In this Book
- John Gilbert: The Last of the Silent Film Stars
- Book
- 2013
- Published by: The University Press of Kentucky
- Series: Screen Classics
Charming and classically handsome, John Gilbert (1897–1936) was among the world's most recognizable actors during the silent era. He was a wild, swashbuckling figure on screen and off, and accounts of his life have focused on 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. A dramatic and interesting personality, Gilbert served as one of the primary inspirations for the character of George Valentin in the Academy Award–winning movie The Artist (2011). 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: The Last of the Silent Film Stars, 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 other actresses in popular films such as The Merry Widow (1925), The Big Parade (1925), Flesh and the Devil (1926), and Love (1927). Golden debunks some of the most pernicious rumors about the actor, 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.
Table of Contents
- Front Cover
- pp. c-i
- Also by Eve Golden
- p. ii
- Title Page
- p. iii
- Copyright Page
- p. iv
- Dedication
- pp. v-vi
- Introduction
- pp. 1-4
- Part 1: The Climb
- pp. 5-6
- Chapter One
- pp. 7-16
- Chapter Two
- pp. 17-36
- Chapter Three
- pp. 37-65
- Chapter Four
- pp. 66-72
- Part 2: The Peak
- pp. 73-74
- Chapter Five
- pp. 75-87
- Chapter Six
- pp. 88-116
- Chapter Seven
- pp. 117-128
- Chapter Eight
- pp. 129-138
- Chapter Nine
- pp. 139-180
- Part 3: The Decline
- pp. 181-182
- Chapter Ten
- pp. 183-191
- Chapter Eleven
- pp. 192-214
- Chapter Twelve
- pp. 215-231
- Chapter Thirteen
- pp. 232-250
- Chapter Fourteen
- pp. 251-271
- Chapter Fifteen
- pp. 272-283
- Acknowledgments
- pp. 289-290
- Filmography
- pp. 291-322
- Bibliography
- pp. 347-350
- Screen Classics series page
- pp. 367-368
Additional Information
Copyright
2017