Knowledgeable and meticulous, this is the first full-scale biography of America's first horror-film auteur. The strange genius of Tod Browning is perhaps best summed up in a single shot from his Dracula: Amidst the cobwebs of Dracula's Transylvania castle, a family of armadillos scurries across the floor. Browning made dozens of acclaimed box-office-busting silent films. But along with Dracula, he is best remembered for one of his few talkies, Freaks, a horrific yet strangely touching melodrama set in a circus freak show. While now regarded as a classic, it effectively ended Browning's career. For years he had used Hollywood's lavish machinery to illuminate his private obsessionsthe occult, violence, mystery, deformityand so long as these obsessions made money, the studios indulged him. Freaks bombed (it was also banned in several countries), and soon one of America's most successful directors was forced into retirement. What followed was a long, sad decline into alcoholic obscurity. By temperament, Browning was a very private man, destroying papers, refusing interviews, and much of his biography is simply speculation: Did his dark vision, for example, spring from some searing childhood trauma? Skal (The Monster Show, 1993, etc.) and film historian Savada have done an admirable job with what is available, teasing out meaning from the slenderest of sources and filling in the gaps with plausible hypotheses. They have also produced a first-rate filmography, chronicling all of Browning's films, a remarkable achievement considering that some simply no longer exist. However, Skal and Savada are less adept in their analysis of Browning's directorial style. His work with actors, shot design, and editing are mentioned only in passinga shame considering that Browning's films are his best biography. Still, this is as thorough a recounting as we can probably hope for of this extraordinary but neglected talent. (50 b&w photos, not seen)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-385-47406-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Anchor
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1995
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
