Just tell Me When to Cry : A Memoir

by Richard Fleischer

Richard Fleischer has directed almost fifty films. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, The Vikings, Compulsion, Doctor Dolittle, The Boston Strangler, Tora! Tora! Tora!, and The New Centurions are only a few of his hits. He first went to Hollywood in 1945 and over the years worked with and for John Wayne, Walt Disney, Howard Hughes, Robert Mitchum, Rex Harrison, James Mason, Kirk Douglas, Darryl Zanuck, Sidney Poitier, Charlton Heston, Jane Russell, Tony Curtis, Laurence Olivier, Akira Kurosawa, and Orson Welles, among others. Richard Fleischer tells of his forty-five plus years in the ego capital of the world by relating a series of the best stories you'll ever hear (and have never heard before) about legendary personalities and how they behaved (and misbehaved) during the course of making a movie.

Genres: Film, Biography, Nonfiction, Memoir

Unknown Binding

First published July 1, 1993

Reviews

[W · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are encounters with the "greats,near-greats and ingrates of Hollywood". Though the name of the author was initially unfamiliar to me,I had seen several of his movies including The Vikings and Tora ! Tora ! Tora !

He had the opportunity to work with the likes of Howard Hughes,Kirk Douglas,Robert Mitchum,Orson Welles and Laurence Olivier,among others.

The book has plenty of hilarious stories.It is also an account of ruined careers,lost fortunes and the sheer difficulties and frustration encountered in the movie making process.

This is a solid,entertaining Hollywood memoir.

[GoldGato · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one moves to the top of the class for Hollywood memoirs. Wry, questioning, name-dropping...perfect for fans of 1950s-1970s cinema. Fleischer, the son of the pioneering animation titan Max Fleischer (Betty Boop), just nails this wonderful tale of his life as a Hollywood director and the zany stars he had to endure.

It's also an easy read, thanks to the linear outline. It starts with Richard Fleischer's intro to the film industry, via John Wayne's bathroom peculiarities, and takes us through his career. Each chapter is devoted to either a specific movie or to a specific star. We learn that John Wayne couldn't start filming until his morning poop was all done, while Kirk Douglas was insecure ("Does this have any value?"). Edward G. Robinson was a prince of players, maintaining his composure and manners while dying, literally.

But the best example of egotism belongs to Rex Harrison. Or as I now like to refer to him, 'Rex-n-Effects'. Let's just say he was a bit full of himself (and his wife Rachel Roberts a bit wonky). The wonderful title of the book comes from Sylvia Sidney, in her response to Fleischer's long and overwrought explanation of her film character. I would have liked a fuller telling of Fleischer's time on 1978's The Prince and the Pauper, if only to hear the tales of Oliver Reed in Hungary, but Fleischer's other experiences are good enough.

Book Season = Summer (find a real movie house)

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the best Hollywood autobiographies I've read. Fleischer, a director of minor note, with a few gems to his credit, gives the inside scoop on several films he worked on and, in doing so, gives real insight into what the movie-making process is like. It's interesting how almost every story ends up with people doing Fleischer wrong, or him being the person whose original ideas were right after all. But Fleischer isn't particularly off-putting as the self-defined "white hat" in his own story. While a bit covertly self-righteous, he does in fact seem to have had a fine head for the work he did, and his tales of egotism and hubris in Hollywood are nothing if not fascinating. I highly recommend this book.

[Toni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting tales of a few of Hollywood's classic films and their stars.

[Rex Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the memoir of director Richard Fleischer whose career spanned over four decades of Hollywood - a massive feat- and yet still his name remains relatively obscure. Sixty two credits to his name and a host of important critically acclaimed films such as: Soylent Green, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Dr. Dolittle (the original), Tora! Tora! Tora!, Fantastic Voyage, Compulsion, Conan the Destroyer, Red Sonja - the last two he doesn’t mention at all. All well-known films. Many of which still stand up, but still the name remained unknown.

I was more familiar with his father, Max Fleisher, the famous animator - who invented the rotoscope where a film and animation could overlap each other. The creator of Betty Boop. The early rival of Walt Disney, whose only feature film Gulliver’s Travels still stands up. And who was brought down by the heads of Paramount who couldn’t see innovation until it bit them in the ass. But enough of that.

This book is a collection of anecdotes about the authors four decade career and his dealings with various Hollywood talent. It isn’t a straight shot of his life, the author decides to pick out the best, juiciest morsels and give them to us. Who was the best to work with, Edward G. Robinson, and the worst, Charles Bronson, and everyone in-between - Kirk Douglass, Robert Mitchum, Charlatan Heston, Rex Harrison, Orson Welles, John Wayne, Howard Hughes, and so on.

The stories are fun and provide a glimpse into old Hollywood - minus the casting couch - and characters lurking behind the scenes. Truly what a weird, unique, and terrible world. My only consternation is that the best bits for all the films mentioned are already recorded in the trivia section on their respective IMDB pages. So you might as well go look at them rather than spend money here. My only other regret is that he doesn’t mention working with Schwarzenegger at all. You’d think that’d be worth one anecdote. Ah well.

[Deborah Fargo-Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you think of famous Hollywood directors, does the name Richard Fleischer immediately spring to mind? Probably not ... but it should.

Fleischer directed almost 50 movies in a career of almost 50 years in Hollywood; some of them absolute gems, some not so much. Ever heard of The Vikings, The Boston Strangler, The New Centurions, Tora!Tora!Tora!, Compulsion, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, Fantastic Voyage, to name a few? Yep, those are all his.

