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George Brent - Ireland's Gift to Hollywood and its Leading Ladies
Bette Davis answered, George Brent whenever asked to name her favorite co-star. Her longtime crush on the actor (they teamed in eleven films) culminated in an off-screen affair while filming Dark Victory (1939) for which she won an Oscar nomination and Brent gave what many consider his finest performance. Hollywood s top stars clamored to play opposite Brent, who infused his easy-going warmth into such blockbuster films as 42nd Street (1933). Before long, Garbo demanded that MGM cast him opposite her in The Painted Veil (1934). Brent was perfect foil for cinema s leading ladies: Ruth Chatterton (his second wife), Ginger Rogers, Loretta Young, Claudette Colbert, Barbara Stanwyck, Myrna Loy, Kay Francis, Olivia de Havilland, Joan Fontaine, Hedy Lamarr, Merle Oberon, and Ann Sheridan (his fourth wife). Not to be pigeonholed Brent s perfection as the dissipated Englishman in The Rains Came (1939) and surprise turn as the heavy in The Spiral Staircase (1946) fueled the longevity of his career. The personal life of George Brent remained undercover. Upon signing with Warner Bros., studio publicity fabricated a back-story for Brent: a graduate of Dublin University (he dropped out of school at 16); a player in the Abbey Theatre (for which no record exists); a dead mother (who was very much alive); and, a dispatcher for Michael Collins during the Irish Revolution (this . . . was true). Brent s biography offers a fascinating look into the life of Hollywood s elusive lone wolf. Scott O Brien, whose biography on Ruth Chatterton made The Huffington Post s Best Film Books of 2013, abetted by Irish filmmaker Brian Reddin, sheds new light on Ireland s gift to Hollywood and its leading ladies: George Brent. (Foreword by Wesleyan University s Chair of Film Studies, Jeanine Basinger.) 331 pages with 125 illustrations capture the glamour and private world of Hollywood s Golden Age."
- GenresBiography
434 pages, Paperback
First published September 30, 2014
12 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
Scott O'Brien
14 books4 followersScott lives in Sonoma County, California. A native of Ogden, Utah, he graduated from Stagg High School in Stockton, California. Scott received his BA from San Francisco State and his MA (Library Science) from San Jose State University. He has authored film biographies for BearManor Media that focus on Classic Hollywood. Currently, Scott is writing a biography on Ruth Chatterton.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 11, 2016
Yay, I've been reading those dreary Kay Francis mysteries and was pleasantly surprised to see Kay Francis makes a large appearance in this biography. I forgot they made so many movies together, but George Brent made SO many movies playing against notable leading ladies (and Kay made so many movies herself) they all blend together. Well, those Warner Brother players all made a backbreaking # of films each year, it's not that surprising. Book was interesting--I've read so many books that feature George Brent (every Bette Davis book ever) and seen so many movies where he's the bland calming doctor or lawyer, but never read anything about him directly.
Funny thing--looking through the George Brent photos search results, easily a 25% of them are women leaning into George Brent, the human Body Pillow of the 1930s.
And he's an interesting guy--fought in the IRA as a teenager, smuggled himself to America, began acting in plays and then running his own company (out of Northampton MA!), and was one of the slew of "has nice speaking voice" drafted into talkies. What was very surprising was the picture of him pre-nose job in 1929 (Jimmy Durante-ish huge nose). There was very little of that in the book, and really comparing pictures, it drastically changed how he looked--did people ever talk about his plastic surgery or was that seen as no big deal? But that's just a side note of my personal file of Extreme Celebrity Plastic Surgery, along with Richard Barthelmess and Gloria Graham.
He also went blind for a year. He was huge into planes, and every Bette Davis book also recounts his habit of swooping the studio with his plane while on suspension to cause a halt to shooting, which of course is in this one. For someone who bucked the system with planes and angry suspensions, it feels like the studio eventually broke him, which is also not covered much in this book. What was his last day at Warners like for example? After being a contract player for so long? I didn't realize he was the original and first owner of the Santana, which wound up eventually and famously in Humphrey Bogart's hands.
I read a Barbara Stanwyck book at the start of the year, and that is what set me on this quest. Looking at that book now, after reading this one, it gets a number of George Brent things wrong (he was not a member of the Abbey Players, he did not serve in the British army) and one thing it claims is he was a "cold, black Irishman and a predator with woman" and cites David Lewis, (Hal Wallis' assistant producer) book Creative Producer. Which I guess I'll have to read now because it's an outrageous thing to say, especially about George Brent! This George Brent book has all sorts of nice quotes back and forth between him and Barbara Stanwyck too--and thumbing through that Stanwyck book, not many mentions of George--which is odd considering how many movies they made together (5) and how he always said Barbara was his favorite costar.
A little ungallant since he was Bette Davis's favorite (11 movies together), but seems like he got along with every costar. Even the reclusively shy Garbo would hang out at his house with him (they were next door neighbors) --though for someone who was such a recluse, Garbo sure got around with her "hide me!" shtick. However, with Brent I can see someone like him and Garbo enjoying each other's company so much. They were both loners. He married a bunch of times too (5)--2 of which were over within first week, 2 with movie stars (Ruth Chatterton and Ann Sheridan), and the final marriage which lasted till death. But even his ex-wives still got along with him and wrote nice things about him in their books, Bette--mercurial as hell Bette--basked in mutual self-praise of each other. Bette roaring, George giggling. So I guess I'll read Creative Producer, because seems like a pretty horrible thing to allege. I've noticed in other history books, that when George is quoted a lot of times it was in speaking up of defense for others. And the closest thing of a mean word about others it seems by George was that Hedy Lamarr required lots and lots of takes.
Maybe he didn't treat the third wife very well, with trying to get it annulled like the next day, but since neither really talked about what happened, we'll never know. And she fought the annulment in court, and said she wanted to stay married, but took the $25,000 and became an actress herself--also she was a tourist--so that episode looking at it with the information we have now, seems to fall under "drunken mistake marriage with crazy tourist" than being a predator. His life does read a little bit like one of his 1930s melodramas, and I ultimately left this book with a renewed appreciation for Mr. Brent. I liked that he and Cagney were next door neighbors in their twilight years and hung out once a week.
Funny thing--looking through the George Brent photos search results, easily a 25% of them are women leaning into George Brent, the human Body Pillow of the 1930s.
And he's an interesting guy--fought in the IRA as a teenager, smuggled himself to America, began acting in plays and then running his own company (out of Northampton MA!), and was one of the slew of "has nice speaking voice" drafted into talkies. What was very surprising was the picture of him pre-nose job in 1929 (Jimmy Durante-ish huge nose). There was very little of that in the book, and really comparing pictures, it drastically changed how he looked--did people ever talk about his plastic surgery or was that seen as no big deal? But that's just a side note of my personal file of Extreme Celebrity Plastic Surgery, along with Richard Barthelmess and Gloria Graham.
He also went blind for a year. He was huge into planes, and every Bette Davis book also recounts his habit of swooping the studio with his plane while on suspension to cause a halt to shooting, which of course is in this one. For someone who bucked the system with planes and angry suspensions, it feels like the studio eventually broke him, which is also not covered much in this book. What was his last day at Warners like for example? After being a contract player for so long? I didn't realize he was the original and first owner of the Santana, which wound up eventually and famously in Humphrey Bogart's hands.
I read a Barbara Stanwyck book at the start of the year, and that is what set me on this quest. Looking at that book now, after reading this one, it gets a number of George Brent things wrong (he was not a member of the Abbey Players, he did not serve in the British army) and one thing it claims is he was a "cold, black Irishman and a predator with woman" and cites David Lewis, (Hal Wallis' assistant producer) book Creative Producer. Which I guess I'll have to read now because it's an outrageous thing to say, especially about George Brent! This George Brent book has all sorts of nice quotes back and forth between him and Barbara Stanwyck too--and thumbing through that Stanwyck book, not many mentions of George--which is odd considering how many movies they made together (5) and how he always said Barbara was his favorite costar.
A little ungallant since he was Bette Davis's favorite (11 movies together), but seems like he got along with every costar. Even the reclusively shy Garbo would hang out at his house with him (they were next door neighbors) --though for someone who was such a recluse, Garbo sure got around with her "hide me!" shtick. However, with Brent I can see someone like him and Garbo enjoying each other's company so much. They were both loners. He married a bunch of times too (5)--2 of which were over within first week, 2 with movie stars (Ruth Chatterton and Ann Sheridan), and the final marriage which lasted till death. But even his ex-wives still got along with him and wrote nice things about him in their books, Bette--mercurial as hell Bette--basked in mutual self-praise of each other. Bette roaring, George giggling. So I guess I'll read Creative Producer, because seems like a pretty horrible thing to allege. I've noticed in other history books, that when George is quoted a lot of times it was in speaking up of defense for others. And the closest thing of a mean word about others it seems by George was that Hedy Lamarr required lots and lots of takes.
