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Competing with Idiots: Herman and Joe Mankiewicz, a Dual Portrait
A fascinating, complex dual biography of Hollywood's most dazzling—and famous—brothers, and a dark, riveting portrait of competition, love, and enmity that ultimately undid them both.One most famous for having written Citizen Kane (with Orson Welles, as most recently portrayed in David Fincher's acclaimed Netflix film, Mank); the other, All About Eve; one, who only wrote screenplays but believed himself to be a serious playwright, slowly dying of alcoholism and disappointment; the other, a four-time Academy Award-winning director, auteur, sorcerer, and seducer of leading ladies, one of Hollywood's most literate and intelligent filmmakers. Herman Mankiewicz brought us the Marx Brothers' Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, Duck Soup, W. C. Fields's Million Dollar Legs, wrote screenplays for Dinner at Eight, Pride of the Yankees, cowrote Citizen Kane (Pauline Kael proclaimed that the script was mostly Herman's), and eighty-nine others . . . Talented, witty (Alexander Woollcott thought him "the funniest man who ever lived,"), huge-hearted, wildly immature, a figure of renown and success.Herman went to Hollywood in 1926, was almost immediately successful (his telegram to Hecht back "MILLIONS ARE TO BE GRABBED OUT HERE AND YOUR ONLY COMPETITION IS IDIOTS. DON'T LET THIS GET AROUND."), becoming one of the highest-paid screenwriters in Hollywood . . . Joe, eleven years younger, focused, organized, a disciplined writer, with a far more distinguished career, surpassing his worshipped older brother . . . producing The Philadelphia Story, writing and directing A Letter to Three Wives and All About Eve, both of which won him Oscars for writing and directing (All About Eve received a record fourteen Oscar nominations), before seeing his career upended by the spectacular fiasco of Cleopatra . . . In this large, moving portrait, meticulously woven together by the grandson of Herman, great-nephew of Joe, we see the lives of these two men--their dreams and desires, their fears and feuds, struggling to free themselves from their dark past; and the driving forces that kept them bound to a system they loved and hated.
346 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 14, 2021
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171 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
September 22, 2021
For movie buffs:
An intimate look at Hollywood giants Herman and Joe Mankiewicz from their early childhood growing up (eleven years apart with a middle sister Erna) with a dominating, exacting, demanding, academic father and largely laid back mother.
The brothers arrival in Hollywood is chronicled as is their very different personalities and their Hollywood hits and misses are detailed to the nth degree.
The writing got bogged down as the author too often repeated word for word dialogue from scripts and or movies the brothers worked on.
An interesting read but at times dragged, something Herman and Joe may have had something to say about.
An intimate look at Hollywood giants Herman and Joe Mankiewicz from their early childhood growing up (eleven years apart with a middle sister Erna) with a dominating, exacting, demanding, academic father and largely laid back mother.
The brothers arrival in Hollywood is chronicled as is their very different personalities and their Hollywood hits and misses are detailed to the nth degree.
The writing got bogged down as the author too often repeated word for word dialogue from scripts and or movies the brothers worked on.
An interesting read but at times dragged, something Herman and Joe may have had something to say about.
February 19, 2022
An entertaining blend of Hollywood history and psychological speculation from the author who is the son of Joe Mankiewicz daughter. This was one brainy and talented family fraught with personal demons and family dysfunction. The brothers were prolific screenwriters in desperate unstated competition. Herman's alcoholism got him an early grave and Joe, charming as a fox, seems always at a distance from his successes which were many.
Their stories are full of Hollywood lore about first-generation Hollywood actors and actresses, troubled marriages, and strained personal relationships. The book brings them to a level of human understanding despite necessary and inevitable speculation on their creative and personal motivations.
I favor personal insights blended with entertainment history and was not really aware of the Mankiewicz brothers as a phenomenon so I found the book quite engrossing.
Their stories are full of Hollywood lore about first-generation Hollywood actors and actresses, troubled marriages, and strained personal relationships. The book brings them to a level of human understanding despite necessary and inevitable speculation on their creative and personal motivations.
I favor personal insights blended with entertainment history and was not really aware of the Mankiewicz brothers as a phenomenon so I found the book quite engrossing.
November 4, 2021
Are motion pictures merely entertainment, or are they worthy of serious, academic study? It’s clear that Helene Meyers believes that movies have made an important contribution to American culture: she explores the way Jewish films have influenced Jews and Gentiles in “Movie-Made Jews: An American Tradition” (Rutgers University Press). Two movie-making brothers, Herman and Joe Mankiewicz, however, might greatly disagree with her about the importance of films, although they would be less likely to speak about the portrayal of Jews in movies since few of the ones they made featured Jewish characters. Their lives and films are discussed in “Competing with Idiots: Herman and Joe Mankiewicz, a dual portrait” (Alfred A. Knopf).
See the rest of my review at https://www.thereportergroup.org/arch...
See the rest of my review at https://www.thereportergroup.org/arch...
March 7, 2022
What is really fascinating about this dual biography of Joe and Herman Mankiewicz is the insight it gives about how Herman's family, including author Nick Davis, perceive Joe.
As a classic cinema fan who lists Mankiewicz among the greatest producers and directors to ever work in the field, it is illuminating to see how his emotional standoffishness is contrasted against his brother's gambling and alcoholism. Davis pushes this sibling dynamic even when those on Joe's side of the family overtly say it isn't at play.
If anything, more than a biography, this is a strange family album of generations of Mankiewicz experience, trauma, and pain that continues to try and make meaning out of two brothers finding film success in drastically different ways.
As a classic cinema fan who lists Mankiewicz among the greatest producers and directors to ever work in the field, it is illuminating to see how his emotional standoffishness is contrasted against his brother's gambling and alcoholism. Davis pushes this sibling dynamic even when those on Joe's side of the family overtly say it isn't at play.
If anything, more than a biography, this is a strange family album of generations of Mankiewicz experience, trauma, and pain that continues to try and make meaning out of two brothers finding film success in drastically different ways.
December 26, 2023
A unique retrospective of Herman and Joe Mankiewicz by Herman's grandson Nick Davis. He reads his own work with pragmatism, a bit of wry "Mankiewiczian humour", to quote the author, and with a strong sense of respect, love, lament and loss. Respect for the talent of great grandfather Franz, his father and great uncle; love for family members who often made it impossible to love; lament and loss for Herman's drinking and Joe's growing misogyny - the last which, I think, is greatly reflected in his films beginning with All About Eve. The audiobook lends an intimacy which would have been lacking in the hard copy - it's especially poignant just at the end, when Davis shares his acknowledgements of previous biographers. The author is deft at alternating his chronology between the older Herman - all emotion and spontaneity - and the younger Joe - all preparation and, well, cunning. Davis is not shy about exposing the gnarly personalities and difficult relationships exacerbated by drinking and psychological manipulation. You've seen a movie written by Herman. You've seen a movie directed by Joe. This book adds great value to your library if you're immersed in biographies of the studio moguls or certain female film stars. I chuckled out loud more than once!
February 16, 2022
This is an extensively researched very personal and somewhat quirky biography of the tortured lives and relationships of the author’s grandfather and his great uncle. It explores the interactions of these two brothers with their father, and how this affected several generations of their family. The fact that these two men were titans in Hollywood’s heyday means there are many stories and anecdotes about the stars, studios, etc.
The book is well written but so selective it seemed like there is a whole layer of stories NOT being told as much as the ones which made it into print. In addition, since the brothers were more competitive than close as a family, it felt like the book could have been written as two separate books in a series (which might include a third volume of additional material?).
If you are interested in Hollywood from the 1920’s through the 1950’s there is a lot of information of interest here. But there was a definite disconnect for this reader — something did not add up.
The book is well written but so selective it seemed like there is a whole layer of stories NOT being told as much as the ones which made it into print. In addition, since the brothers were more competitive than close as a family, it felt like the book could have been written as two separate books in a series (which might include a third volume of additional material?).
If you are interested in Hollywood from the 1920’s through the 1950’s there is a lot of information of interest here. But there was a definite disconnect for this reader — something did not add up.
August 2, 2022
a little goes a long way.
Way more "Joe" memoir, than "Herman" (much less 'Herman & Joe'), imo.
Not sure why I choose this of the lot -- especially after Fincher's 2020 feature is what sparked my initial curiosity? In hindsight, I absolutely should have gone with that source material: Pauline Kael's 1971 New Yorker, revelatory expose, Raising Kane.
January 27, 2025
What a spectacular treat!
A member of one of Hollywood's most celebrated film making families brilliantly tells the story of its most famous members - brothers Herman and Joseph Mankiewicz - with delightful looks at all their relatives and stellar coworkers. Both brothers have been written about before, but this author brings a unique perspective, rich with the stories and frank opinions passed on by family. The result is a rich, extremely fascinating book, packed with humor and genuine insight on what made these highly competitive men tick. An absolute from page one onward, I genuinely hated coming to the ending. This book is a must for fans of golden age Hollywood.
A member of one of Hollywood's most celebrated film making families brilliantly tells the story of its most famous members - brothers Herman and Joseph Mankiewicz - with delightful looks at all their relatives and stellar coworkers. Both brothers have been written about before, but this author brings a unique perspective, rich with the stories and frank opinions passed on by family. The result is a rich, extremely fascinating book, packed with humor and genuine insight on what made these highly competitive men tick. An absolute from page one onward, I genuinely hated coming to the ending. This book is a must for fans of golden age Hollywood.
May 15, 2025
What a wallow for film buffs! This book has it all – informed analysis of some of the greatest films of all time (Citizen Kane, All About Eve and more) as well compelling family history. I enjoyed learning about the men who made the movies and that our guide in this journey is a member of the Mankiewicz clan adds dimension. There's juicy gossip (Judy Garland, Elizabeth Taylor), family estrangements and heartbreak. Clear-eyed but sympathetic, Nick Davis is a good storyteller – when I had to put it down I couldn't wait to get back to it. Highly recommended for those who love classic film.
March 23, 2022
I really loved this book! It was entertaining and informative. I’m definitely not an Old Hollywood fan, but enjoyed googling and watching some old classics as I went through the book. I listened to the author read this in the audio version, and he was terrific. I found myself stopping to laugh and cry on my daily walks.
May 9, 2022
Fascinating and fun to read. Great Hollywood stories, but what makes the book unique is the family relationship and background of the author, which allow deeply personal insights into the two subjects. Herman and Joe are brought to life so vividly: funny, brilliant, pathetic and deeply human. I can't imagine another biography of them being so insightful.
July 22, 2023
Davis does little or no archival research, resulting in a deeply flawed family history. Some of the secondary sources are notoriously flawed. The result is a retelling of the family legend with many inaccuracies included. In particular, the account of the SDG meeting contains many errors. The bibliography shows his lack of research with key works missing.
December 29, 2022
Ok Biography on Two Brothers
I find the lives of these two filmmakers interesting but the writing is clunky. I felt I had to push myself through this book because I was interested in the subject matter.
I find the lives of these two filmmakers interesting but the writing is clunky. I felt I had to push myself through this book because I was interested in the subject matter.
January 24, 2022
Love old Hollywood stories. Also very intimate since author is grandson and great nephew of protagonist. Would have been very helpful with a family tree and more dates or timeline
April 29, 2022
Fascinating Hollywood movie history and very well written.
Audiobook performed by the author, Nick Davis
Audiobook performed by the author, Nick Davis
May 20, 2022
Probing and psychologically honest portrait of the family dynamics of the storied filmmaking family. Highly recommended if you are at all interested in the topic.
May 31, 2022
Pending
May 19, 2023
Some great stories and a lot of interesting info, but as another reviewer mentioned, the writing can be a bit clunky and amateurish at times.
June 26, 2023
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me
December 26, 2021
So Well Written!
I bought this book because I have always been interested in this talented family. The writing was much better than anticipated; it was far from a standard biography. It was the rare book that one hates to see coming to an end.
I bought this book because I have always been interested in this talented family. The writing was much better than anticipated; it was far from a standard biography. It was the rare book that one hates to see coming to an end.
December 21, 2021
A well-sourced and affectionate dual biography by grandson and grand nephew of the Brothers Mankiewicz. Has some strange lapses in continuity and repetition-not sure if meant to evoke some of the subjects' screenwriting gimmicks or just poor editing. Unfortunately, Herman still exits 2/3 of the way through, leaving the remainder of the book a fairly generic Hollywood bio.
December 5, 2023
Very simply if you love movies, especially older ones like Citizen Kane or All About Eve this is a must read. The book, written by a grandson of one of the screenwriters presents them as humans, warts and all. He never shies away from their foibles but also writes of their genius.
April 28, 2022
This guy can write. I read the final pages standing up with my eyes competing with my brain--I wanted to slow down and savor it but my eyes kept pulling ahead.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews