Customer Reviews

I Thought We Were Making Movies, Not History (Wisconsin Film Studies)

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Walter Mirisch may not be a household name to most of you, but it should be if you love movies like THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, WEST SIDE STORY, THE GREAT ESCAPE, IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT, THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR, MIDWAY and numerous other classics of 1960's & 70's cinema. Along with his brothers Harold and Marvin, the Mirisch Company was the most prolific producer of hit iconic movies in Hollywood history. Over 100 films, 67 of which were for United Artists alone. They were the definitive independent production company and Walter Mirisch was the definitive independent Hollywood producer.

For anyone vaguely interested in Hollywood history, this is a must-read. From "behind-the-scenes" trivia to the everyday struggles of getting so many great pictures to the screen, Walter gives us a rare and honest insight into working with such iconic talents as Billy Wilder, John Sturges, Norman Jewison, Steve McQueen, Sidney Poitier and so many others. The Mirisch Company thrived in the vacuum left by the declining Hollywood studio system. They were a streamlined, highly efficent, low overhead operation that attracted the biggest directors and stars. From humble poverty-row beginnings at Monogram with "Bomba The Jungle Boy", Walter Mirisch like his brothers learned everything there was to know about the movie business. Unlike today's Hollywood, where it's all about the deal and the bottom line. The Mirisch brothers were the very model of dignity and style. They cared about the quality and it earned them three oscars for best pictures alone. Walter won two honorary Academy Awards, he was a distinguished head of the Academy as well. Always the Hollywood statesman and champion, he has well earned the respect of the industry he has served so well. The next time whether on TV or DVD, you see the Mirisch name during the opening credits of any of his great movies. This book will be like having the man himself sitting right there beside you, answering all those questions as only he can!

As a historian, I wish this book was the first of many from a man I very much admire. But at 87, Walter Mirisch can be forgiven for not having to write a full volume set. What he does write is precious though and sadly to borrow an old Hollywood cliche line -"we shall not see his like again".

Here is one of the most successful producers in the business who started from the bottom and worked his way up to having the biggest, best, independant company in the world. The Mirisch Company. I cannot say enough about reading this book, I was riveted, I received the book on a Sat.and couldn't put it down till I finished it. Wow, what an education I got. Can you imagine having the foresight to have on your regular staff.
Billy Wilder, Norman Jewison, John Sturges, Blake Edwards, Fred Zinnemann.

John Moio

This is an amazing recollection of how movies became a business and magic happened with humble beginnings by the Mirisch family, especially Walter.

Enjoy your incredible reading journey.

I believe critic Jay Carr was directly alluding to Walter's influence as a lifetime supporter and longtime Academy president when he said: "Academy members ... tend to favor films that will make Hollywood seem a class act instead of a hotbed of money-grubbing vulgarians" . Walter's films, a plethora of seemingly diverse classics such as IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT, SOME LIKE IT HOT, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN - and so many other titles too numerous to mention at any one time - all have in common a standard of uncommon excellence. His first person memoir offers the added dimension to appreciating these iconic works within a down-to-earth nuzzle from the horse's mouth. It's also easy to appreciate the refreshing modesty of prose and consistently gracious acknowledgment to all involved in Walter's life and career - from his family, loyal assistant, and crew - as well as the, visible to all, acting talent.

This is a milk and cookies kind of skinny engaging in the basic and yet insider facts. I THOUGHT WE WERE MAKING MOVIES... is a delicious, home-cooked meal of a book. My personal favorite anecdotes involve Walter's aggravation with the brilliant but reckless mania of Peter Sellars... whose X rated package Walter received in retaliation for his honesty is unforgettably hilarious.

Although I have yet to finish reading this book (I am about 1/4 way through it), Mirisch tells the history of his family and how they came to carve out careers in different aspects of the movie industry. Along the way, Mirisch relates anecdotes about various well-known stars of yesteryear and gives details as to how several of his films came into production. For anyone who has an interest in the film businesses and its related history, this book is a 'must read' that accomplishes remaining clear of bogging the reader down in any superfluous technicalities.

I never tire of reading about the films of my childhood in the '50s and '60s. As a result, I really enjoyed this book concerning the films of The Mirisch Corporation. While I greatly enjoyed reading about the more famous films produced by Walter Mirisch and his brothers such as "Some Like It Hot," "West Side Story," "The Magnificent Seven," and "The Great Escape," I enjoyed even more reading about some of the less well-known films I enjoyed like like "633 Squadron," "Kings of the Sun," "The Satan Bug," etc. It was also nice to read about the creation of Inspector Clouseau in "The Pink Panther" and I especially enjoyed reading about the production of "Midway," one of my favorite W.W.II films. And while he does not go out of his way to knock anyone, Mirisch does let us know of the trials and tribulations of working with Peter Sellers, Dustin Hoffman,John Huston, etc. The Mirisch Corporation also produced for TV, its most famous show probably being "The Rat Patrol." I finally learned why this well-remembered show was cancelled after only two seasons.
I enjoyed this book from beginning to end and shot through it quickly. If you enjoy reading about the production of classic Hollywood films you will enjoy this book as much as I did.

This is a book that should have been filled with fascinating stories but instead is the Dragnet ("Just the facts, maam") version of one Hollywood producer's history. After working with some of the greatest movies stars, you would think Mirisch would have some great insight into the egocentric business or some incredible stories. But what you get in this book is just a year-by-year, movie-by-movie, bare-boned, accountant-like recollection of his films.

The first hundred pages involve a little of his background and the large number of insignificant films he made in his early years. As mentioned in another person's two-star review of the book, Mirish seems ultra-sensitive to perceived anti-Semitism, twisting a comment made by a professor at University of Wisconsin to mean Jewish Mirisch wasn't welcome there (if you read it carefully, the professor was actually offering him a scholarship that Mirisch was dragging his feet on accepting and was giving him some needed honest advice).

There are a few interesting stories in the book, mostly about casting decisions. Tina Louise as the Marilyn Monroe role in the TV pilot of Some Like It Hot. Peter Ustinov originally signed to be Inspector Clouseau before Peter Sellers.

He spends only 8 pages on West Side Story but 17 on the now insignificant movie Hawaii. He also has some memories mixed up--he claims Billy Wilder made "The Fortune Cookie" because he "was a great football fan and a regular viewer of Monday Night Football." Yet Monday Night Football didn't start until four years after the movie premiered!

There are a few in Hollywood who don't come off looking so good--Steve McQueen in particular--but even then the author handles them gently and obviously doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings with this book. He never takes advantage of the chance to go back and rethink some of his casting choices (such as the miscast leads in West Side Story). Instead almost everyone he worked with was talented or wonderful.

For what sounds like a fascinating life, this book is suprisingly dull. You will not learn much that hasn't been told better elsewhere. Mirisch sounds like a really nice guy but in the end he's just in a business where the numbers are what matter. And he really wasn't making much "history" as the title claims.

This book contains some innaccurate references to films and people Mr. Mirisch worked with and my copy didn't contain an index. Very little is information is given about Mirisch's early childhood or his teenage years as a film usher. In one passage, he states that he turned down a teaching position at the University of Wisconsin because he thought the head of the department was anti-Semetic. Mirisch thought a remark that "there are very few other jobs open for an Academic like you" supported this idea. Often the reader can get lost in some very technical jargon about film financing and investing. In simple terms this could mean: If the film flops, the director and the cast take the blame and if the film is a success, the producer makes the most money and takes credit for it. A researcher should read this book to check the accuracy of film titles and names mentioned. Example: Monogram's film series was The Teenagers, not "The High School Kids."