Ronald Colman, A Very Private Person

by Juliet Benita Colman

Considering there is not much available about the great Ronald Colman, this biography written by his daughter provides a look into the life of this brilliant actor.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

294 pages, Hardcover

First published November 24, 1975

Reviews

[GoldGato · Rating 4 out of 5]

That voice! The great Ronald Colman was such a fine actor, built for the silver screen. He didn't spend time embellishing with great gestures, nor did he method-ize his way into a role. He just was.

Here, Colman's daughter provides a rare biography of her father, giving a complete overview of his life, including his time at the front in World War I. It was his injury in that war which led him to take on acting as a career and he eventually ended up in silent pictures. When the talkies came along, Colman became even more successful, thanks to his wondrous voice. A proud member of the Hollywood Raj, he remained in California until his death in 1958.

This is a basic biography, told with love by a daughter who lost her father sooner than she wanted. Given the dearth of much about Ronald Colman, this is a very welcome read and rather enjoyable. And that voice!

Book Season = Year Round (distinguished poignancy)

[Nicole Marie Story · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a great look into the life of the debonaire classic film actor of Ronald Colman. Written by his daughter, it covers his early days as a shipping clerk in England, to his time of serving in World War I, to his stage acting, to his silent film acting, to his acting in talkies, to his working in radio, to his working in television. It describes his social life and two marriages. I was intrigued to read this book because not only does he rank as my favourite male actor of all time, but we also share a birthday of February 9 albeit 91 years apart so I was fascinated to know if we share similar personalities, the biography proving such to be true. We are both sophisticated gentlepersons with a zest for perfection and rational thinking all whilst believing that a shangri-la does exist. He obsessed over, for instance, the writer's choice of a semicolon versus comma in a script, something that I would do. My only criticism of the book is that the author wrote it with 30-year shelf life, so to speak, as it uses nicknames and first names of people who mattered in the early twentieth century to whom I have a very sparse knowledge (and this is coming from a classic film scholar). Also she glorifies her mother in a way that is quite annoying. But overall, I enjoyed very much the learning about the hard working master of the screen, Mr. Ronald Colman.

[amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considering there is not much available about the great Ronald Colman, this biography written by his daughter provides a look into the life of this brilliant actor.

[Tirzah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hollywood's been in a slump for a number of years; in fact, I can't tell you the last time a really good movie hit theaters. Even BC (Before Covid; no, that's not original), the quality of movies were on sharp decline. As a result, I turn to old movies. I grew up with B&Ws and there were a number of classic actors/actresses who graced the family TV on a regular basis (John Wayne, Shirley Temple, Rathbone & Bruce to name a few), but there are many classic actors/actresses I am now just discovering, Ronald Colman being one of them. In the midst of my researching his films, I learned of this biography written by his only child. I was quite delighted when I saw there was one copy in my library system, so of course, I had to read it.

I recommend to Colman fans and those who have a general interest in cinematic history. Colman started out in silents and successfully transitioned to talkies and his career ended in radio and a bit of TV; thus, he lived through the various stages of cinema. His daughter, Juliet, writes well and I feel she does a find job giving an objective account of her father's life. One can tell she loves and admires her father, yet she doesn't put him on a pedestal.

My one complaint is that she gives spoilers for almost all his movies that she discusses in length. I haven't gotten around to watching all of his available movies yet, so that was a little annoying. I eventually got smart and skimmed whenever she began summarizing movies. Other than that, I found Colman's life and the memories of the several people who worked with him highly interesting.

*This is where my review officially ends, but for fellow Colman fans, I've written the details of how I discovered his films:

I actually watched a Colman film for the first time as a child when my family watched A Tale of Two Cities; at the time, the main focus for all of us was seeing Basil Rathbone as the villain! I watched Romola this summer in which Colman has a very small role, but I was watching for William Powell (another classic actor I discovered a few years ago and who was one of Colman's good friends!) Then later this summer, I rewatched A Tale of Two Cities after listening to a discussion on the book and appreciated Colman's performance more this time around. Weeks later, I was scrolling through a list of old period films and saw If I Were King with Ronald Colman and Basil Rathbone's names under the title. Sold! Well, from there, I just kept looking for Colman films and I still have a good number to get through - I'll fret about withdrawal later! I've watched all the Colman silents I have access to, except Stella Dallas, but I doubt that will be my favorite and I'll get to that one eventually. My favorite silent is The White Sister with Beau Geste being a close second. I already knew silents could be hilarious, thanks to Laurel & Hardy, but I didn't know how poignant silents could be until watching The White Sister and Beau Geste. Out of the Colman talkies I've watched so far...I don't want to choose a favorite, because he's great in all of them; however, I have a soft spot for Tale of Two Cities since that is what really introduced me to him.

[Mh430 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is no Mommie Dearest exposé. The author was Ronald Colman's daughter and she's proud of it. This book was written fifty years ago so many of the actors, directors, and writers who knew Colman were still around and could provide favorable remembrances about him. And yet, Ms. Colman also allows us to see that even the biggest Hollywood stars were occasionally plagued by insecurities and in this case her mother Benita Hume paid a price for them. Ronald Colman is certainly humanized here but I'm happy to report he's allowed to remain a figure worthy of his legendary reputation among fans of cinema's golden age.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite actors, enjoy reading, for not alot of information about him.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ronald Colman is a legend, he was known as the man with the velvet voice. One of my all time favourite actors. This is nice book written by Ronald Colman’s daughter. Loved reading about how started his acting career and the personal struggles along the way.