COMPETING WITH IDIOTS

Sibling rivalry in the movie world.

The grandson of Herman Mankiewicz (1897-1953) and great-nephew of Joe Mankiewicz (1909-1993), Davis creates a lively, anecdote-filled chronicle of the two men’s lives as Hollywood movers and shakers. Although he aims to probe the mysteries of the “titanic figures” in his family’s history, his portraits are likely to be familiar to readers of Richard Meryman’s biography of Herman, Mank, the basis for a recent movie, and Ken Geist’s biography of Joe, Pictures Will Talk, books on which Davis draws heavily. Herman’s career began in New York, where he was the New Yorker’s first drama critic and socialized with the Algonquin Round Table crowd. Lured to Hollywood by MGM, he became an acclaimed screenwriter, best remembered for his work with Orson Welles on Citizen Kane. Brash and outspoken, he was an alcoholic, womanizer, and gambler who spent his life “thumbing his nose at authority.” Although he tried to be Joe’s protector when the two were growing up, he came to resent him once Joe arrived in Hollywood, at Herman’s invitation, to take a job as junior writer. Joe was young, handsome, fresh, and optimistic; Herman became bitter, disdaining movies that he thought were trite. His philandering was so widely known that his wife came to be dubbed “poor Sara.” Joe, considered “virtually beyond reproach” professionally, rose from screenwriting to producing and directing movies that included All About Eve and A Letter to Three Wives. He had a genius, Davis notes, for finessing great performances. His private life, though, was tumultuous. He divorced his first wife; his second wife committed suicide; he was estranged from his father, mother, and sister; and he had distant relationships with his sons. His many lovers included needy, fragile, 20-year-old Judy Garland. Davis’ gossipy dual biography reveals the brothers’ starkly different personalities and enduring demons.

A portrait of eventful lives in Hollywood’s golden age.