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Merchant of Dreams
A look back at Mayer's Hollywood discusses his birth in the Ukraine, his boyhood in Canada, his entry into show business, his early years as a film pioneer, and his legendary stars and star system. 50,000 first printing. $50,000 ad/promo.
- GenresBiography
488 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1993
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42 people want to read
About the author
Charles Higham
77 books22 followersCharles Higham was an author and poet. Higham was a recipient of the Prix des Créateurs of the Académie Française and the Poetry Society of London Prize.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 30, 2019
This is actually one of my favourite Hollywood bios. I really like the author's writing style which keeps the action moving along at a brisk pace.
Having said this, I think Charles Higham had the reputation of being a little loose in his interpretation of certain facts from time to time, although that is not to take away from the huge amount of research that went into this book, with the cooperation of a number of people central to the story, and to Mr Mayer himself. He was clearly trusted with a lot of intimate information.
The author's treatment of his subject is humane and sympathetic generally, but the book is a stark reminder that although the output of Mayer's ideal Hollywood was all about celebrating family values and happy endings, the reality behind the scenes was often dark, merciless and disturbing.
Having said this, I think Charles Higham had the reputation of being a little loose in his interpretation of certain facts from time to time, although that is not to take away from the huge amount of research that went into this book, with the cooperation of a number of people central to the story, and to Mr Mayer himself. He was clearly trusted with a lot of intimate information.
The author's treatment of his subject is humane and sympathetic generally, but the book is a stark reminder that although the output of Mayer's ideal Hollywood was all about celebrating family values and happy endings, the reality behind the scenes was often dark, merciless and disturbing.
January 3, 2022
This is a long biography packed with details and it covers Louis B. Mayer’s life from his birth near Kiev in the 19th century up to his death in UCLA Medical Hospital in 1957. It leans towards the gossipy and the scandalous. It gives a sense of the vast machinery of the studio system (MGM had both an abortionist and a brothel, apparently) without really giving you a good idea of the kind of filmed entertainment it produced. Apart from some side comments about Mayer’s love of family themes and sentimentality there is not a great amount of analysis of the MGM output under Mayer.
I was surprised how much filming took place outside the studio, sometimes in exotic locations like Rome, Africa, or the Pacific Islands and the making-of details behind “Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ” were particularly fascinating.
Higham runs through a ton of films and a ton of stars, name dropping them and occasionally providing some details, but it’s usually details about how difficult they were to work with or how upset they were over their contract and seldom about the kind of performances they gave or the type of artists they were.
The book has a lot of legal details - Mayer was into real estate and participated in some business scams, and before he got involved in pictures he had some interesting businesses that may or may not be relevant to his later career as head of MGM, like selling trash - but it does focus on the dark underbelly of a glamorous era of Hollywood. Mayer was there from almost the beginning, and his reign continued on just past the Hollywood Antitrust Case and the rise of television. In the end he quit his post at MGM when he couldn’t get along with Dore Schary, a rising movie producer from RKO who was installed by the businessmen on the East Coast who really controlled MGM through Loews, Inc. The book ends with a sad coda in which Mayer attempts to gain control of another studio - first Warner Brothers, then RKO - then joins Cinerama, a new motion picture projection technology company, the IMAX of its day, before making one last failed attempt to regain his spot at MGM before he passed away.
This book doesn’t really show you why and how Mayer was important to the history of Hollywood. It gives you all the names and dates of his biography and catalogs all the slights he offered his family and they offered him but a more complete story of Louis B. Mayer’s vision and influence on pictures would have made a more interesting book.
I was surprised how much filming took place outside the studio, sometimes in exotic locations like Rome, Africa, or the Pacific Islands and the making-of details behind “Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ” were particularly fascinating.
Higham runs through a ton of films and a ton of stars, name dropping them and occasionally providing some details, but it’s usually details about how difficult they were to work with or how upset they were over their contract and seldom about the kind of performances they gave or the type of artists they were.
The book has a lot of legal details - Mayer was into real estate and participated in some business scams, and before he got involved in pictures he had some interesting businesses that may or may not be relevant to his later career as head of MGM, like selling trash - but it does focus on the dark underbelly of a glamorous era of Hollywood. Mayer was there from almost the beginning, and his reign continued on just past the Hollywood Antitrust Case and the rise of television. In the end he quit his post at MGM when he couldn’t get along with Dore Schary, a rising movie producer from RKO who was installed by the businessmen on the East Coast who really controlled MGM through Loews, Inc. The book ends with a sad coda in which Mayer attempts to gain control of another studio - first Warner Brothers, then RKO - then joins Cinerama, a new motion picture projection technology company, the IMAX of its day, before making one last failed attempt to regain his spot at MGM before he passed away.
This book doesn’t really show you why and how Mayer was important to the history of Hollywood. It gives you all the names and dates of his biography and catalogs all the slights he offered his family and they offered him but a more complete story of Louis B. Mayer’s vision and influence on pictures would have made a more interesting book.
November 5, 2020
A decent, detailed read of some of the sordid background of Hollywood.
May 2, 2013
Not too pleased with this account of LB. So much in this book is at odds with others I have read. As a rule I usually read a few books on a person or a topic…knowing there will be varied views and facts. This author is a bit too rah rah for me. I put it down a few times …not that I KNOW what went on back then…I guess I have way too much cynicism and am too suspect of things….
August 19, 2012
Excellent biography of a strange but fascinating person. A little dry in places but the annecdotes about the stars and their lives make up for the flat patches.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews