Starcrossed

by Beverly Linet

Recounts the tragic true story of Hollywood dream couple, Robert Walker and Jennifer Jones, and how the obsessions of one man, movie mogul David O. Selznick, plunged them into ruin

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

320 pages, Hardcover

First published November 18, 1986

Reviews

[KOMET · Rating 5 out of 5]

STAR-CROSSED: The Story of Robert Walker and Jennifer Jones I finished reading hours ago. Before coming to this book, I had some awareness of who Robert Walker and Jennifer Jones were, as well as to some extent, of the movie star status both had achieved during the 1940s. Robert Walker, in particular, I remembered from seeing in the movies Bataan (1943) and Thirty Seconds over Tokyo (1944), which also starred Spencer Tracy and Van Johnson.

Notwithstanding that, it wasn't until I began reading this book that I learned of the relationship that developed between Walker and Jones when they were in drama school together in New York in 1938, their marriage a year later (both were very much in love and very supportive of one another), followed by their initial attempts to break into Hollywood (which proved disappointing; hence their return to New York, where Walker embarked upon a flourishing career in radio, while Jones helped raise their 2 sons and continued in her endeavor to be an actress while doing modelling jobs), and their return to Hollywood, where both Walker and Jones were contracted out to Metro-Goldwyn Mayer (MGM). It was while at MGM that Jones caught the interest of David O. Selznick, a powerful movie producer, screenwriter, and film studio executive best known for his work on Gone with the Wind and Rebecca, who not only took Jones under his wing, determined to make her a star through her first major movie The Song of Bernadette(1943), which earned for Jones a Best Actress Oscar - but was also determined to love and possess her. Consequently, it was Selznick who drove a wedge between Robert Walker and Jennifer Jones, which left Walker utterly devastated and driven to drink heavily. Jones divorced him and hitched her star to Selznick, a controlling, manipulative, and innovative force in the movie industry who would overreach himself and die from a heart attack in 1965, age 63.

I found myself becoming deeply invested in seeing how Robert Walker dealt both with losing Jennifer Jones and with his movie career. His story affected me a lot and the circumstances surrounding his death in August 1951, age 32, led me to believe - based on the conflicting stories Beverly Linet so skillfully elucidated that emerged shortly after Walker's death - that he was murdered. It was a senseless tragedy because Walker was coming into his own as an actor following the resounding success of the film noir movie Strangers on a Train in which he gave a superb performance as the charming psychopath Bruno Antony.

The book also spells out Jones life and career arc, which saw her marry David O. Selznick in 1949, endure several ups and downs in her personal life as well as in Hollywood, and following Selznick's death, go on to her third and final marriage in 1971 to Norton Simon, a multi-millionaire and philanthropist.

All in all, STAR-CROSSED tells a very compelling story that will stay with the reader long after he/she has read it.

[Graceann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fascinating study of the lives of Robert Walker and Jennifer Jones, and just what went wrong in their marriage, is very sympathetic to Walker (and, I believe deservedly so). Selznick saw what he wanted (Jones) and Jones saw what she wanted (a career), and Walker was left in the dust. He was never the same, and we lost him far too soon as a result. This is hauntingly written and stays with you long after you read the final page.

[Dick Baldwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I lifted this from the Amazon listing since I'm too lazy to come up with my own review. I liked the book, and it sheds some light on Robert Walker, a moth who ventured too close to the flame.

"This lively, well-researched portrait of a doomed Hollywood marriage is packed with behind-the-scenes anecdotes (e.g., Jones flees the set of Since You Went Away after a love scene with estranged husband Walker). Linet, a veteran film writer, bases her characterizations of the principals in this ill-fated love triangle on recent interviews with Walker's close friends and relatives. There is nothing new on Jones, who did not cooperate with the author; she is depicted as an ambitious schemer. Walker's mental problems, according to Linet, stemmed from lifelong neglect of his emotional needs. Selznick, Jones's Svengali, flounders in middle age, his creativity corrupted by power and passion."

[seemoya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve tried to be sympathetic towards Jennifer Jones. I don’t want to judge her too harshly since she’s deceased and because I know it’s unfair. By all accounts she really did love David Selznick. But I’m mystified why she would sacrifice her marriage, even if she was terribly ambitious to become a great actress.

Robert Walker gets the most sympathy, but Beverly Linet is able to write a balanced account about everything that transpired and all involved. She even humanizes Selznick, who was lecherous, similar to Harvey Weinstein and also cruel for ruining a young man’s life all because he was obsessed with his wife.

Bobby deserved better. He deserved to live longer, to spend more time with his sons, to continue rebuilding his career, to just be who he wanted. What a waste.

[Michelle Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book quickly. It was fascinating and sad. But there is obviously a story not told. Did Robert Walker have mental, emotional and substance abuse problems? Or was his loss of Jennifer Jones to David O. Selznick just too much for him. Left to the reader to decide or discover, what is clear is, he died too young.