Regardless of how many hits he did or didn't have, you can't pick up a comprehensive telling of Hollywood without his name being included. He was never overly showy, craving the spotlight or constantly in the news. He simply worked with the biggest stars of the day, regularly stayed on budget and maintained his schedules, even under ludicrous conditions (see Rex Harrison's part in this book for evidence). In a lot of ways, he was a studio head's dream.

I've read this book entirely aloud to someone with compromised eyesight and it was a wonderful experience for us both. Fleischer's ability to paint pictures with his anecdotes, his willingness to show himself as looking foolish/pompous/silly/egotistical says a great deal about the man himself and how he managed to navigate murky Hollywood waters.

There is sadness, silliness, joy, pain, passion and just plain good storytelling to be had here. If you like a good read about the golden age of Hollywood, and a good laugh about some of those 'more perfect than possible' stars of the day, this is for you. I promise you will read it again ... and again.

[Yourfiendmrjones · Rating 4 out of 5]

“You’re WHAT?” is one of my favorite lines in a movie ever, punched by the great Charles McGraw in the film noir classic “The Narrow Margin,” directed by Richard Fleischer.

“‘John Wayne hasn’t shit yet.’” is one of my favorite opening lines of any book ever. The fact that it comes from Fleischer’s memoir “Just Tell Me When To Cry” should be all you need to recommend this book to you. Both sincere and sardonic, this collection of stories of filmmaking from the mid to late 20th Century does a hell of a job trying to meet the level set by its first sentence.

That it doesn’t do that consistently should not dissuade you from reading it. Fleischer is a born storyteller (literally- his father Max Fleischer was a serious competitor of Walt Disney, creating Betty Boop in the process). So no matter how much a few of his chapters drag, it is never for very long and he always nails the last line of each story. Overall, it’s a great book and a great time.

[M.R. Dowsing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hugely enjoyable book about Fleischer's adventures and misadventures in the film industry, wisely concentrating on the latter as the author understands that it's more interesting when things go wrong! (I noticed he couldn't bring himself to mention 'Che!' though).

There are loads of fascinating anecdotes about stars such as Orson Welles, Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum, etc. It's fairly well-written too, although Fleischer is not always as witty as he seems to believe and he's also not above blowing his own trumpet rather loudly. Highly recommended to film buffs nevertheless (If you can get hold of a copy).

[Drew Raley · Rating 4 out of 5]

My contender for Best Unread Director Autobiography. Fleischer was never better than a journeyman filmmaker, but his memoir connects Howard Hughes, Sylvia Sidney, Charlton Heston, Tony Curtis and the animals from Doctor Doolittle in hilarious and sometimes poignant slices of Old Hollywood life.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are looking for a behind the scenes view at old Hollywood with its egotistical players, their pettiness, silliness, and bizarre behavior, then you will enjoy Richard Fleischer's memoir. I laughed out loud more than once. What an appropriate title for his book.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this because my brother said it was wonderful. We share a love of movies, especially the classics, so he thought I’d like this.
I didn’t love it. My favorite movie studio is Warner Brothers, and this book doesn’t cover any of those movies or their stars, so not as interesting as I’d like. Charleton Heston, Rex Harrison, Bob Mitchum, Kirk Douglas, and the most over-rated actor ever, Lawrence Olivier are some of the people who the author tells anecdotes about.
And that’s my other criticism. The book is a series of Hollywood stories about the movies he made and the people he worked with. “And then I said,” “And then he said.” “No one knew how to solve this complicated problem until I suggested . . . “
He’s the hero of all his stories, which is fine. But after a while, it gets to be too much. And you have to wonder about how much credibility to give the guy.
One other point - this is almost exclusively a boys’ club. Almost no mention of actresses. Strange.

[Mike O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read about Hollywood from longtime director Fleischer, but its structure is more anecdotal than straight biography. The strongest sections concern his work with Orson Welles on COMPULSION, Kirk Douglas in 20,000 LEAGUES & THE VIKINGS, and Rex Harrison on DR. DOOLITTLE. I wish there had been more about the shooting of BARABBAS, particularly how he staged the opening crucifixion scene in the midst of an actual solar eclipse. And there's no mention of his latter day work with Arnold Schwarzenegger on CONAN THE DESTROYER and RED SONJA. But what's there is good and worth any film fan's time.

[Bob Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining read. Fleischer was the "anti-auteur". A journeyman director who made a lot of good, solid pictures in many different genres, but didn't seem to have an overarching vision. Some good stories, but many go on too long. His best works, "The Vikings" (which was my "Star Wars" when I was a kid) and "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" are there, but some of his more interesting work, "10 Rillington Place", "The Boston Strangler" and "Fantastic Voyage" are either given short shrift or not mentioned at all. A good book, but there seems to be much more to the story. Perhaps he planned to write a sequel before he passed.

[Michael Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful unvarnished look at the movie industry, Richard Fleischer gives us a somewhat cynical but never mean spirited look into the world of filmmaking. We learn that John Wayne was a vindictive prick, that Rex Harrison though brilliant actor was a terror to work with, and that Edward G. Robinson was a man you couldn't help but love. This I recommend to any person who thinks making movies is all fun and games.

[Amy Andrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

No real fireworks, but some very cool insights from someone who was at the top of the game for a long time. Also, it sounds like Rex Harrison was one of the most insufferable people to ever walk the Earth.

[Tom Newth · Rating 2 out of 5]

quite underwhelming

[Iniville · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fleischer knows his way around an anecdote.

[Vincent Mollica]

❤️

[Pierre-Louis Goblet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Les mémoires d'un des plus grands cinéastes américains de son époque, trop souvent sous-estimé par ses pairs. Essentiel de par les histoires et anecdotes sur Hollywood qu'il dévoile.