CARY GRANT

A wounded Cockney lad becomes a renowned movie star.

Among the several biographies of Cary Grant (1904-1986), prolific film historian Eyman’s version garners top billing. Replete with meticulous research, perceptive observations, and sharp critiques, this account of the actor’s life consistently engages and illuminates. The author focuses on the perennial actor’s tale: The protagonist flees a squalid childhood, first through fantasy and then through the realities of fame, glamour, and wealth. Grant was born Archibald Leach to working-class parents in Bristol, England. When he was 11, his alcoholic, emotionally absent father had his “emotionally and intellectually erratic” wife committed to an asylum for 20 years. Archie escaped this trauma at the local music hall, first working odd jobs and then appearing onstage, where he demonstrated a talent for comic gymnastics. Vaudeville work ensued, and the 16-year-old acrobat deserted a tour of America to work on Broadway. Soon came film work in Hollywood, as Archie gradually became the eternally suave, impeccably groomed Cary Grant. Honing his skills, Grant survived several undistinguished early efforts to make “an astonishing run of films” in which “his willingness to play the fool implied an ironic attitude toward his own good looks.” Backing encomiums of praise from Grant’s colleagues are Eyman’s keen descriptions of the actor’s techniques manifest in films such as Bringing Up Baby, The Awful Truth, Notorious, and None but the Lonely Heart. Grant’s personal life, on the other hand, gets mixed reviews: Only his fifth marriage succeeded, though the birth of a child during his fourth marriage, to Dyan Cannon, brought him lasting happiness. Canny business dealings, meanwhile, provided enormous financial reward. To the undying rumors that Grant was gay, Eyman replies, “there is plausible evidence [which the author examines] to place him inside any sexual box you want—gay, bi, straight.” The author’s vivid profiles of Grant’s co-workers—designer Orry-Kelly, director Leo McCarey, writer Clifford Odets, and many others—create a colorful mural of Hollywood during its golden age.

Top-shelf film history.