Studio Affairs: My Life as a Film Director [Hardcover]

Vincent Sherman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 26, 1996

" As a young Jewish boy growing up in Vienna, Georgia, Abe Orovitz could never have predicted the twists and turns his life would take. Many years later, as retired film director with more than thirty movies to his credit, Vincent Sherman is no less surprised when he looks back on that life. In Studio A ffairs he retraces his life with candor and enthusiasm. Sherman discusses the details of his three-year relationship with Joan Crawford, his inadvertent connection with the death of Bette Davis's second husband, and his poignant romantic involvement with Rita Hayworth. Providing counterpoint to these liaisons is the love and devotion of Sherman's wife, Hedda, who accepted her husband's occasional infidelities as part and parcel of his career. Studio Affairs provides an inside look at the motion picture industry during the heyday of the studio system by one who worked his way from nearly starving actor and playwright to respected director. In effect, the book serves as a primer on the art of film directing. Sherman quickly developed a reputation of being a consummate rewrite artist, able to take whatever assignment given him and turn it into a first rate motion picture. His skill at reworked scripts led him to bigger and bigger projects, even as the salary set by his long-term contract with Warner Brothers remained below that of most of his colleagues. Though not originally signed to direct, when asked to do so he drew on his experience putting together productions at summer camps across the "borscht circuit" in upstate New York. Like so many talented individuals in Hollywood during the 1950s, Sherman was targeted by the House Un-American Activities Committee, owing in part to his active support of the WPA Theatre project in New York two decades previous. Time spent on the lesser known gray list kept him out of work for several years. Eventually, he again enjoyed some critical success, but after the demise of the studio system life was never quite the same. The quintessential "studio director" ended his career directing for television. Vincent Sherman's path from Georgia to southern California is compelling, and his legendary talent for good storytelling makes the book impossible to put down.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sherman directed 30 films from 1939 to 1961, earning a solid reputation as a director who delivers the goods, among them such late-night mainstays as Mrs. Skeffington, The Hard Way and The Young Philadelphians. That reputation is borne out by this sturdy, if not stylish, memoir of the day-to-day business of directing during the heyday of the studio system. The title is a wink to Sherman's romantic flings with three of his leading ladies: Bette Davis, Joan Crawford and Rita Hayworth. ("As she walked away from me, nude, the cigarette in her hand, her two well-rounded buttocks moving in tandem with the Bette Davis hip swivel, I could not help but be amused." ) More compelling than these kiss-and-tells are the book's opening chapters, in which the hopeful playwright/actor makes his way from Georgia to Hollywood, with fascinating detours such as his collaboration with an alcoholic Sinclair Lewis. Sherman finally gets a shot at directing for Warner Brothers with a "B" horror flick, The Return of Dr. X. From there, his story moves from film to film and star to star in predictable fashion. Although one would like more passion in his account of being graylisted in the McCarthy era, and more comedy in the comedy of errors that was his last movie, Cervantes (The Young Rebel), this is a workmanlike job by an admirably hard worker. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Hollywood reminiscences, and more, from the quintessential studio system director. When Sherman began his directing career in the 1930s, directors were almost as low on the Hollywood totem pole as writers, just one more component of a vast hierarchy where real power and creative vision tended to belong to executive producers and studio moguls. At the heart of the system was its audacious application of the mass production techniques of the Industrial Revolution to movies. Good or bad, films had to be cranked out on a regular schedule to help cover the studios' huge overheads. Jack Warner's appeal to Sherman was typical: ``I know it's not a great story, but I've got six actors sitting around doing nothing but picking up their checks . . . do me a favor: Make the picture and do the best you can.'' Much of Sherman's career consisted of doing precisely this, reluctantly taking on films he didn't like and then trying to improve them as much as tight schedules and budgets allowed. Over the course of 30 features, he sometimes succeeded-- Mr. Skeffington, The Hard Way--and sometimes failed. Along the way he worked with some of the greatest of the greats: Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart, Paul Newman. He also enjoyed a reputation as a ``woman's director,'' working with Joan Crawford, Rita Hayworth, and the notoriously difficult Bette Davis (he had extramarital affairs with all three). Despite his current semi-obscurity, his films are certainly worth a second look. Those seeking a portrait of Hollywood's seedy underbelly won't find it here. What Sherman has written is far more unusual: a frank, detailed, eminently clear record of the exhausting, exhilarating business of making films. The life, times, and techniques of a director from Hollywood's so-called ``Golden Age'' have rarely been so illuminatingly and insightfully detailed. (30 b&w illustrations, not seen) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 344 pages
• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky (September 26, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813119758
• ISBN-13: 978-0813119755
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #888,251 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magnificent. One of the very best books about moviemaking., January 31, 2003

By 

Scott MacGillivray (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Studio Affairs: My Life as a Film Director (Hardcover)

A cineaste may not treat Vincent Sherman with the same regard usually reserved for Welles, Ford, Fellini, or Godard, but a movie buff remembers and appreciates the underrated Sherman's quiet craftsmanship on many popular Hollywood features. Sherman has been an actor, writer, producer, and director -- an all-around "fixer" who could take a bad project and make it saleable, and a promising project and make it successful. He brings the same practicality, insight, and honesty to this fascinating autobiography.

"Studio Affairs" gives the reader an insider's look at the Hollywood studio system, with its stepping stones and setbacks. Vincent Sherman worked with such luminaries as Jack Warner, Harry Cohn, Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, Humphrey Bogart, Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Rita Hayworth, Claude Rains, even The Dead End Kids. Sherman wore many hats, and he details his varied dealings with actors and colleagues with remarkable candor. His personal life is as compelling as his professional career.

"Studio Affairs" is engrossing reading. On more than one occasion this reviewer intended to spend a few minutes with the book, and was hooked for more than an hour at a time. Vincent Sherman deserves a standing ovation for his work, and for this book. Movie fans should enjoy this book very much indeed.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Among the best Hollywood memoirs, January 28, 2008

By 

Markku Ojanen (Lempäälä Finland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Studio Affairs: My Life as a Film Director (Hardcover)

It seems that too few have read this well-written book. Sherman has been working with all the great actors and actresses of the 40's and 50's. He seems to have been quite a ladies' man! He has a lot of good stories about famous film personalities. It has not been easy to be a company man for a person who knows what he wants. This memoir belongs to the best ones written about those golden years of Hollywood.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, January 9, 2010

By 

Wendy "Librarylover" (europe) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Studio Affairs: My Life as a Film Director (Hardcover)

Have to agree with both the other reviewers. This is a great autobiography. He writes in a methodical yet highly interesting and entertaining way. He's the type of guy you'd love as a friend or family member. His stories about directing are really interesting and equally fascinating are the personal stories with many stars (Bette Davis, Joan Crawford etc). I've read this book twice and enjoyed it equally, and look forward to reading again. I'd highly recommend it!!