Victor Fleming: An American Movie Master by Michael Sragow
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Book Reviews of Victor Fleming: An American Movie Master
Book Review: A Full-Length Fleming Bio At Last!
Summary: 4 Stars
In this impressively researched, breakthrough book on Victor Fleming -- the first ever published in America on the most popular movie director of all time -- Michael Sragow takes great pains to fill in all the minor and most of the major details of Fleming's personal and professional life. Many of the movies directed by this hitherto neglected giant are scrupulously set in their studio contexts. But although Sragow brings an enormous amount of information to the reader's attention, he has a tendency to over-rate the importance of trivia. Sragow's policy seems to be that so long as the source is American, no matter how petty the incident, or picayune the anecdote, it's worth reprinting. However, if the source is French or British, Sragow obviously believes the information is not worth mentioning at all. This is a shame, because chapters like Fleming's tussle with the sound director on "The Wolf Song" would have been very neatly capped by the revelation that Fleming had previously complained about exhibitors screening talkies at uncomfortably high sound levels. The British press reported that Fleming suggested this tendency be counterbalanced by recording dialog and effects at a much lower volume!
Sragow concentrates on Fleming's love life and his work as a director but neglects to give any account of his work as a photographer, even though several of these movies are currently available. Generally speaking, the author also falls down in his failure to inspire readers to race out and view Fleming's films for themselves. While Sragow often goes to great lengths to pile background quote upon quote, a movie-lover's heartfelt enthusiasm for the artistic, emotional and entertainment quality of a Fleming production is often sadly lacking. Although he is a professional film critic, Sragow always seems oddly reluctant to give a personal opinion as to whether a movie is a turkey or a masterpiece. Of course, most of his readers will already have seen "Gone With The Wind", "The Wizard of Oz" and "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde". But, as said above, although Sragow's text is loaded with studio politics and shooting details, he often fails to set the reader hankering to actually view Fleming's lesser-known gems like "When the Clouds Roll By", "Mantrap", "Hula", "The Virginian", "Red Dust", "Captains Courageous", "The Great Waltz", or even "Treasure Island". For further reading, might I recommend my own book, Award-Winning Films of the 1930s which covers Fleming's "Captains Courageous", "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde", "GWTW", and "Oz", among many others.
Book Review: Extremely good biography
Summary: 4 Stars
I enjoyed this biography very much. Mr. Fleming is such an excellent director; he passed away in Jan. 1949 - therefore, he died too soon to be appreciated as the giant he was. I've always had such respect for him, for his masterpeice GWTW alone,and waited for a good biography to come. It's about time!
He directed at various studios beginning in the silent era and continuing in talkies. So many legendary actors, actresses, and directors greatly admired him for his talent. And he directed so many classic films!
Mr. Fleming was the perfect director to take on GWTW for producer David Selznick, who was so unhappy with G. Cukor. Mr. Fleming came on to take the reins and "save" the epic production. Anyone who could work with Mr. Selznick - Vic became ill during the filming - deserves a medal anyway, and Victor was one who did it, made GWTW the greatest of all films - 70 yrs. later we are still fascinated by it and LOVE it. The performances of Clark Gable as Rhett and Vivien Leigh are perfection, as is the film.
It's so sad that he died at an early age. He had so much more time left. The filming of "Joan of Arc" in the late '40's seemed to take so much out of him, disillusion and age him. He loved Ingrid Bergman so much and, I believe, let her take the reins - to the detriment of the movie, himself, and his health. (He was always such a handsome man as well).
In the end, a biography of a wonderful, wonderful director.
Book Review: The Wizard behind The Wizard of Oz
Summary: 4 Stars
Victor Fleming is the iconic (primary) director behind /The Wizard of Oz/ and /Gone with the Wind/. But, he has more than 40 other films to his credit, in a wide range of genres and with many of the most popular actors of the day. This biography is the first of Fleming, and is not only overdue, but very well done. Fleming worked in Hollywood through the change from silent to talking movies, and black-and-white to color, and made almost every genre--westerns, family movies, buddy pictures and romances. Sragow also makes the argument that Fleming helped create the strong male lead, through his work with Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy. His story is much the story of early Hollywood, and through it you not only see that history, but just how much he influenced future Hollywood.
You know Fleming's work. Now get to know the man. An excellent biography, written by the film critic for the Baltimore Sun and a regular writer for The New Yorker.
Book Review: Long overdue biographer of a forgotten master
Summary: 4 Stars
Victor Fleming was the man who helmed GONE WITH THE WIND, THE WIZARD OF OZ (both in AFI's Top Ten films of all time), as well as other classics such as TREASURE ISLAND, RED DUST and CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS. He was the director who moulded such stars as Clara Bow, Gary Cooper and Clark Gable, helping them find and develop their screen personas. Yet he is very much forgotten these days, perhaps because he died just before the "Cahiers du Cinema" began promoting the "Auteur" theory of filmmaking. Perhaps because, like Michael Curtiz, he worked best inside the studio system. ALthough the author is obviously a fan as much as a biographer, this is a fascinating examination of one of those pioneer filmmakers, who went from being a mechanic and cameraman, to the go-to guy for both Paramouont and MGM. A must read for any true cinemaphile.Book Review: A man more than "Oz" and "GWTW"
Summary: 4 Stars
This informative, entertaining bio sheds light on the life of one of Hollywood's most prolific directors (whom most people know little about). Sragow shows us a creative filmmaker, flaws and all, whose influence is still being felt today. A great read for anyone who wants to know what Hollywood was like nearly from the beginning (Fleming didn't make movies in the 'teens because he was Woodrow Wilson's official cameraman) until the late 1940s. Sadly, many of Fleming's films are now out of press; however, perhaps this book will spur reissues of his classics. (Are you listening, Turner Classic Movies??)