10 Entertainment


illuminating account of the films made separately during the 1940s, assessing how they related to their earlier musicals and looks at the development of the star personas both together and apart. We can dance with them in Lucky Partners, Dick and Harry, Roxie Hart, You’ll Never Get Rich, Holiday Inn, You Were Never Lovelier, Ziegfeld Follies, Blue Skies, Lady in the Dark, Easter Parade and many more. 256 very large pages in well illustrated softback. £21.99 NOW £7.50


70452 BRING ON THE


EMPTY HORSES by David Niven


A welcome reprint of this now classic book according to the New York Times as ‘Might easily be the best book ever written about Hollywood’. David Niven was filming The Charge of the Light Brigade for director Michael Curtiz, ‘whose Hungarian-orientated English was a joy to us all’. High on the


rostrum he decided the moment had come to order the arrival on the scene of a hundred riderless chargers. ‘Okay’, he yelled into a megaphone, ‘bring on the empty horses!’ Niven lived, worked and partied in Hollywood in the 1930s and 40s. He knew everyone from producers to gossip columnists and friends included Humphrey Bogart and Errol Flynn. Hollywood was more the City of Sinners than Angels and in this box of delights the truth of the film industry as it was then and its stars and players are tantalisingly revealed. The index alone reads like a who’s who or superb reading list (books made into films). 352pp in paperback with some very funny stories indeed. £8.99 NOW £4


70719 SCENES FROM A REVOLUTION: The Birth of


the New Hollywood by Mark Harris


How clever to take just five films and from them construct a readable social history of a time in


Hollywood, during the 1960s, when America was on the cusp of profound change and these films reflected that revolutionary state. The five films, all of them vying for


Best Picture of 1967, were: Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, In the Heat of the Night and, surprisingly in that otherwise very serious company, Doctor Dolittle. The first four addressed a social issue within the context of their chosen genres. The last was a universally dismissed children’s musical that most observers felt had bought its way to the final five. It had cost more than twice as much to produce and promote as the other four combined. It had been the only movie of the five that had been fuelled by a studio’s goal to manufacture an immense popular hit, and the only one that flopped! However, The Sound of Music had just become the highest-earning film in history, and moviegoers seemed in the mood for change. The five movies had one thing in common. They had all been imagined for the first time many years earlier, in a world that bore little resemblance to the one in which they arrived in 1967. This is the fascinating story of what happened to those movies, to the hopes and ambitions of their creators and to American film-making. 490 paperback pages with b/w archive photos. £8.99 NOW £4


70082 DARK VICTORY: The


Life of Bette Davis by Ed Sikov


The year was 1939 when Dark Victory was directed by Edmund Goulding with supporting actors George Brent and Geraldine Fitzgerald. ‘A dark, square-cut mink jacket and matching hat frames Bette Davis’s face and neck, the fur lent an extra touch of sparkle by virtue of its glamorous silver tips. She is seated at a table at an


elegant restaurant - a violin is playing in the distance - and she is angry. It’s a seething, bitter anger, and so she is systematically getting drunk, having discovered in the previous scene two devastating pieces of information: she is dying, and, far worse, she has been lied to. She is talking to her two dinner companions, one of whom is her neurosurgeon and fiancé, the other her best friend…’ All four of Bette Davis’s husbands found her difficult, cantankerous, sniping and rude, prone to picking fights and apt to drink too much. Even when elderly, crippled by a stroke and weakened by breast cancer, this leading actress of Hollywood still compelled the world to look at her and compelled herself to keep acting. A tremendously detailed biography by the US film historian. 479pp in paperback with 16 pages of b/w photos. $17 NOW £6


