A definitive new account of the professional and personal life of one of Hollywood's most unforgettable,influential stars.Archie Leach was a poorly educated,working-class boy from a troubled family living in the backstreets of Bristol. Cary Grant was Hollywood's most debonair film star-the embodiment of worldly sophistication. Cary Grant: The Making of a Hollywood Legend tells the incredible story of how a sad,neglected boy became the suave,glamorous star many know and idolize. The first biography to be based on Grant's own personal papers,this book takes us on a fascinating journey from the actor's difficult childhood through years of struggle in music halls and vaudeville,a hit-and-miss career in Broadway musicals,and three decades of film stardom during Hollywood's golden age. Leaving no stone unturned,Cary Grant delves into all aspects of Grant's life,from the bitter realities of his impoverished childhood to his trailblazing role in Hollywood as a film star who defied the studio system and took control of his own career. Highlighting Grant's genius as an actor and a filmmaker,author Mark Glancy examines the crucial contributions Grant made to such classic films as Bringing Up Baby (1938),The Philadelphia Story (1940),Notorious (1946),An Affair to Remember (1957),North by Northwest (1959),Charade (1963) and Father Goose (1964). Glancy also explores Grant's private life with new candor and insight throughout the book's nine sections,illuminating how Grant's search for happiness and fulfillment lead him to having his first child at the age of 62 and embarking on his fifth marriage at the age of 77. With this biography-complete with a chronological filmography of the actor's work-Glancy provides a definitive account of the professional and personal life of one of Hollywood's most unforgettable,influential stars.
MEDIA REVIEWS
Publisher: Oxford University Press IncISBN: 9780190053130Weight: 932 gDimensions: 241 x 164 x 35 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
Scrupulously researched... Interweaving Grant's personal life with his career,Glancy provides the kind of detailed production histories and nuanced close readings of Grant's performances that will appeal to die-hard Cary Grant fans and film studies academics alike.The volume is well indexed and the text fully supported by endnotes and a generous bibliography... Glancy's account is full,readable and scholarly.As a star biography it sets new standards of scholarship... It will become a definitive account of Grant,providing a judiciously balanced and peceptive evaluation of his intervowen personal and professional life,elucidated in pellucid prose whose elegance mirrors its subject.Glancy's account is full,readable and scholarly and it is confidently predicted that this particular quarry is now closed.Offering glimpses of Grant both inside and outside of studio walls,Glancy succeeds in culling together a cohesive book based upon Grant's personal papers ...if the reader is not familiar with the breath of Grant's filmography,Glancy's book steps in as a guide through Grant's many works.The definitive biography: forensic,myth-busting,and psychologically fine-tuned. Both a well-written work of scholarship and an entertaining ride through the life and work of one of Hollywood's most fascinating stars.Mark Glancy's detailed biography carefully pieces together the actor's early life,from the day-dreaming teenager's expulsion at school to his life in music hall and his early struggles in New York... before his cinema stardom... a first-rate study of a star of cinemas golden age.(an) exemplary biographyCary Grant has been the subject of so much gossip over the years so it is pleasant to read a book that takes an unsensational look at a Hollywood great.Glancy's years of research reveal themselves not just in the exceptionally detailed retelling of the Grant story,but in the scrupulous examination of conflicting sources... first-rate biographyNo other Grant biography has probed beneath the actor's tuxedo elegance with the urgency,critical acumen and basic common sense that are on display in Cary Grant: The Making of a Hollywood Legend. It's exceptional book.In contrast to typical celebrity biographies which take the tone of a gossipy exposé,Glancy's book feels balanced,well-researched... The author treats his subject with polite respect and admiration.It's a good,thorough read and may hint at a change in the winds of how we look at this famously private,famously gorgeous and underrated movie star.Glancy is a good writer and storyteller... (his) approach is measured and illuminating.an exceedingly well-researched book... riveting throughout... This is certainly one of the best books about the golden era of Hollywood that I have ever read,and I recommend it to anyone interested in films.By contrast with some of his predecessors,Glancy does a superb job of shining light on as much of Grant's life as can be understood without bogging down in unnecessary detail.A solid biographyA thorough and thoughtful biography... An excellent portrait that emphasizes the man more than the movie star.Mark Glancy has given the beloved star a deservedly respectful treatment. He offers a detailed and interesting biography which does not shy away from the controversies in Grant's life. However,the information is presented in a factual,non-salacious manner that is very readable.Most biographies of Hollywood Slebs are usually hagiographies or a collection of salacious stories... So it was with relief that I found Glancy's book does not fall into this trap but takes time to explore and research Cary Grant as a serious subject for a biographer... I so enjoyed reading this book and found it totally absorbing. Mark Glancy goes into detail about Cary's acting and role in all of his films,leaving nothing out and so the reader can appreciate and follow his film career alongside his personal life.
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