Victor Fleming [electronic resource] : An American Movie Master /
Sragow, Michael,author.
Lexington, Kentucky : University Press of Kentucky,
[2013]
The full-length, definitive biography of the legendary director of Gone With the Wind and The Wizard of Oz. Victor Fleming was the most sought-after director in Hollywood's golden age, renowned for his ability to make films across an astounding range of genres - westerns, earthy sexual dramas, family entertainment, screwball comedies, buddy pictures, romances, and adventures. Fleming is remembered for the two most iconic movies of the period, Gone With the Wind and The Wizard of Oz, but the more than forty films he directed also included such classics as Red Dust, Test Pilot, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Captains Courageous. Paradoxically, his talent for knowing how to make the necessary film at the right time, rather than remaking the same movie in different guises, has resulted in Victor Fleming's relative obscurity in our time." "Michael Sragow restores the director to the pantheon of our greatest filmmakers and fills a gaping hole in Hollywood history with this vibrant portrait of a man at the center of the most exciting era in American filmmaking. The actors Fleming directed wanted to be him (Fleming created enduring screen personas for Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, and Gary Cooper), and his actresses wanted to be with him (Ingrid Bergman, Clara Bow, and Norma Shearer were among his many lovers)." "Victor Fleming not only places the director back in the spotlight but also gives us the story of a man whose extraordinary personal style was as thrilling, varied, and passionate as the stories he brought to the screen".
Description based upon print version of record.
Includes bibliographical references, filmography and index.
Introduction: The real Rhett Butlre -- 1. Born in a tent -- 2. Cars, cameras, action! -- 3. The importance of shooting Doug -- 4. In Manhattan for the Great War -- 5. Filming the conquering hero: with Wilson in Europe -- 6. The importance of directoring Doug -- 7. Scaling Paramount Pictures -- 8. Courage and Clara Bow -- 9. A lost epic: The rough riders -- 10. From The way of all flesh to Abie's irish rose -- 11. Creating Gary Cooper -- 12. A woman's film and a man's adventure at Fox -- 13 Guiding Gable in Red dust -- 14. Pioneering the screwball comedy: Jean Harlow in Bombshell -- 15. Treasure Island -- 16. Introducing Henry Fonda, Farewell to Jean Harlow -- 17. Bagging game on Safari, losing The good earth -- 18. Spencer Tracy and Captains courageous -- 19. Test pilot -- 20. Salvaging The great waltz -- 21. Putting Oz into The wizard of Oz -- 22. Saving Tara and Gone with the wind -- 23. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde -- 24. The yearling that wasn't -- 25. Bonhomie in Bel-Air and Tortilla flat -- 26. World War II with tears: a guy named Joe -- 27. A confounding political life -- 28. One last adventure at MGM -- 29. Ingrid Bergman and Joan of Arc -- 30. Death in the desert -- Afterword: A great American movie director -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Filmography -- Bibliography -- Index.
The full-length, definitive biography of the legendary director of Gone With the Wind and The Wizard of Oz. Victor Fleming was the most sought-after director in Hollywood's golden age, renowned for his ability to make films across an astounding range of genres - westerns, earthy sexual dramas, family entertainment, screwball comedies, buddy pictures, romances, and adventures. Fleming is remembered for the two most iconic movies of the period, Gone With the Wind and The Wizard of Oz, but the more than forty films he directed also included such classics as Red Dust, Test Pilot, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Captains Courageous. Paradoxically, his talent for knowing how to make the necessary film at the right time, rather than remaking the same movie in different guises, has resulted in Victor Fleming's relative obscurity in our time." "Michael Sragow restores the director to the pantheon of our greatest filmmakers and fills a gaping hole in Hollywood history with this vibrant portrait of a man at the center of the most exciting era in American filmmaking. The actors Fleming directed wanted to be him (Fleming created enduring screen personas for Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, and Gary Cooper), and his actresses wanted to be with him (Ingrid Bergman, Clara Bow, and Norma Shearer were among his many lovers)." "Victor Fleming not only places the director back in the spotlight but also gives us the story of a man whose extraordinary personal style was as thrilling, varied, and passionate as the stories he brought to the screen".
Description based on print version record.
Fleming, Victor, 1889-1949.
Motion picture producers and directors