70090 MAE WEST: It Ain’t No


Sin by Simon Louvish The first and possibly the most talented 20th century sex icon, Mae West was not just unbelievably seductive but also the witty author of a string of box office hits. As a playwright she pretended to dash off her scripts over a few alcohol- fuelled evenings, concealing the reality of the painstaking hard work on the repartee that made her famous. Celebrated for her one-


liners, she in fact did not utter on screen the most famous of them all, “Is that a gun in your pocket...” until her last film Sextette, released in 1976 when she was 83, into which she packed a compendium of legendary witticisms including “It’s not the men in your life, it’s the life in your men”. Destined early for stardom, Mary West grew up in Brooklyn and joined Ned Wayburn’s Institute of Dancing, where “Chorus Girls are Made Ready for the Footlights.” Mae had ambitions beyond the chorus line and her first play, Sex, and second, Drag, dealing with homosexuality, established her status as a breaker of taboos. This superbly researched biography not only charts Mae’s life in meticulous detail but also considers the wider history of music hall and film, including the significance of Mae’s repertoire which included black and ragtime music. Her life, loves, husbands and iconic status are all put under the spotlight. 491pp, b/w photos, chronology. Paperback. $17.95 NOW £6


70715 NICE TO SEE IT, TO SEE IT, NICE: The 1970s in


Front of the Telly by Brian Viner


In his wonderfully warm and witty account of growing up in front of the television in the 1970s, the author pays tribute to an era which happily coincided with his own formative years. In those days, there were no such things as Playstations, video recorders, the Internet or


Ipods. For its entertainment, the nation switched on the telly. Because of all these new inventions, watching the box will never again be the collective experience it was then, when programmes such as The Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show were practically part of the national psyche, attracting many millions of viewers. That was the decade of power-cuts and the three-day week, of Chopper bikes and Spacehoppers, kipper ties and curly perms, Abba and the Bay City Rollers. It was also the decade of Fawlty Towers and Porridge, A Bouquet of Barbed Wire and I Claudius, The Sweeney and Starsky and Hutch. These, and many others, as well as such unlikely icons as Olive from On The Buses, are fondly remembered in this hilarious and affectionate memoir. 310 paperback pages. £12.99 NOW £4.50


67367 MONTY PYTHON: From the Flying Circus to Spamalot


by Richard Topping Back in 1969 Cleese, Palin, Chapman, Gilliam, Jones and Idle were brought together and a comedy legend was born. This fully updated paperback edition includes a full episode guide and filmography, plus biogs of all the Pythons with 16 pages of b/w archive photos. Let’s


ONLY £1


revisit unashamedly the Knights Who Say Ni, the Upper Class Twit of the Year Competition, The People’s Front of Judea and The Galaxy Song. 188pp. REDUCED. £8.99 NOW £1


67382 MY WORD IS MY BOND: The Autobiography


by Roger Moore and Gareth Owen Opinion has it that Sir Roger’s autobiography is the funniest film memoir since David Niven’s The Moon’s a Balloon, but it is more than that. This is a warm, winning mix of self-deprecation and praise for family, friends and colleagues, from which he emerges as a figure every bit as dashing, but rather better natured, than any he has played on screen. Think of The Saint and Bond. Here, he recollects his stellar career and the amazing cast of characters he has worked and played with over the years. His wicked sense of humour shines through. 416 paperback pages, colour and b/w photos. £8.99 NOW £4.50


68038 EDGE OF MIDNIGHT: The Life of John Schlesinger by William Mann


In writing this authorised biography, the author chronicles the famous director’s life and career, from his early documentary days at the BBC to his emergence as one of the four Angry Young Men of British film in the 1960s. Not forgotten are the Academy Award for the X-rated Midnight Cowboy and the massive stroke in 2003 which caused his death. John Schlesinger will most be remembered for his interest in other cultures and races, and his commitment to film-making that dealt with facing compromise in one’s life and relationships. Of particular note in his films was his focus on homosexual characters shown as normal, loving human beings. 628 pages with b/w archive photos. $27.95 NOW £3.75


68078 THEATRICAL WORLD OF ANGUS MCBEAN


by Fredric Woodbridge Wilson !


