Star-Studded Life
In the true spirit of movies as well as Life, this is primarily a picture book, and most persons will likely concentrate first on the illustrations. And with good reason. They are not old publicity stills profusely published during the last decade. Even faithful readers of Life from 1936 to 1972 will discover that the book is not a compilation of old issues, even though the pages look familiar, particularly the faces of the stars.
Another reason for browsing rather than study is the excellence in layout and photographic detail. After one has skimmed, he will find additional pleasure in closer study. In none of the five chapters is there excessive text, and one page usually carries the sense of the section.
"The Stars" is broken into four parts: heroines, heroes, sex symbols, and clowns. Most of the comment is compressed into picture captions, informative and deftly written. Shirley Temple is given a third of a page of text plus one and two-thirds pages of illustrations covering her life from the age of three in 1931 until 1958 when she appears on the Life cover with her daughter, aged three. Elizabeth Taylor rates four pages, including eleven reproductions of feature covers. Marilyn Monroe appears in black and white, nude, in the famous picture for a 1949 calendar. Life tells the story briefly of how it was used in Life in 1952 and downplayed rather than omitted or sensationalized. "The story created a sensation, but it also won a sympathetic response." Marilyn credits it with saving her professional life. One can hardly help reflecting how different are the mores of 1976 from those of 1952.
"The Buildup" shows how ably Life and similar publications can promote the growth of new attractions whether they be stars or scenarios. "The Movies" is a distillation of the 15 years that Life covered more than 800 films in its "Movie of the Week" feature and a like number otherwise. Such coverage allowed the magazine production anecdotes, whether about making movies or making stills about movies.
"The Studio" though only 34 pages, may be the most valuable for a serious student because it describes the many and complicated jobs of the technicians. It also contains the impressive two-page spread of the M-G-M repertory company of contract players seated around the boss, Louis B. Mayer. There is a poorer but still impressive shot of a set with 53 persons indexed in accordance to their specific tasks and responsibilities. "Behind the Scenes" provides 57 pages of information and pictures about not-so-private lives and about places and activities.
Sophisticated readers will regret that the book does not offer an index if only to show who and what have been left out. If it does not include some of the things they might expect, it does confirm the point made in the introduction. This book covers brilliantly the love affair between Life and Hollywood and about a few Life personages who orchestrated the love affair.
LIFE GOES TO THE MOVIES.David E. Scherman '36, editor;Frank K. Kappler '36, text editor.Time-Life Books, 1975. 304 pp.$19.95.
The Assistant Director of Dartmouth InstructionalServices and Educational Research, Mr.Watson is known coast to coast for his intenseinterest in movies and movie makers, old andyoung.
