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Scandals of Classic Hollywood: Sex, Deviance, and Drama from the Golden Age of American Cinema Paperback – September 30, 2014

by Anne Helen Petersen (Author)
3.6 out of 5 stars 66 customer reviews
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  • Scandals of Classic Hollywood: Sex, Deviance, and Drama from the Golden Age of American Cinema
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Plume (September 30, 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 014218067X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0142180679
  • Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.6 x 8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #138,611 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 starsAh, the good old days when actors and studios had people to hide these stories from public view.
By DelusionalAngel VINE VOICE on September 30, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
The scandals that appear in this book:
- Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks have an affair
- Roscoe "fatty" Arbuckle is accused of a rape that killed a woman
- Wallace Reid did drugs
- Rudolph Valentino had an unusual personal life
- Clara Bow was too flapper like in her real life
- Jean Harlow was the original blonde bombshell with a husband who died under mysterious circumstances
- Mae West wasn't quite as scandalous as her characters
- Clark Gable and Carole Lombard's affair
- Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall's romance
- Judy Garland the girl who no one thought looked like a star but who did sing like one
- Dorothy Dandridge a black actress / singer struggling to break through stereotypes
- Montgomery Clift with his apparently non-existent love life and life altering accident
- Marlon Brando with his ego, bad relationships, and dislike of the Hollywood machine
- James Dean died before he'd even truly become a star

The book does a good job of explaining the moral issues that existed in Hollywood, especially during the reign of Will Hays as the head of the MPPDA (now MPAA). It also does a good job of explaining the relationships between the studios, actors, and the gossip columnists -- they were definitely working toward the TMZ era but there was also some sense of privacy and protectionism. What it does less well is go into details about each actor / scandal it is revisiting.

I’m a Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle fan and a James Dean mega fan (as in I have been to his hometown during the annual festival celebrating him) so maybe I went into this at a disadvantage as I already knew their stories way better than they could be told in a chapter.Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsSex! Gossip! Movie Stars!
By Jeri Hurd on September 30, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
Since this is mostly going to be about what went wrong for me with this book, let me start by saying: It's good! Buy it! I'm glad I did. Having said that...

I've been waiting for this book for six months--thus, like any Hollywood movie, it was bound to struggle to live up to the anticipation. Don't get me wrong; for any lover of classic hollywood, this is a good read, and I'd probably have loved it if I hadn't been devouring Anne Helen Peterson's online articles--whether through Hairpin, Buzzfeed, her blog, or other media--for a couple years now. But I have and therein, I think, lies the slight disappointment with the book.

While the promos promise the chapters are not repeats of the Hairpin articles, that is a bit disingenuous. The articles aren't transplanted verbatim, but many of the stories (Fatty Arbuckle, Clara Bow Dorothy Dandridge, Montgomery Clift, and others) are repeats and cover familiar territory.

Still, a good story is always worth rehearing. What I miss most in the book is the lively, irreverent, voice Peterson uses in her online pieces, which often read like a personal email to you, the reader. SHE IS FUNNY. Her side remarks on Hollywood hypocrisy and comments on the plethora of images that populate her online text are vastly entertaining and sadly missing in this text

Read this comment on a still of Lana Turner in a turban from the Postman Always Rings Twice:

"I mean, THIS IS IT, right? Like there's no need for another seduction scene ever? And the high-waisted white shorts and the knotted crop top ... does Urban Outfitters carry those in my size? Can someone teach me how to make my towel topknot look like that?Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsFun book
By Liviania VINE VOICE on October 9, 2014
Format: Paperback
I have been a huge fan of Anne Helen Petersen's column "Scandals of Classic Hollywood" for The Hairpin. It was funny, juicy, and beautifully illustrated by images of the stars. When I heard about her book deal, I was extremely excited. Unlike many blog-to-books, SCANDALS OF CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD is 100% new content (although it covers some of the same stars).

I have mixed feelings about the result. I really miss seeing the pictures, which say so much about the star's image and presentation. I felt that the humor was intact, but there was a bit too much reaching for contemporary connections. The conclusions of each chapter are going to age pretty quickly.

The information, however, is still fascinating. SCANDALS OF CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD covers the rise and fall of the studio-managed star, the Hays Code, the MPAA, and more through the lens of several major stars. The stars in question include Dorothy Dandridge, Judy Garland, James Dean, Montgomery Clift, Fatty Arbuckle, and more. All are interesting people with eventful lives and careers, sometimes triumphant, sometimes tragic.

Now, not all of this is novel stuff. There's certainly been plenty written about James Dean. But it is a wonderful introduction, and a great reminder that so much of Hollywood is a carefully controlled image. Even better, it is an introduction to how Hollywood got that way.

I miss the columns. It was fun to wait for each of them, and to read the comments. But I certainly enjoyed SCANDALS OF CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD (the book) quite a bit, and recommend it to any fan of Petersen's writing or of old-time movie stars. The truth is pretty wild and strange indeed, except for where it was exaggerated for entertainment.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 starsNot sure yet

I thought this might be a good beach book. I really haven't read it yet. Going to the beach soon...

Published 29 days ago by lovesbooks
4.0 out of 5 starsGood Reading

Interesting set of stories on some of Hollywood's most well known - and several of the forgotten - movies stars. A must have for movie buffs!

Published 1 month ago by SarahWeinisch
5.0 out of 5 starsI was recommended this book from Laineygossip

I can't believe that I actually thought that Hollywood had less going on in the so called golden years than today. Shows what I know. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Meredith Vaughan
4.0 out of 5 starsNo unfamiliar stories but a solid read

Most scandals if not all in this book are pretty well known. There is nothing fresh or groundbreaking but it's an excellent and fast page turner. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Skittler
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat book. Always liking Hollywood scandels

Great book. Always liking Hollywood scandels.

Published 4 months ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsVery well done

This book was very well done and well researched. Definitely not one of those sleazy tell all Hollywood books out there.

Published 4 months ago by 07pony
4.0 out of 5 starsInteresting stories

This was a fun book, easy to put down and pick up later. I learned some things I didn't know about some stars and their stories of the past. Read more

Published 6 months ago by Daniel J. Green
5.0 out of 5 starsEnjoyable.

I've enjoyed reading Scandals of Classic Hollywood.

Unfortunately, many of the stars such as Fatty Arbuckle, Clara Bow, Mae West, and Wallace Reid covered in the book... Read more

Published 6 months ago by Mr. Math Expert
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Thank you!

Published 7 months ago by pat williams
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

love...lovee...

Published 7 months ago by alexis schaller

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