Book Review: Letters from Hollywood

Letters from Hollywood: Inside the Private World of Classic American Moviemaking is a gem of a book. Compiled and edited by author/producer Rocky Lang and film historian/archivist Barbara Hall, this beautiful-looking hardcover volume contains 137 pieces of classic Hollywood correspondence (letters, notes and telegrams), spanning five decades from the early 1920s through the 1970s. The correspondence not only comes from famous Hollywood stars like Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Greta Garbo or Joan Crawford, but also from people less known to the general public yet important to Hollywood history, e.g. Irving Thalberg, Will Hays and Joseph Breen. (And there are also letter writers and recipients I had never heard of, among them screenwriters and agents.) Introducing the letters, authors Lang and Hall provide ample background information so the reader understands the context in which they were written.

Below: Rocky Lang grew up in the film business having agent-turned-producer Jennings Lang and singer/actress Monica Lewis as parents (here they are photographed in 1968). When a letter from his father to agent H.N. Swanson was discovered, Rocky got the idea for Letters from Hollywood and also included his father's letter in the book.

For three years, Lang and Hall worked on the project, first searching archives and libraries for interesting correspondence and then trying to track down the copyright owners, which proved to be more difficult than they thought. Their hard work eventually resulted in a book that is beautifully designed (lovely book cover, great lay-out and beautiful hi-res images of the original correspondence), with the letters providing chronological snippets of Hollywood history as well as fascinating peeks into the private thoughts of some of Hollywood's biggest stars, directors, producers etc.. Perhaps not surprisingly, I am very excited about this book -- it's basically what I do on the web, but then presented in glorious book form -- feeling it's a must-have for classic Hollywood fans and a great addition to any film book collection.

Some of the letters in the book I was already familiar with, having posted them earlier on this blog. However, most of the correspondence was unknown to me as it was obtained from archives, libraries and private collections and thus hidden from the general public - until now. Not all the letters are equally interesting of course, but there are a lot of gems and to give you an idea, below are excerpts from some of my personal faves.

________

Ronald Colman to studio executive Abe Lehr about the transition to the talkies (August 1928):

With reference to the additional clause to the contract, - I would rather not sign this, at any rate just at present. Except as a scientific achievement, I am not sympathetic to this "sound" business. I feel, as so many do, that it is a mechanical resource, that it is a retrogressive and temporary digression in so far as it affects the art of motion picture acting, - in short that it does not properly belong to my particular work (of which naturally I must be the best judge).

Tallulah Bankhead to David Selznick about the Scarlett O'Hara role in Gone with the Wind (December 1936):

I want you to believe me when I say this letter is not written in any spirit of hurt, arrogance, or bad temper, and if these elements should creep in, it is only because I haven't a sufficient gift of words to express myself clearly. [...] As I see it, your wire to me means one thing- that if no one better comes along, I'll do. Well, that would be all well and good if I were a beginner at my job. It would be a wonderful thing to hope and wait for, but as this is not the case, I cannot see it that way, and I feel it only fair to tell you that I will not make any more tests, either silent or dialogue, for Scarlett O'Hara, on probation.

Hedda Hopper to friend Aileen Pringle about Citizen Kane (January 1941):

I've seen the picture, and it's foul. It doesn't leave Mr. Hearst with one redeeming feature. Nobody but Orson would have dared do a thing like that, and I personally hope it will never be shown on the screen, although they're going right ahead making plans for its release in February. 

Robert Sherwood to Samuel Goldwyn about writing the script for Glory for Me, later renamed The Best Years of Our Lives (August 1945):

I have been thinking a great deal about "Glory for Me" and have come to the conclusion that, in all fairness, I should recommend to you that we drop it. This is entirely due to the conviction that, by next Spring or next Fall, this subject will be terribly out of date. [...] I do not believe that more than a small minority of these men will still be afflicted with the war neuroses which are essential parts of all of the three characters in "Glory for Me", and I, therefore, think that this picture would arouse considerable resentment by suggesting that these three characters are designed to be typical of all returned servicemen.

