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DARK CARNIVAL

THE SECRET WORLD OF TOD BROWNING, HOLLYWOOD'S MASTER OF THE MACABRE

Knowledgeable and meticulous, this is the first full-scale biography of America's first horror-film auteur. The strange genius of Tod Browning is perhaps best summed up in a single shot from his Dracula: Amidst the cobwebs of Dracula's Transylvania castle, a family of armadillos scurries across the floor. Browning made dozens of acclaimed box-office-busting silent films. But along with Dracula, he is best remembered for one of his few talkies, Freaks, a horrific yet strangely touching melodrama set in a circus freak show. While now regarded as a classic, it effectively ended Browning's career. For years he had used Hollywood's lavish machinery to illuminate his private obsessionsthe occult, violence, mystery, deformityand so long as these obsessions made money, the studios indulged him. Freaks bombed (it was also banned in several countries), and soon one of America's most successful directors was forced into retirement. What followed was a long, sad decline into alcoholic obscurity. By temperament, Browning was a very private man, destroying papers, refusing interviews, and much of his biography is simply speculation: Did his dark vision, for example, spring from some searing childhood trauma? Skal (The Monster Show, 1993, etc.) and film historian Savada have done an admirable job with what is available, teasing out meaning from the slenderest of sources and filling in the gaps with plausible hypotheses. They have also produced a first-rate filmography, chronicling all of Browning's films, a remarkable achievement considering that some simply no longer exist. However, Skal and Savada are less adept in their analysis of Browning's directorial style. His work with actors, shot design, and editing are mentioned only in passinga shame considering that Browning's films are his best biography. Still, this is as thorough a recounting as we can probably hope for of this extraordinary but neglected talent. (50 b&w photos, not seen)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1995

ISBN: 0-385-47406-7

Page Count: 256

Publisher: Anchor

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1995

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NUTCRACKER

This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.

Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955

ISBN: 0670717797

Page Count: -

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955

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