Maybe he didn't treat the third wife very well, with trying to get it annulled like the next day, but since neither really talked about what happened, we'll never know. And she fought the annulment in court, and said she wanted to stay married, but took the $25,000 and became an actress herself--also she was a tourist--so that episode looking at it with the information we have now, seems to fall under "drunken mistake marriage with crazy tourist" than being a predator. His life does read a little bit like one of his 1930s melodramas, and I ultimately left this book with a renewed appreciation for Mr. Brent. I liked that he and Cagney were next door neighbors in their twilight years and hung out once a week.
October 31, 2014
Full disclosure: Scott O'Brien is my friend and I am named in the acknowledgments for this book. This does not influence my review. If had hated it, I would have just kept my thoughts to myself. Thankfully, when a book is written by Scott, I have little to fear.
George Brent was a difficult guy. Difficult to work with (sometimes), difficult to live with (certainly) and difficult to know (absolutely). The premise, which makes sense, is that Brent's difficult, chaotic childhood and adolescence help to explain why he was sometimes such a chore as an older person.
The biographer manages to convey all of this without getting prurient. That's no mean feat. Keeping a story interesting and not venturing into the gutter to do so is hard work. As he proved with his previous books on Virginia Bruce, Kay Francis, Ann Harding and Ruth Chatterton, Scott O'Brien is up to this task.
George Brent was just about everyone's leading man. There are so many movies from the 30s and 40s where Bette Davis is madly in love, and the subject of her desire is Brent. Same with Ruth Chatterton, so much so that she ended up being married to him for a while.
This life is proof that second (and third, and fourth) acts can often be the charm. I didn't like George Brent much better by the time I finished reading about him, but I think I had a better grasp on who the man was.
George Brent was a difficult guy. Difficult to work with (sometimes), difficult to live with (certainly) and difficult to know (absolutely). The premise, which makes sense, is that Brent's difficult, chaotic childhood and adolescence help to explain why he was sometimes such a chore as an older person.
The biographer manages to convey all of this without getting prurient. That's no mean feat. Keeping a story interesting and not venturing into the gutter to do so is hard work. As he proved with his previous books on Virginia Bruce, Kay Francis, Ann Harding and Ruth Chatterton, Scott O'Brien is up to this task.
George Brent was just about everyone's leading man. There are so many movies from the 30s and 40s where Bette Davis is madly in love, and the subject of her desire is Brent. Same with Ruth Chatterton, so much so that she ended up being married to him for a while.
This life is proof that second (and third, and fourth) acts can often be the charm. I didn't like George Brent much better by the time I finished reading about him, but I think I had a better grasp on who the man was.
December 29, 2014
Engaging biography of an actor who deserves to be better remembered, dependable leading man George Brent. The book is a first-rate overview of Brent's career on stage, film, radio and television as well as his personal life. I had no idea that he was from Ireland (no trace of an accent, not was he cast in "Irish" parts, as was Pat O'Brien), nor that he was once married to Ann Sheridan and was a successful horse trainer. The book will make you want to re-watch Brent movies you already know (Dark Victory, The Great Lie and The Rains Came) and seek out some of the lesser know titles (The Go Getter and My Reputation). The author also helps you determine which titles to avoid! O'Brien is an excellent writer who sticks to the facts he has uncovered, doesn't stoop to reporting rumors as truth and often gives a nice turn of phrase to keep things interesting. Highly recommended to fans of classic film.
May 21, 2015
If you love classic Warner Bros. movies, you've spent many happy hours with George Brent. Now you can really get to know Hollywood's lone, Irish wolf. Thank you Scott O'Brien for bring giving us a three dimensional George Brent and giving him the recognition he so richly deserves.
February 4, 2017
The author doesn't capture the essence of the man. He methodically takes us through his life but rarely gives us a look at his motivation or feelings. Brent was an interesting man with the story telling and twinkle in the eye of a true Irishman. The author missed that.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews