Return Engagement: Faces to Remember-Then & Now

by James Watters, Horst (Photographs)

From Mary Astor and Joan Bennett to Alexis Smith and Loretta Young, here are the stars who have illuminated our lives, affected our styles, haunted our dreams -then and now, from the beginning of this century through the mid-1980s. Return Engagement offers a unique photographic tribute to 74 remarkable actresses. Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Claudette Colbert, Myrna Loy and Ginger Rogers offer up legendary legacies. Pola Negri, Ruby Keeler, Luise Rainer and Dorothy Lamour bring back enchanting memories of the fads and foibles of their generations. A few are all but forgotten faces -Esther Ralston, "The American Venus", or Billie Dove, perhaps the one true love of Howard Hughes -while other such as Louise Brooks have come back to claim their lost fame.

Now in a series of new portraits by Horst, one of the world's foremost photographers, and fresh interviews with James Watters, LIFE magazine entertainment editor, these stars sparkle and shine again. For those whose last sitting it turned out to be -Lynn Fontanne at 95, Gloria Swanson at 84, and Virginia Bruce at 70 -this book becomes a historic document. For the rest, it is an homage to their not-so-fleeting charms, their rich, varied talents, their place as cultural phenomena. No other century can boast of so many beautiful, gifted women who have left a mark on the social fabric and theatrical heritage of an age. In Return Engagement, revisit these enduring, fascinating stars in memorable photographs and revealing words.

168 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Ady · Rating 5 out of 5]

This might be one of my favourite things ever and Violet got it for me

[Samantha Glasser · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the very first film books I received. My grandparents gave it to me for Christmas.

Horst photographed many famous stars from the silent and classic film era during their heyday, and he went back in the 80s to photograph them again. It is fascinating to see how they changed and how much they stayed the same. Each person gets a short biography to accompany the photos.