Conversations with Classic Film Stars: Interviews from Hollywood's Golden Era

by James Bawden, Ron Miller

James Bawden Seeing the way people behave when they're around you, is it still fun being Cary Grant?

Cary Grant I don't like to disappoint people. Because he's a completely made-up character and I'm playing a part. It's a part I've been playing a long time, but no way am I really Cary Grant. A friend told me once, "I always wanted to be Cary Grant." And I said, "So did I." -- "from the book"In "Conversations with Classic Film Stars," retired journalists James Bawden and Ron Miller present an astonishing collection of rare interviews with the greatest celebrities of Hollywood's golden age. Conducted over the course of more than fifty years, they recount intimate conversations with some of the most famous leading men and women of the era, including Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Joseph Cotten, Cary Grant, Gloria Swanson, Joan Fontaine, Loretta Young, Kirk Douglas, and many more.

Each interview takes readers behind the scenes with some of cinema's most iconic stars. The actors convey unforgettable stories, from Maureen O'Hara discussing Charles Laughton's request that she change her last name, to Bob Hope candidly commenting on the presidential honors bestowed upon him. Humorous, enlightening, and poignant, "Conversations with Classic Film Stars" is essential reading for anyone who loves classic movies.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Media Tie In, History

440 pages, Hardcover

First published April 5, 2016

About the author

James Bawden was a Toronto Star entertainment columnist for 40 years. Renowned for his distinguished profiles of movie stars and directors, he co-authored three books and wrote for Films in Review and numerous cinema magazines.

Reviews

[Raquel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conversations with Classic Film Stars was a quick enjoyable read. This book is perfect for someone who doesn’t want to invest their time in full-scale biographies but still wants to learn something new and interesting about their favorite stars. And if you’re like me and just devoured a 900 page biography, a compilation of short interviews makes for a great palate cleanser. Conversations with Classic Film Stars would make a great gift for someone who is just starting to develop a love for old Hollywood or for someone who has had a life long passion for classic movies.

There were a few errors in the book and sometimes I felt the authors thought very little of their audience. This prevented me from giving it a 5 star review. However it was really good and I would recommend this to pretty much anyone who is interested.

My full review with much more detail can be found here: http://www.outofthepastblog.com/2016/...

[Michael Ritchie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, inconsequential collection of short interviews with classic-era stars (Maureen O'Hara, Bob Hope, Margaret Hamilton, Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, etc.). The best are the B-actors and somewhat lesser-known stars (Jane Greer, Audrey Totter, Fay Wray, Ralph Bellamy). There is an odd homogeneity in some of the responses (everyone calls Katherine Hepbun "Great Kate" and Agnes Moorehead "Aggie," and even weirder, 2 stars used the word "orchidaceous," a term I'd never run across before in reference to people). It makes me wonder if the authors did a little too much editing and/or re-writing of the interviews. But overall, a fun, fast read.

[Vincent Desjardins · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a fan of classic Hollywood films from the 1930s, 40s and 50s, I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of interviews by James Bawden, a former TV columnist for the Toronto Star and Ron Miller, the former editor for the San Jose Mercury News. The interviews, re-edited and assembled from their original publications cover a huge swath of Hollywood history, including stars from the silent era (Gloria Swanson and Jackie Coogan) up through new star discoveries of the late 1950s (Diane Varsi). Since many of these interviews were conducted between the late 1960s through the late 1980s, when these stars were at the end of their careers, the reminiscences actually cover most of the 20th Century.

I grew up in a period before Cable TV, before video cassettes and DVD players, a time when there were only the three major Television networks (CBS, NBC and ABC) and various independent stations. If you loved old movies you had to scour the TV Guide every week to see when they would be aired. As a child in Southern California there were lots of independent stations out of Los Angeles that aired classic films. KTTV Channel 11 had the Ben Hunter matinee which every weekday afternoon showed an old movie. KHJ Channel 9 had the Million Dollar Movie, KCBS the local CBS affiliate had The Early Show which showed classic movies in the late afternoon on weekdays. There were many more, including late night movies and creature feature shows like Fright Night and Chiller that specialized in classic horror and monster movies. My brother, sister and I watched them all.

The stations that showed classic movies were my gateways into the world of Hollywood escapism and introduced me to all of the subjects in this enjoyable book. All of the stars in this book were still alive during my childhood and many of them were still active in their careers, though by the 1960s, those still acting, for the most part, had switched to television. You would often see stars from classic movies showing up in TV shows like Wagon Train, Ben Casey, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Route 66, The Big Valley and later, in the 70s, shows like The Love Boat and into the 90s with shows like Murder, She Wrote. These stars often appeared on talk shows as well. Gloria Swanson was a frequent guest on shows like The Merv Griffin Show and The Mike Douglas Show. A few of the stars in this book, like Melvyn Douglas had a renaissance in their movie careers by playing older character parts. Douglas even won his 2nd Academy Award at the age of 79 for his role in "Being There." Glenn Ford, Ralph Bellamy and Kirk Douglas all continued to appear in movies well into their senior citizen years.

The book is filled with nostalgia, juicy gossip and funny stories. One story, told by actress Anne Baxter about a language miscommunication during the filming of "Swamp Water" with French director Jean Renoir, had me in stitches. The book also provides a fundamental education on how the Hollywood Studio system worked and what it meant to be under contract to one of the Studios. You will learn about the tyrants behind the scenes and what happened when stars stood up to them. Readers are also provided a fascinating glimpse into the decline and fall of the Studio system.