Gilbert Roland to Clara Bow to whom he was once engaged (December 1949):

How is your Dad? I would like to see him. I always had a warm spot in my heart for him, even though many years ago he refused to let me marry you because I was making seventy-five dollars a week, and you three hundred -- and when I made three hundred, you made a Thousand, and when I made a thousand you made more. ad finitum, and so it goes, and that's the way it is...

Joan Crawford to friend Jane Kesner Ardmore about her meeting Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret in the company of Marilyn Monroe and Anita Ekberg (October 1956):

It was one of the most exciting moments I have ever had. Of course, I was not too happy about being presented with that group of people representing the Motion Picture Industry, such as Marilyn you-know-who, and Anita Ekberg. Incidentally, Marilyn and Anita were howled at because of their tight dresses - they could not walk off the stage. It was most embarrassing.

Paul Newman to William Wyler & Ray Stark after having been offered the male lead in Funny Girl (May 1967):

I am grateful for the offer and the interest, and I hope it doesn't seem like an act of arrogance to turn all that affection down, but the truth of the matter is that I can't sing a note, and as for that monster, the dance, suffice it to say that I have no flexibility below the ass at all -- I even have difficulty proving the paternity of my six children.

If you would like to read the entire letters and many more (in their original form) -- you can order a copy of Letters from Hollywood here or here.

Note

Rocky Lang contacted me in January 2018, asking if I knew of any letters that he and Barbara Hall might be able to use for their project. I made several suggestions and some of it ended up in the book. While my input is quite small, I am proud to have contributed to this great, unique book -- and seeing my name in the Acknowledgment section is pretty cool! 

Barbara Stanwyck: The Ultimate Pro

The incomparable Barbara Stanwyck was an actress everybody loved to work with. She was a favourite with directors, fellow actors, and even crews and extras. Frank Capra, who had directed her in five films, once stated that "in a Hollywood popularity contest she would win first prize hands down". 

Barbara was the consummate professional-- always on time and fully prepared, never complaining, and always ready to support her colleagues (for example, during the filming of Golden Boy (1939) she defended a young, insecure William Holden to studio boss Harry Cohn, who was about to fire him). Cecil B. DeMille once said that he had never worked with an actress who was "more co-operative, less temperamental and a better workman"; Lewis Milestone was impressed with her technical savvy and said that "she astonished everybody with her knowledge of lighting"; and Mitchell Leisen called her "the greatest" and said that "everybody worked harder, trying to outdo her."

And there were many others who respected and admired her. The four letters for this post show that also John Sturges, Fredric March, Gilbert Roland and Fletcher Markle, who had all worked with Barbara, commended her for her professionalism. Their letters, written in 1972, were addressed to Ella Smith, who was then preparing her biography about Barbara. Entitled Starring Miss Barbara Stanwyck, Smith's wonderful book was published in 1973.

The first letter shown below was written by director John Sturges who had worked with "Missy" (as he and other colleagues lovingly called her) on Jeopardy (1953). I love the last paragraph in which he explains how Barbara had learned to move the way she did.

A scene from "Jeopardy" with Ralph Meeker and Barbara (left photo); director John Sturges (right).

Via: icollector

Transcript:

June 13, 1972

Dear Miss Smith,

Please add me to what I am sure is the huge list of Missy's admirers. Making a picture with her is such a stimulating and productive experience, it's hard to think how it could be better.

Energy, optimism, an aggressive will to make things work, talent, total professionalism and with it all a disarmingly friendly and un-self important quality. In the relationship between actress and director, what else could you ask?

I recall one aspect of her approach to her work that struck me as meaningful. I commented one day on how purposefully and yet gracefully she moved, the marvelous sense of contained power in the way she walked, stood, sat down, or whatever.

She told me years ago in New York that she had the standard heel hitting clack-clack jolting walk of a chorus girl, which she was then. What to do? She went to the zoo, and for days and weeks studied the tigers, and made herself move like they did. That straight-on attack to become what she wanted to be seems to me a strong indicator of the kind of makeup she has as a person.