The photography of Angus McBean includes memorable productions of the Old Vic Company and of what is now the Royal Shakespeare Company, many opera productions, ballet and operetta at and West End productions of plays and musicals. He photographed countless plays starring John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson and Alec Guinness, not to mention younger stars of the time such as Audrey Hepburn, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. The splendid photos in this book are taken direct from the Harvard University collection’s original negatives. 176 large pages bursting with b/w archive photos with a note on the Angus McBean Archive, index of subjects by name, index of productions by title and photographer’s negative numbers. £32.95 NOW £6.25


68789 GEORGE CLOONEY: The Illustrated Biography by Shana Cushman


Clooney has carved out a unique place in Hollywood. He is respected for his talents as an actor, producer, writer and director, while simultaneously enjoying sex symbol status with women the world over. From a baseball wannabe in Kentucky to one of Hollywood’s leading men, his story is that of a late bloomer. His breakthrough role was of Dr Doug Ross on the hit TV medical drama ER. Since then, he has starred in a run of box office hits, including the Ocean’s Eleven remake. 160 paperback pages, colour plates and archive b/w photos. £12.99 NOW £4


69851 OTHERWISE ENGAGED: The Life of Alan Bates by Donald Spoto


‘Look Back In Anger’ was the play that changed the course of British theatre and Alan’s life. In 1956 at the age of 22, Alan Bates was cast in John Osborne’s controversial play. With a sudden rush of fame, he became a member of a new circle of actors at the Royal Court, the English Stage Company. From then on he also worked steadily in TV and won international acclaim for his roles in a number of major films from ‘A Kind of Loving’ and ‘Zorba the Greek’ to ‘Women in Love’. But his personal life was not always as straightforward as his career - his relationships including that with his wife Victoria Ward were often turbulent. In this serious and sympathetic critical appraisal, articles from long ago have been delved into. One from Time Magazine in 1972 states: ‘Bates went through a homosexual period, (and) lived for a time with actor Peter Wyngarde.’ This was not mere gossip, as many knew; he simply did not want his private life public. Spoto marvellously chronicles Alan’s achievements as a performer against a backdrop of a complicated personal life. 308pp in paperback with 16 pages of b/w photos. £8.99 NOW £4


Bibliophile Books Unit 5 Datapoint, 6 South Crescent, London E16 4TL TEL: 020 74 74 24 74 68927 SHEPPERTON STORY: The History of


the World-Famous Film Studio by Gareth Owen


Over eight decades, the magic of this grand stately home has been enjoyed by many famous stars and filmmakers - the likes of Sir Alexander Korda, Stanley Kubrick, Humphrey Bogart, John Wayne, Charlie Chaplin, Deborah Kerr, Peter Cushing, Sir Alec Guinness, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hanks and Sir Michael Caine, to name but a few. They brought to life such films as The Third Man, Richard III, Dr Strangelove, Frankenstein and The Da Vinci Code. Includes the financial worries, the rivalries and contributions from the stars. 351 paperback pages, colour with b/w archive photos and filmography. £25 NOW £7.50


69902 50 YEARS OF CORONATION STREET: The


(Very) Unofficial Story by Sean Egan


To enable him to write this peerless, fascinating account of how Coronation Street became the most successful drama in the history of television, the author was granted access to the show’s creators, producers, directors, writers and actors. With their help, he has


produced the most comprehensive history of Corrie ever, taking the reader through the show’s tortuous genesis, its backstage crises and its ultimate triumphant ascendancy. Interwoven with an analysis of the production methods by which Corrie maintains its commercial success. Here are the programme’s moving marriages, unforgettable deaths and exciting story lines as well as profiles of some of the Street’s most famous residents: Ena Sharples, Annie Walker, Mike Baldwin, Hilda Ogden and many more. 314 pages. £18.99 NOW £4


69017 SOMEBODY: Marlon Brando by Stefan Kanfer


Brando the actor and Brando the man were one and the same - complicated, dangerous, vulnerable. For his triumphs in On the Waterfront, The Godfather and The Last Tango in Paris, as well as his disasters in roles he took for money or on a whim, for the power of the portrayals he gave on screen and for his turbulent personal life, here we are given the definitive life of this iconic artist. Kanfer constructs a compassionate view of Brando, his torments and his artistic legacy. Packed with juicy morsels to satisfy film buff readers. 352pp in illus paperback.


£9.99 NOW £2.50


69025 BAD BOY DRIVE by Robert Sellers Subtitled “The Wild Life and Fast Times of Marlon Brando, Dennis Hopper, Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson”, this is precisely what you get. They boozed, snorted and shagged their way into Hollywood legend, and along the way changed the craft of film acting and the way movies were made forever. Brando, Nicholson and Beatty all lived on Mulholland Drive, a long and winding road that snakes up one of the prettiest hillsides in Hollywood and, such was the regularity of their professional visits there, the cops nicknamed it Bad Boy Hill. B/w photos and a wealth of wonderful quotes. 322pp.


£17.99 NOW £4.50


69075 KATE: The Woman Who Was Hepburn by William Mann


With the help of her never-before-interviewed family and friends, the author has created an intimate close-up that brings to life the private Katharine Hepburn. Reveals an ambitious yet vulnerable woman who overcame hurt and fierce obstacles to achieve the artistry she desired. All the women she was are cunningly woven into a definitive portrait of a fascinatingly complex personality. 621 pages, archive photos. Paperback. £9.99 NOW £3


69478 DAVID LEAN: A Biography by Kevin Brownlow


A massive biography of the director of Dr Zhivago, The Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia. David Lean found his first great success as a director of the appropriately titled Great Expectations. There followed his legendary black and white films of the 1940s and his four-film movie collaboration with Noël Coward. Lean’s 1955 Summertime took him from England to the world of international movie making and the stunning series of spectacular colour epics that would gain for his work 27 Academy Awards and 56 Academy Award nominations. 16 pages of scenes from his colour films, 32 pages from his b/w movies plus other photos. Outsize softback, 810pp. £25 NOW £10


69487 HAPPY HOOFER by Celia Imrie


In love with Rudolph Nureyev and ballet, Celia left school at the age of 16 with virtually no qualifications but has become one of our finest and funniest actresses on stage, TV and screen. She has been adored for her roles in Acorn Antiques, Dinner Ladies, The Calendar Girls and Nanny McPhee. Here she recounts a life hurtling into adventures both on stage and off,


partying on the Tube, her deep friendships with acting colleagues like Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent and Victoria Wood. A mad, chaotic biography about a mad chaotic profession, packed with a sense of fun and almost unruffled determination. 307pp in paperback, colour photos.


£8.99 NOW £4.50 69506 TUG ON THE THREAD: From the British


Raj to the British Stage by Diana Quick


Part family memoir, part detective story and part social history of the British in India, an elegy for a lost father, and an actor’s autobiography, Diana Quick has put her heart and soul into her book. She has carried out a huge amount of research and it is impressive to see how she managed to find out what happened to her grandmother during the Sepoy Uprising of 1857. It was not until she played Julia Flyte in ‘Brideshead Revisited’ that it resurfaced, setting Diana Quick on a quest to uncover the enigma of her father’s family in India. 317pp in paperback with photos. £8.99 NOW £3.50


e-mail: orders@bibliophilebooks.com


69528 SO YOU WANNA BE A DIRECTOR? by Ken Annakin


No autobiography was ever quite like this. Endorsed by such luminaries as Julie Christie and Robert Wagner, and introduced by Lord Attenborough and Mike Leigh, it tells the personal story of one of the greatest international film directors, following him around the world as Ken Annakin directed, produced and wrote over 50 feature films. These included Around the World in 80 Days, Hotel Sahara and the popular Huggetts films. On this compelling journey through his life, he deals with sex- mad producers and drug-addicted actors and copes with studio politics that could scupper multi-million dollar films, all with diplomacy and humour. 285 paperback pages with b/w archive photos and filmography. £16.99 NOW £4


