He Ran All The Way: The Life of John Garfield

by Robert Nott

This definitive biography, superbly reseached and compellingly written about the original film rebel, is as exciting as the best of Garfield's films. In a sense, Garfield never left the Bronx, but he began his acting career not far away, on Broadway as a member of the Group Theater in the mid-thirties. But soon, seduced by the myth of Hollywood and the reality of Warner Brothers, he made his movie debut, in 1938, in Four Daughters and immediately established himself as an earthy, rebellious and electrifying presence on the screen in retrospect the James Dean of the Depression era. Frequenty cast as a lawbreaker, in such films as They Made Me a Criminal, Dust Be My Destiny, Castle on the Hudson and, late in his career, the cult favorite Force of Evil, Garfield went on to roles in classics like The Postman Always Rings Twice (with Lana Turner), Body and Soul and Gentleman's Agreement .

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Media Tie In, Film

354 pages, Hardcover

First published April 30, 2003

Reviews

[Alessandro Pugliese]

I’ve done a deep dive on John Garfield this year, watching 25 of his films. This hits fairly standard biography points but is an engaging portrait of Garfield’s life. Scattered grammatical errors were odd but Nott clearly did extensive research & interviews providing great anecdotes sprinkled throughout. Garfield has become my favorite actor from the classic Hollywood era, he’s so vibrant on screen and is clearly tapping into a totally different approach.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wasn't sure whether to go for three or four stars for this one. I mainly enjoyed this biography of one of my favourite film actors, which is solidly researched, readable and has a lot of interesting detail about his life and career. However, I was a bit irritated that the author insists on referring to Garfield by his real first name, "Julie" (short for Julius) throughout, instead of 'Garfield' - this seems a bit patronising, and becomes especially confusing where his daughter Julie is occasionally also mentioned! Also, there is some good discussion of a few films, especially 'The Breaking Point' and 'Force of Evil', both great films where the author's enthusiasm comes across, but I feel he is rather dismissive of some other movies that I love too, including the famous noir 'The Postman Always Rings Twice' as well as some lesser-known titles. A must for fans, anyway!

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nott’s biography is a sympathetic portrait of Garfield’s life and career, hitting all the high points and giving readers just enough information to keep the pace moving. But at times, I wish we had gotten a bit more detail, especially regarding Garfield’s radio career. The appendix (which is a wonderful resource) provides a couple pages of Garfield’s radio programs, but only a handful are mentioned in the book, and even then in passing. The typos scattered throughout were also a bit distracting. The strong points were discussions of Garfield’s early life and the chapter on HUAC, which provides a solid summary of the proceedings and many pages of direct testimony. Overall, this biography gave me what I was seeking, and also left me wanting to track down the other handful of books on Garfield.

[Mick Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really in depth book about a star seldom read about.covers his early life,films and theatre work.he was seen to have sold out to hollywood,and then realised that he was in a film factory with very little choice in parts he played.like richard burton a few years later.as regards his poltical stance i got the impression that rather than being involved directly it was guilt by association,his wife robbe.i think he would if the communist witch hunt hadn't come along he would have had a second career,thanks to the up and coming so called method actors who would have lourded him.thinking about it james franco would make a good john garfield if there was a bio film made.

[Howard Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

A terrific read about one of Hollywood's saddest leading men.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite actors. When I saw this book had to get to read about the man beside the actor. Excellent book.

[Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one broke my heart.