Best,
John Sturges (signed)

JS:gdz

Ella Smith
The University of Connecticut
Dept. of Dramatic Arts
Storrs, Connecticut 06268



The second letter is from Fredric March who worked with Barbara on the 1954 Executive Suite.

Via: icollector

Transcript:

4/13/72

Dear Ella Smith,

As you say, I only did one film with Barbara S*. She was a joy to work with, a complete "pro", and more than knowledgeable about her craft.
As I recall she bruised her leg badly during the film + had a black n blue spot of sizeable dimension for days, which must have hurt badly. Never a whimper. She was a wonderfully good sport.
Sorry I'm not of more help, but I wish you great good luck with your venture.

Sincerely,
Fredric March

Barbara Stanwyck and Fredric March in a scene from "Executive Suite" (above), and Barbara attending the Golden Globe Awards with Gilbert Roland in the early 1950s (below).

The following letter is from Gilbert Roland who worked with Barbara on two films, The Other Love (1947) and The Furies (1950).

Via: icollector

Transcript:

Wednesday,

September 6, 1972

Beverly Hills, 

California

Dear Miss Smith;

Barbara Stanwyck is a most sincere woman in the world of make-believe: the film world.

She is a professional, considerate woman, and a joy to work with. 

No prima-donna attitudes with Barbara Stanwyck.

She is realistic with a tremendous sense of pride in her work. She is artistic, honest, real. 

I made love to Barbara Stanwyck in a scene from the film The Other Love, and dear Miss Smith, it was real.

She is devoid of temperament- because temperament is a disease that afflicts amateurs. 

She is not conceited-

because everyone has a right to be conceited until he is successful.

That is all, Miss Smith. No more. Nada mas. 

As Voltaire said: 

"The secret of being a bore is to tell everything."

Salud!

Gilbert Roland (signed)

And finally, this is the part of Fletcher Markle's letter where he writes about his collaboration with Barbara; Markle had directed her in The Man with a Cloak (1951).

Via: icollector

Transcript:

Unfortunately I don't have your original letter immediately available-- but I do recall that you asked for an informal assessment of Miss Stanwyck as a performer and that you asked, particularly, why we did not employ her own voice in the recording of the song her character delivered in the picture.

The reason for not making use of Miss Stanwyck's own voice in the recording of the song elude me entirely. David Raksin composed the sore for THE MAN WITH A CLOAK (which, incidentally, introduced the 12-tone scale to film scoring) and it is my assumption that the range of the song was not a comfortable one for Miss Stanwyck.

Nevertheless, like every other aspect of her skills and talents, Miss Stanwyck gave us a superb example of what is known in the trade as "lip-syncing" when it came time to do the actual photography of the song. Which leads me to those other aspects of "Missy" Stanwyck's work: I have never had the privilege of collaborating with such a totally professional actress in the star category-- always first on the set in the morning, with any make-up and wardrobe problems behind her, all lines and movements perfectly memorized (not only her own but those of all others in a given scene) and, through the long hours of many a rough day, the essence of good cheer with an unselfish concern for the welfare of her colleagues. (How glad I am that you are not writing a book about Leslie Caron who cried, with monotonous regularity, at 10:15 every morning!)

I am aware that I used a term of endearment for Miss Stanwyck in the previous paragraph-- "Missy"-- and I hasten to say that it was always employed by members of the cast and crew as an indication of their admiration and respect for a lady of quality.

With warmest best wishes for every success with your book, I am,

Cordially yours,

(signed)

Fletcher Markle,

Head of TV Drama

Barbara Stanwyck in a publicity still for "The Man with a Cloak" flanked by co-stars Leslie Caron, Louis Calhern and Joseph Cotton (left photo); Fletcher Markle (right).

This post is my contribution to the Remembering Barbara Stanwyck Blogathon hosted by In The Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood. For a list of all the other entries, click here.