Hollywood's Gentleman Hero
Author: Carl Rollyson
Genre: Biography/Hollywood
Hardcover; Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9798887714387; 9798887714370
Bear Manor Media
568 Pages
$46.00; $36.00; $9.95 Amazon
March 27, 2024
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ronald Colman, the silent film star who showed a generation of actors how to perform for the talkies, remained Hollywood's gentleman hero for more than two decades. He appeared with many of the screen's leading ladies, including Lillian Gish, Joan Bennett, Kay Francis, Loretta Young, Ida Lupino, Greer Garson, Jean Arthur, and Ginger Rogers. As the epitome of the Hollywood gentleman, he immortalized the self-sacrificing hero in his signature role of Sydney Carton in A Tale of Two Cities. Not as well known are Colman's major contributions to radio comedy and drama with appearances on Jack Benny's show in company with his wife, actress Benita Hume, who co-starred with him in The Halls of Ivy, the Peabody award winning radio series about a college president and his enchanting wife. An Academy Award winner for A Double Life, the story of an actor playing Othello, who confuses his life with his role. Colman achieved a sublime performance. Then in the early days of television Colman created several characters who express an eloquent testament of a man and actor whose legacy is finally and fully recognized in this biography.
✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽
First off, I will tell you (as I've said many times before) that I absolutely love anything to do with the Golden Age of Hollywood, including actors/directors/studios, etc. I've been watching these films with my parents since I was a small girl, and developed a healthy admiration of the actors and the films themselves. I have seen more of them than I can count, and own thousands, including most of Mr. Colman's pictures.
Saying that, of course I was interested in reading this biography, and I will tell you that it is very well researched, and quite a tome as well, topping over 500 pages. But -- and that is a big but -- the first section of the book lists synopses of his films with almost everything to do with the plot (they aren't really synopses, but lack of a better word--), giving the plot, the characters, the actors, etc.; so you know everything about every single film, even if you've never seen it. Now you don't have to. I'm not saying that this is wrong, but here comes the but-- in the second section of the book the author downright repeats everything in the first.
The difference is that in the second section we learn about Ronald Colman himself, from his upbringing (which is rather sparse, unfortunately), to his life in Hollywood, his friends (which I knew from reading Warner Baxter's bio, but that is neither here nor there), and how he met and married his first wife, Thelma Raye, an unhappy marriage, to his very happy one with his second, Betina Hume.
The third section focuses on his legacy year by year. There are events, anecdotes, and references; some of it is quite worthy to read. The fourth section lists the 'supporting players', those actors who were in his films and bits of information regarding them.
There are around a dozen or so photographs in one section of this book, and many of them are worth viewing if you have not seen them before.
All in all, I did enjoy this book and learning more about Mr. Colman. I have always found him to be attractive, suave, disciplined, and oh, so expressive in his face. You can see the emotions play across his face in every role, and, it has been said and I will reiterate, he had one of the most beautiful voices in Hollywood. Not deep like Gregory Peck, but lyrical and feeling. You could learn a lot just listening to him talk.
This is a wonderful book on Ronald Colman, and I enjoyed reading it and will definitely add it to my collection. There will never be another actor like him. Read the book, watch his films, and enjoy every moment. You will not regret it. Recommended.
More on Carl Rollyson's Books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Carl-Rollyson/author/B001IZTA16?ref=
No comments:
Post a Comment