these questions. From his early childhood, till his death, this book does an excellent job of unpeeling the layers of Brando. Kanfer does quite a good job of delving into his psyche, exposing his strengths as well as his inability to connect on an emotional level. Brando had alot to speak about, this country, his causes, and at times his acting. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that wanted to know more about possibly the greatest, and most disturbed actor of our time.

Biographies of entertainers can too often veer into total salaciousness or go inside the mind of the star in a full-blown Freudian analysis. An even-handed, realistic biography of a well-known entertainer is hard to find. Somebody, by Stefan Kanter, is such a book. The story of Marlon Brando is told with detail but it does not read like a gossip column. The inner life of Brando is explored but is never disconnected from the outward life of work and relationships. One of the interesting aspects of the book is the story of Brando's early years under the tutelage of Stella Adler. Brando found an environment in which his talent could thrive and his early work reflected his formative acting years. Kanter points out that while many people believe Brando was a study in unfulfilled promise, with a front-weighted career, there were many notable performances, if not commercial successes, between On the Waterfront (1954) and the Godfather (1972). On the other hand, Kanter does not shy away from the fact that Brando was a deeply troubled man with a seemingly unending stream of uncommitted relationships with women, deep mental anguish arising from his upbringing, a strong sense of social justice without consistent follow-through, riches without sound financial management, compulsive with regard to food and sex. I recommend this book as an interesting read for the casual movie fan.

With "Somebody," Stefan Kanfer offers much more than a biography of America's greatest actor; it is also a tangential history of America working through one of its most artistically creative and socially challenging periods. Balancing relevant stories and astute observations that consistently avoid useless digression, this fine author gives context and clarity to the life of an extremely complex and gifted man. But as the unfolding of Brando's life reveals, time and again, talent is not necessarily synonymous with either success or peace of mind. Deeply wounded by unresolved issues involving an antagonistic father and alcoholic mother, Brando seems to have spent much of his life in a state of self-loathing. Frequent manifestations come in the forms of emotional abuse and a lack of professional cooperation, behaviors that alienated the women in his life, as well as producers, directors and co stars in his work. But perhaps it was Brando's love-hate relationship with his art that turned out to be his greatest obstacle of all. Again and again throughout his career he became frustrated in his attempts to find substance or satisfaction within his profession, causing him to look far beyond the boards of Broadway and movie sets. He escaped to remote islands, and into relationships that only seemed to complicate his life further. Brando also tried repeatedly to immerse himself in associations with socially progressive groups supporting, among others, African-Americans, Native Americans, and fighting against their victimization by (to paraphrase Vito Corleone) those "big shots" holding the strings. The inconsistent acceptance of Brando's films, both among the critics and the public, may leave the casual movie fan thinking that in the end his career was one of mediocrity. Of course, it wasn't, as anyone who has seen, "On the Waterfront," Streetcar Named Desire," "The Godfather" and "Last Tango in Paris" can attest. And even in the films that "failed," Brando's performances within most of them prove, in retrospect, to be better than the projects ultimately deserved. This is the first serious biography of Marlon Brando since his death in 2004. It's difficult to imagine that any of the future ones (which are sure to be written) could be more definitive.

Sometimes it's fun to read a book for just entertainment with a subject as eccentric as Brando. Kanfer's book is a fast page turning read which gives an excellent insight to the Brando legend, his craft, and his dysfunctional personality with focus on the poor value judgments which undermined his personal life. Kanfer goes into Brando's various professional relationships, failed marriages (and all those "loveless" affairs with more woman than even he could count). The under pinning's of Brando's personality were the negative impacts by his father (who though he was a nothing) and a strong mother (who was an alcoholic) along with stronger understanding and support by this sisters and his life long friendship with Wally Cox. Overall Kanfer implies Brando was on a long drawn out suicide to both his career and health. (He says the same of Montgomery Cliff who Brando saw as a competitor and died in his 40s.) In the end, so much talent wasted on need for money, a lack of pride in his work, and a life Kanfer says may have been lived on the boarder line of a mental illness. I enjoyed the book and writing and if you have any interest in Brando and his era I think you will too. (I gave it four stars because it's so darn entertaining.)

Seems the author simply read other Brando bios and simply copied from them. Author missed opportunity to write about what happened with the Brando estate after his death. Seems like he did not want to do the work. Brando, his fans and family, deserve better. Don't waste your time or money. Read Manso's book instead.

This does not set out to be an expansive cover-all-bases Brando bio. Rather, it provides a broad overview of Brando's life and works and is a perfect companion to his autobiography (which annoyingly skimmed over a lot of stuff).

It is unfair to claim a book is worthless because it reprints old material. Brando has been covered by writers across the gamut for decades, and some of those accounts are important for an understanding of what people were thinking about the man when he was at his peak-- or not.

The author has a refreshing, irreverent style and his writing made me laugh out loud more than once.

Personally, I disagree with his dismissal of two films in particular-- 'The Ugly American' and 'The Missouri Breaks'. In the latter film, the scene with the open coffin is priceless and should be included in any Brando 'showreel'.

But Marlon was a divisive character in many ways so it's appropriate that his works contiunue to challenge opinion.

My only real complaint would be that not enough ink is spent on later films, such as 'The Freshman', a great little movie which surprised many fans when it emerged. Yet such treatment seems to be the way with every bio of an actor who seemingly peaked in the mid-20th Century.

A fun-filled, informative read which can be safely recommended to anyone interested in the unique work of Marlon Brando.

The cover looked good its a younger sexy Brando, without his shirt, plus you see some chest hair.!!!!
I should some good promise but its slides into boredom. The wirter goes in what has going on in the world. If I wanted to read a world history book I would of gotten a history book. I am sad that I wasted my eyesight on this pile of crap.

I found this to be one of the best unbiased reporting of a giant in the movie industry. A no nonsense, fair-minded account of a controversial personality of the 20th Century. A good review of the behind-the-scenes of Marlon Brando's movies with humorous and poignant anedoctal remarks. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it has led me to go back and watch many of Brando's movies with the knowledge at hand.