Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Crawford Speaks!, July 6, 1999
By A Customer
Conversations w/ Joan Crawford is a superb book w/ Joan speaking for herself in a question/answer "interview" type arena. Roy Newquist is a great interviewer who asks the right questions & got very frank & honest answers from Joan about her life, her films, her co-stars, Mr. Mayer & her philosophies on how she's lived. She was near the end of her life at the time the book was written & little high on the sauce at moments (acording to Roy Newquist) but Joan just lets it fly. this book is Excellent & a must for any Crawford fan.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Must-Read, July 5, 2005
Unlike her autobiography, which Crawford openly admits was self-censored to protect the studio image, Newquist's book reveals the real Joan Crawford.
It opens with explaining how the author and Crawford met and how their relationship formed to a level that she was able to be open with him. After a brief biography, in come the interviews, easily the most important part of the book.
First, the pair talks about Crawford's movies which she denounces or praises heartily. Then they talk about more personal things. Crawford candidly talks about her longtime affair with Clark Gable which was hushed up for years by the studio. However, there are some things she does not like to talk about, especially sex. She quickly responds and tries not to reveal too much of her personal life.
Of course there are times when Crawford contradicts herself, especially when talking about Bette Davis with whom she had a love/hate relationship. The studio wanted publicity so during Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? the two were posed as arch enemies. In some cases this was true, but Joan highly respected Davis' talent as a fan.
The few moments in which Crawford talks about her children, she admits that she may not have been the perfect mother, that perhaps she was too strict. She goes on to talk about how none of the major movie stars were fit parents or fit spouses because they were a star first and everything else second. This helps to explain if not down-play the harshness of the Mommie Dearest accusations which came from an incredibly biased viewpoint.
Overall, this book is required reading for anyone who calls themselves a Joan Crawford fan. It will help one to differentiate Crawford the star and Crawford the woman (who incidentally thought Crawford sounded like Crawfish).
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding insight, March 8, 2006
In spite of not being much of a fan of Joan Crawford, especially in her uptight Warner's years, this book is a fascinating insight into her persona, possibly the best available. The book is a compendium of interviews with Crawford over a 15 year period, all carefully re-arranged to provide continuity to the reader. The result is logical and easy to follow.
Crawford was not highly educated so she states that she often struggled with the interview process because she was unsure what to say. Certainly, in the few existing interviews available, she is not highly articulate in the same way as Katharine Hepburn or Bette Davis. This book has a big advantage because the conversations were private, when Crawford was clearly more relaxed and not "maintaining" her public image. Accordingly, her observations are direct with an honesty for which she was not often credited and we get a much greater feel for who she was. The pretension is stripped away and her comments on her own films are excellent. She agreed with many film critics that many of her films were formula laden junk.
There is not a lot about her children or her active sex life (dismissed with the comment that she was "highly sexed"), although she speaks openly of her relationship with Clark Gable. Many of her comments display a wit which might be unexpected. Certainly, her comments about the studio system in which she flourished are worthy of a text book on the subject.
The overwhelming impression is of a tough woman who by hard work and dedication achieved great professional success but was unable to do the same in her personal life due to an overwhelming inferiority complex. When you read between the lines on her upbringing, it is no wonder she was poorly equipped for stable and rewarding relationships. One of her most attractive traits though is that she does not really feel sorry for herself. Her self discipline ultimately overrules everything else.
This book has long been out of print but is worth tracking down.
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