LOUIS B. MAYER & IRVING THALBERG

A prolific partnership that established MGM and transformed Hollywood.

In yet another lively entry in the publisher’s Jewish Lives series, former Los Angeles Times critic Turan casts an engagingly fresh light on two of old Hollywood’s most powerful studio moguls: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s Louis B. Mayer (1884-1957) and Irving Thalberg (1899-1936). Though both were Jewish, they came from markedly different backgrounds. The scrappier and more emotional Mayer was born in Russia and emigrated to the U.S. as a young child, building his empire from humble beginnings in the scrap metal business. Thalberg, born in Brooklyn to a family of German Jewish descent, struggled throughout his short life with a congenital heart condition. His intellectual acumen and innate understanding of storytelling would make him a wunderkind of the film industry. Together, they established MGM as Hollywood’s premier studio, producing prestigious films during the silent era and beyond. Under their leadership, MGM became synonymous with glamour and excellence. The studio launched the careers of numerous luminaries, including Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, and Norma Shearer—who married Thalberg in 1927. They deftly navigated the transition from silent to sound pictures, with Thalberg bringing innovative practices: test-screening films, acquiring prestigious properties based on bestselling novels and classic literary works, adapting Broadway hits, and nurturing writing talent. Among the notable writers profiled is MGM veteran Frances Marion, whose credits include the Academy Award–winning film The Champ (1931). While several biographies of both Thalberg and Mayer exist, along with memoirs by Hollywood figures like Irene Mayer Selznick, who knew them personally, Turan’s achievement lies in his thoughtful synthesis of these sources. Though he presents little new material, he weaves together stories and anecdotes to create both a vivid portrait of their complex personal and professional relationship and, for modern readers, an illuminating history of the MGM studio system.

A thoroughly engrossing, well-documented biography of two Hollywood legends.