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Not the Girl Next Door: Joan Crawford, A Personal Biography Paperback – March 1, 2009

by Charlotte Chandler (Author)

35 customer reviews

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(Applause Books). Joan Crawford (1908-1977) was best known for her starring roles in The Women , Grand Hotel , Mildred Pierce , for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress, Johnny Guitar , and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Charlotte Chandler's fascinating and intimate portrait includes interviews with Crawford; her first husband, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.; Bette Davis; and Myrna Loy, and is perhaps her finest biography yet.

Not the Girl Next Door: Joan Crawford, A Personal Biography

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Product Details

Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books (March 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1557837511
ISBN-13: 978-1557837516
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,179,556 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #598 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > Theatre
- #5288 in Books > Arts & Photography > Performing Arts > Theater
- #10087 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > Actors & Entertainers

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3.4 out of 5 stars

5 star		32%
4 star		23%
3 star		14%
2 star		14%
1 star		17%

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Top Customer Reviews

Where's the real Joan Crawford?

By Severin on March 23, 2008

Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase

I just finished this book and having never read any other about Joan Crawford I took it at face value; at first. Watching new DVD set The Joan Crawford Collection Vol. 2 I found that the documentaries often contradict portions of this book. For instance, according to the book Joan volunteered to do an audition for "Mildred Pierce" even though she was told she did not have to. But in the latest DVD set it's reported that one of the shocks she received when moving to Warner Bros. was having to do an audition for the part.

And where is the story of Bette Davis bringing a Coke machine on the set of "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte" to irritate Crawford, the Pepsi queen? And where is the alcoholism? And what happend to her between 1964 and 1968? The book goes from one movie to the next with no mention as to what the actress was doing during those years. In fact little is said about her later years.

Even the movie synopses aren't all that accurate, read the one for "Sadie McKee" and watch the DVD, you'll see what I mean. I have to think that there's a more detailed, more accurate biography of this fine actress, as nice as this makes her out to be. I was left with the impression that Crawford believed her own myth and became her Hollywood persona, the ultimate movie star.

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Saint Joan of Hollywood?

By Miss Mississippi on April 10, 2008

Format: Hardcover

This book was a quick read - but I don't mean that in a good way. It was all fluff! The author did not tell the story of Joan Crawford. She merely quoted pages and pages of Crawford talking about herself and a few other people talking about Crawford. There's scant evidence of any real research here. Were any biographical details confirmed? This book would have been a great opportunity for someone to really research Crawford and put to rest some of the more unfortunate rumors about her. There's no mention of her first husband (before Fairbanks) or of some of the more common fables about her. It's just a rehashing of old interviews of people who would never say anthing negative about her. I think Crawford fans want and deserve the truth told in an objective manner with independent verification of facts, timelines, and details. There's no "there there".

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Perhaps overly sympathetic yet intriguing look at Joan Crawford

By SusieQ on August 11, 2008

Format: Hardcover

Any sympathetic biographer of Joan Crawford has to overcome a reader's initial repugnance for the "Joan Crawford" presented in Christina Crawford's autobiography. I admire this author for trying to even the balance, as it were, on Joan Crawford's complex character.

I liked the fact that this biography "talks" to the reader, apparently in Joan Crawford's own words. And while the author is sympathetic to Joan, I never got the impression that anything that passed between Joan Crawford and Ms. Chandler, as reported here by Ms. Chandler, was in any way false, or was said in order to perpetuate a cover-up of Ms. Crawford's "true" character.

From this biography it is easy to see that Lucille LeSeuer, aka Joan Crawford, came from the bottom up. She was an exceptionally strong woman who, with basically no support system from childhood onward, re-invented herself and achieved stardom in Hollywood.

Maybe she wasn't the most nuturing, understanding, warm & cuddly Mother she could be -- I still can't make up my mind that she was a physically abusive one -- but she herself was the receipient of a hard and unloved girlhood, which couldn't have prepared her for being a mother herself.

If it went somewhat wrong between JC and her children (and I think "somewhat" is the right term, because her younger children seemingly have no complaints), it seems appropriate to place the blame on JC's own childhood, which left her emotionally unable to establish strong, continuously loving relationships with anyone but her adoring (and distant) fans.

And one other thing I took away from this biography is, how refreshing to read about a woman who came up from nothing, with sheer hard work, guts and determination.

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Almost like having a chat with Joan Crawford...

By Roxie Stardust on June 10, 2013

Format: Paperback

I am a longtime Crawford fan, and have read a lot about her, so I know quite a bit about her life and films. I found this book to be very enjoyable despite the fact that it does seem to have some gaps in it, such as things I already knew about Joan from other sources not being mentioned, for example, I had read elsewhere that Franchot Tone was physically abusive to Joan and that was a factor in the ending of their marriage, but that is not mentioned here at all. In general, Chandler does not try to dwell on the negative in Joan's life, which is why I think the darker things that happened to her have been deliberately left out. The book came across to me as how I think Joan would have wanted to have been presented. She cared very much about her image and wanted other people to always think highly of her, and that is Chandler's goal with this book. It makes for a biased view of Crawford, I think that she was a much more complicated woman than how she comes across in the book, but I could still appreciate getting an intimate view of Crawford's personality, even if she wasn't revealing her whole self.

If you are hoping there will be lots of juicy tidbits about Joan's love life, this might not be the book for you. I am a big fan of the Crawford-Gable pairing and hoped that she would talk more about that affair, but it gets little attention. I have read elsewhere that Joan thought Gable was one of the loves of her life, and that when he died a small part of her did too, but he does not come across as that important to her in this book. Chandler chooses to spend a lot more time talking about Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. than she does Gable. This could have to do with the fact that she was able to interview Fairbanks, Jr.Read more ›

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Five Stars

REALLY REALLY DISLIKE Joan Crawford....and this was a great, informative book!

Published 2 months ago by Memum

Four Stars

I gave it as a gift and recipient enjoyed it.

Published 14 months ago by Kathleen Rokosz

Four Stars

enjoyable.

Published 17 months ago by Kimberley S Piccillo

Five Stars

Glad to find the book available.

Published 21 months ago by Sherman Levesque

Joan

It was an OK read. I have read better book on her to be honest. This one just didn't seem to have any new information.

Published on February 2, 2014 by Amazon Customer

Recent Joan fan, this is a good, basic biography.

She had a very interesting life but this book doesn't shed anything new on it really - it's a decent addition or good beginning to what you already have in your library. Read more

Published on May 5, 2013 by paddywannabe

It gives Christina Crawford Something to think about.

I feel it was about time Joan's voice was heard through friends and family. She had her troubles but all familys do.

Published on March 20, 2013 by Yvonne Reilly-bachmore

R-E-S-P-E-C-T, Just a Little Bit

"I only wanted to be worthy." Charlotte Chandler's book is by no means THE definitive biography on Joan Crawford, but it is a nice addition to a fan's collection. Read more

Published on January 25, 2013 by D.J. Stroud

Touche

"Touche" in French is the acknowledgement of a well-struck hit, and so this book is, as it successfully attempts to put to rest daughter Christina's portrayal of Joan Crawford in... Read more

Published on February 8, 2012 by Miss Yoka

I loved the book! : D. jones/ Phoenix, Az.

I think that Charlotte did a great job with writing this book. Joan Crawford & Bette Davis has gone down in history as the best actress's ever. Read more

Published on February 21, 2011 by D.A. Lanier

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