At the end of each interview, the interviewers give information on the performers last credits and their age and place of death. Reading each of these concluding epilogues, written years after the interviews had taken place, gave me a twinge of sadness, making me realize how all of these people who were such a part of my life from my childhood into my adult years were now long gone and so was their era of classic movies. Thank goodness their movies live on in the form of DVDs and streaming, and thank goodness for books like this that bring them and their careers momentarily back to life.

[Samantha Glasser · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is nothing like reading about classic movies from the mouths of the people who made them. This book is a valuable resource because it gives the reader a sense of the facts but also of the actor's personality. For example, Gloria Swanson comes off as a bit nuttier here than she did in her autobiography where she had time to edit herself. I loved reading Van Johnson's interview because he is one of my favorites, and I thought Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Joan Blondell, Jane Wyman, and Keye Luke were particularly memorable. The size of the interviews makes this book easy to swallow quickly.

This book includes interviews with Jackie Coogan, Gloria Swanson, Ralph Bellamy, Rory Calhoun, Joseph Cotten, Kirk Douglas, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Glenn Ford, Cary Grant, Van Johnson, Anne Baxter, Joan Blondell, Irene Dunne, Joan Fontaine, Dorothy Lamour, Anna Lee, Dorothy McGuire, Maureen O'Hara, Luise Rainer, Rosalind Russell, Fay Wray, Jane Wyman, Loretta Young, Jane Greer, Audrey Totter, Marie Windsor, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Bob Hope, Margaret Hamilton, Keye Luke, Harold Russell, and Diane Varsi.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely terrific!

If you are a fan of classic movies, this is the book for you. The interviewers are intelligent and know their stuff. The interviews are probing and, I am happy to say, most of the interviewers come across as likeable, decent people.

[Tom Emory Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining on a low-brow level. Chatty and sometimes catty (who is sleeping with whom or who had an abortion). Each chapter has the results of old interviews with Golden Age performers, but it is very uneven with large segments for one actor/actress and very short ones for others. Readers of a certain age, those of us who grew up with 1950s-60s black-and-white televisions, easily recognize all of the interviewees. If there is a solid positive from these interviews, it is how the now-old former stars see their young selves as people and performers. The stars run from the very highest - Cary Grant - to the solid-B actors - Rory Calhoun. For good measure, there are the silent star Gloria Swanson, who seems a little nuts, to cowboy stars Gene Autry and Roy Rogers.

Second Review -- Upon reflection, the entry above reads a little snarky. My apologies. Gloria Swanson, upon rereading, likely was trying to be funny and entertaining, and her take on very old Hollywood is an important part of its history. Glenn Ford comes across as a curmudgeonly old guy. Ralph Bellamy is downright funny and his perspectives are worth a full volume. Add to theses, the wonderful Irene Dunne, Maureen O'Hara, Dorothy Lamour and others and you have a fine walk down Hollywood's Memory Lane. Still three stars, but worth your time.

[Edward Fenner · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fan of old movies, it was interesting, fun, and sometimes sad to hear their stories. I learned a lot of things. One of the most surprising was not only Margaret Hamilton (the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz) originally a kindergarten teacher but two of her students went on to become famous actors: William Windom and Jim Backus! Another cool revelation was that Chinese-American actor Keye Luke was a painter and illustrator before he was an actor. He helped paint some of the murals at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood and he drew some of the artworks in the press book for the original King Kong movie of 1933! Also interesting were his thoughts in the 1980s of what we now call "whitewashing" or "white-casting" back in 1930s-1950s Hollywood. Surprising when compared to the opinions of Asian actors of today. If you love old movies, you'll enjoy this book.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish I liked this book more because it's right up my alley. Unfortunately, the way it is outlined in book format does not make for an easy or enjoyable read. While the book does have interviews from stars such as Gloria Swanson and Glenn Ford which I am all about reading, the interviews are presented in a way that make them seem like the person being interviewed is doing a one man show in their dressing room for no one. I feel to really get enjoyment out of these interviews you would need to watch them rather than reading them in this transcript-esque format.

Also, and this just may be me, but it would be nice if the interviewer and interviewee's names were bold or made to look different than the rest of the text because it makes it all run together.

Definite letdown. Grab another title or pull up an interview somewhere and skip this one.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

As others have pointed out, many of the interviews have a similar voice and the word orchidaceous is used by at least two different people in interview.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for fans of classic Hollywood. This book really gives you a feel for the real person behind the mask.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairly quick read, despite the size. I was familiar with most of the actors here, and enjoyed reading about all of them, even the ones I didn't know or didn't care for. The format was a great choice (brief bio, followed by context for the interview/s and a well edited rundown of questions and answers). The large pictures included were great. I would have liked more, though it probably would have added too much length. The knowledge and passion of the authors shone through. The discussion with the stars seemed thorough, but fair and not sensationalistic. I would recommend it to anyone with at least a bit of interest in any of the actors included here.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not only are the interviews here fun and entertaining, they're often a great insiders' view of Hollywood, the studio system, and the evolution of American cinema. Some subjects make better interviewees than others, but overall the book is a must-read for anyone interested in classic Hollywood films and their stars.

[Mumbler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lot of fun. It's pretty much small tidbits, but there are a lot of good ones.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was fun.............to a point. I don't know that I enjoyed the interview part at times, but it was fun hearing from the actor and actresses about making films, other film stars, how they did things in the movies, etc.... I loved the pictures too. Knew of most of the actors. There were a few new ones I learned about.

A good way to get snippets of many wonderful legends!

Even though the book is thick, it was a fast read.