HOLLYWOOD IN A SUITCASE

Sammy is a fanatical movie-buff, and much--too much--of this hodgepodge consists of his free-flowing opinions on movies, actors, and actresses, along with second-hand stories and rehashes of familiar Hollywood history. For instance: ""Ava Gardner is one of the few ladies around today who could still show the world what a real star is."" Or: Ray Milland has the reliable actor's ""ability to uplift mundane scripts""--like The Lost Weekend (no mention of the screenplay's Oscar or director Billy Wilder). Or: ""Nowadays we have actors like Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino who can be superbly subtle, but they can be handled only by the new-wave directors."" Sammy also tells us of his passion for porno flicks (""I gave the premiere of Deep Throat in several countries"") and horror movies (""It scares me, and I love it""). Somewhat less tedious are his personal recollections of some Hollywood celebrities--kind Bogey, tough Otto, luscious Liz (""a deliciously greedy person in the best sense of the world"")--though most of this is blather too, with upbeat salutes to Frank Sinatra (""All the picking on his negative side is just so much bull""), ""plain, openhearted"" Elvis (""We had a ball""), and gutsy, professional Judy Garland (""most of the time we had a ball""). True, there are occasional time-outs from the movie-talk: Sammy mentions his love of London, his past drug use (""a passing fad that I really didn't need""), his ""interesting"" period as a Satanist, and hand-kissing lessons from Porfirio Rubirosa (""the most elegant man I have ever known""). And, more seriously, he attacks racism in movies and defends his support of Nixon (""my original motives. . . were honorable""). But overall this is the most arrogant sort of celebrity book--random chatter only for Sammy's most intense fans or the least demanding movie freaks.