69918 MISS SHIRLEY BASSEY


by John L Williams


Everyone thinks they know Shirley Bassey the explosive, red-hot singer from Tiger Bay, but this is the incredible story of an ordinary woman who set out to be extraordinary and, against all the odds, succeeded. 17 years old, depressed, disillusioned and four months pregnant, she decided that


her dream of being a professional singer was over. Yet, ten years later, she was one of the biggest stars in the world. Her latest hit, Goldfinger, was the theme tune to the year’s blockbuster film. Along the way from the Cardiff docklands, through the clubs of Soho and Las Vegas to New York’s Carnegie Hall she would have to deal with predatory managers, newspaper scandals, a homosexual husband and a range of friends from Sammy Davis Jr to Reggie Kray. But she never lost her nerve. 353 paperback pages, photos. £12.99 NOW £5


69530 STRANGE EVENTFUL HISTORY


by Michael Holroyd Subtitled The Dramatic Lives of Ellen Terry, Henry Irving and Their Remarkable Families. The dramatis personae reads like a Who’s Who of the theatre as our protagonists interact with the celebrities of their day, among them George Bernard Shaw and Sarah Bernhardt. The Terry family were strolling players who travelled the theatre circuits


and Ellen made her first appearance on stage as soon as she could walk. She was an enchantress with natural beauty yet she is revealed to have had a chequered love life. Henry Irving seemed eminently unsuited to the stage. For a start he had a stammer but, miraculously, when he was on stage, it vanished. Together, they had established an incredibly influential base at the Lyceum Theatre, taking the company on sparkling and lucrative international tours. 620 paperback pages, line drawings, b/w archive photos, colour plates.


£10.99 NOW £4


69826 CONSIDERING DORIS DAY by Tom Santopietro


One of the greatest box office stars of all time, Doris Day worked non-stop in showbusiness from 1939 to 1975, then went on to make a name for herself as an international animal welfare campaigner, refusing all offers to make a comeback, even when there was a possibility of co-starring with Katherine Hepburn or Elizabeth Taylor. A brilliant vocalist she recorded an American Songbook series for Columbia, and starred in classic musicals such as The Pajama Game. At a time when working women were rarely depicted as heroines, she pioneered the image of an assertive feminine icon. On the negative side, Day was often let down by inferior lyrics, not to mention the patchy scripts of the 17 feature films she made for Warner Brothers. Her four marriages included the highly publicised union with Marty Melcher and her disastrous decision to place all her finances within his control, leaving her with huge debts on his death and an unwelcome professional commitment to the five-year run of The Doris Day Show. 388pp, paperback, photos, discography and filmography. £9.99 NOW £4.50


69818 BUTTERFLY BRAIN by Barry Cryer


One of the great raconteurs of our time, Cryer has the essential characteristic of an entertainer: a “butterfly brain” in which one story always reminds him of the next. Cryer’s big break came in the early 60s when David Frost saw his uproarious stage show written for Danny la Rue, and enquired as to its author. Soon he was a major presence on The Frost Report and a


founder member of the long-running radio show I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue. Cryer enjoyed major writing partnerships with Graeme Garden and Graham Chapman but found Johnny Speight and John Cleese difficult to work with. This book is an unrivalled collection of stories from his encounters with the great performers of his time including Eric and Ernie, Peter Cook, Frankie Howerd, Kenneth Williams, Les Dawson, Humphrey Lyttelton, George Galloway, and some serious actors such as Michael Gambon and Paul Scofield. Colour photos, 199pp.


£14.99 NOW £6.50


70069 STAGE DIRECTIONS: Writing on Theatre 1970-2008 by Michael Frayn


The author of comedy Noises Off and the dramas Copenhagen and Democracy, Michael Frayn has written about his plays over the years which form an essential commentary on his life and work. The book covers half a lifetime and a whole range of his theatrical writings to his celebrated translations. They reflect on his path into theatre and gives insight into specific plays. Never pretentious and never impenetrable, this is writing on theatre as it ought to be in an affectionate and generous account of the craft of theatre. 268pp in paperback. £9.99 NOW £3.50


!= Last Few Copies, so hurry! www.bibliophilebooks.com


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