THE SEARCH FOR SAM GOLDWYN: A Biography

by Carol Easton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 9, 1975

A convincing, no-nonsense portrait of that exasperating, indomitable, alternately extravagant and penny-pinching movie mogul, Samuel Goldfis(c)h. Born in the Warsaw ghetto in 1882, he emigrated to the States when eleven and later prospered as a glove salesman. A co-producer of The Squaw Man (1913) with Jesse Lasky, Goldwyn soon became the kingfish of his own production company with the likes of Arrowsmith, Dodsworth, The Little Foxes, The Pride of the Yankees, and The Best Years of Our Lives (his last significant film before his death in 1974). He's viewed here as a pretentious dynamo who considered himself a ""culture mavin""--""Goldwyn wanted it all: profits, power and prestige. In overreaching, he compromised his creative people, and he watered down his subjects to insure their palatability to the masses."" Author Easton (Straight Ahead: The Story of Stan Kenton) ""preferred Goldfish the schnorrer to Goldwyn the snob."" A creditable de-mystifier.

Pub Date: Jan. 9, 1975

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Morrow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1975

Categories: NONFICTION