John Gilbert
The Last of the Silent Film Stars
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- US$11.99
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This revealing biography of the legendary silent film star chronicles his meteoric rise, famous romances, and tragic descent into obscurity.
Known as "The Great Lover," John Gilbert was among the world's most recognizable actors during the silent era. A swashbuckling figure on screen and off, he is best known today for his high-profile romances with Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich, his legendary conflicts with Louis B. Mayer, his four tumultuous marriages, and his swift decline after the introduction of talkies. Many myths have developed around the larger-than-life star in the eighty years since his untimely death, but this definitive biography sets the record straight.
Eve Golden separates fact from fiction in John Gilbert, tracing the actor's life from his youth spent traveling with his mother in acting troupes to the peak of fame at MGM, where he starred opposite Mae Murray, Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, and others in popular films such as The Merry Widow, The Big Parade, Flesh and the Devil, and Love.
Golden debunks some of the most pernicious rumors about Gilbert, including the oft-repeated myth that he had a high-pitched, squeaky voice that ruined his career. Meticulous, comprehensive, and generously illustrated, this book provides a behind-the-scenes look at one of the silent era's greatest stars and the glamorous yet brutal world in which he lived.
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This thoroughly researched biography of dashing actor Gilbert explores his vast filmography that spans two decades, his romantic partners, and the untimely ends to both his career and his life. Golden (Anna Held) summarizes Gilbert's films and contextualizes their critical reception, from his early work as an extra in films like Civilization to his "greatest role" in the war movie The Big Parade, and the controversial talkies Redemption and His Glorious Nights. In addition to his four wives, Gilbert had high profile affairs with many famous actresses including Greta Garbo, whom he met on the set of Flesh and the Devil and Marlene Dietrich just before his death. Golden questions the narrative that audiences did not react well to Gilbert's voice in the talkies and offers many alternative possibilities for his downfall. Was it public problems with alcoholism or the 1928 hatchet job by Vanity Fair? Gilbert and MGM studio boss Louis B. Mayer feuded the length of his career with several rumors of fistfights. Was he sabotaged by the sound mixers? Fans of silent era Hollywood will delight in puzzling out this mystery as well as the abundance of gossip and trivia. 62 b/w photos.
