Carole Landis: A Most Beautiful Girl

Hollywood Legends

by Eric Gans

Despite appearing in twenty-eight movies in little over a decade, Carole Landis (1919-1948) never quite became the major Hollywood star her onscreen presence should have afforded her. Although she acted in such enduring films as A Scandal in Paris and Moon over Miami , she was most often relegated to supporting roles. Even when she played the major role in a feature, as she did in The Powers Girl and the film noir I Wake Up Screaming! , she was billed second or third behind other actors. This biography traces Landis's life, chronicling her beginnings as a dance hall entertainer in San Francisco, her career in Hollywood and abroad, her USO performances, and ultimately her suicide. Using interviews with actors who worked with Landis, contemporary movie magazines and journals, and correspondence, biographer Eric Gans reveals a tragic figure whose life was all too brief. Landis's big break came in 1940 with Hal Roach's One Million B.C. She appeared in thirteen Twentieth Century-Fox pictures between 1941 and 1946. In 1942-43, Landis entertained troops in England and North Africa in the only all-female USO tour. The trip led to her memoir, Four Jills in a Jeep , and a Fox movie of the same title. After her last American film in 1947, she completed two projects in England while having an affair with married actor Rex Harrison. Tormented by a love that could not lead to matrimony and depressed about growing older, she took a fatal drug overdose on July 5, 1948.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography

288 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2008

Reviews

[Phil Syphe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty good biography of an actress who deserved more leading roles and recognition than she received.

Having seen all but two of Carole Landis’s “main” films, I could relate to the summaries and analysis of each one discussed by the author. For anyone who’s considering reading this book, but hasn’t seen many of Carole’s films, I recommend watching a few first so as to have a better appreciation of the film-focused sections presented here.

A lot of Carole’s personal life is covered too, of course, and it’s her selfless contributions during WW2 that most endeared her to me, as it clearly did to the soldiers of that period.

It’s a real shame that she took her own life aged 29.

Overall, this is a very good read, though at times the narrative feels a little dry.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well researched bio of the actress Carole Landis, who, unfortunately, was probably better known for her suicide than her acting. She had her ups and downs, but could be superb. This book was brought to fruition in large part by my friend Gwen, who provided the author a lot of material from her collection and fact checking assistance. TCM usually has a Carole Landis day every couple of years, so check out her films there and this book.

[Ava Gordon · Rating 1 out of 5]

could not hate a book more, she deserved so much better