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Click on the title to read the review... |
Bogart By A. M. Sperber and Eric Lax 676 pages |
From Booklist It's the fortieth anniversary of Humphrey Bogart's death, which accounts for the appearance of two major biographies of the star. Literary biographer Meyers' Bogart: A Life in Hollywood focuses on the films, though there is plenty of gossip to fill in the pages. This Sperber-Lax account is weightier in ways that are both better and worse. Sperber, author of the much-praised Murrow (1986), spent seven years researching Bogart before her death; Lax, best known as Woody Allen's biographer, took her notes and first draft and shaped them into a finished product. Every day of Sperber's research shows. |
For instance, Meyers simply repeats the oft-told
story that Andy Williams dubbed Lauren Bacall's song in To Have and Have Not. The Sperber-Lax book details
the memos that prove Bacall sang her own tune. This meticulous attention to detail adds strength and dimension
to the book, but it also tends to drag down the narrative flow. Still, if readers can put up with the pace, they
will learn volumes about such diverse topics as upper-class life at the turn of the century, the inner workings
of Hollywood, the political climate in the 1950s, and what really went on during the filming of Bogart's movies.
An admirable endeavor. Ilene Cooper. |