Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing Critical Analysis of Sparks Fly Upwards, 21 Oct 2005
Certainly, Stewart Granger was an interesting subject, albeit a complicated, vain, intransigent individual who disliked being told what to do, even before he became a celebrity as a 40's film star in the UK and then as an MGM star in the U.S. Not many accounts here from friends, acquaintances or former wives; actually there is absolutely nothing directly from second wife Jean Simmons or any of Granger's children from his three marriages.. Neither is there anything revealing that transpired after 1960 (where Granger's autobiography Sparks Fly Upwards ends) except a summarized detail of Granger's divorce and lapsed career. There are, however, a few depressing accounts of B-movies made in Europe, bad business deals, a few lines about Granger's third marriage to Belgian beauty queen Caroline LeCerf, and his moving about in Europe and then settling in Santa Monica, California, and later silly TV cameo roles. The photos included reveal nothing, except, at the very last, a very sad one showing an aged Granger with his grown daughter Samantha from his third wife LeCerf. Shiach asserts that Granger was uncomfortable as a father and made a conscious decision never to actually be one for any of his children after his subsequent divorces. If only Shiach had acquired some input from Granger's children...(but perhaps they declined to cooperate?)
Shiach makes much of how Granger was disliked for his arrogance and temperament, mostly due to Granger's disgust with authority, homophobia and distrust of women. His analysis of Granger's autobiography (Sparks Fly Upwards) refers to this frequently, and Shiach makes valid points. There is not much enlightenment here, however, as one can easily read Granger's autobiography and scan whatever comes up on Granger from any internet search engine. What I would have liked is some intimate anecdotes from family, ex-wives and friends. I really do not understand why Shiach did not have their cooperation. Perhaps they were compelled, at the very least and at the very end, to grant Mr. Granger the privacy and respect he felt he deserved, at last.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
High Expectation not fulfilled, 6 Dec 2005
By A Customer
I had high expectations of this book. I had already read Stewart Granger’s autobiography which gave me an appetite to learn more. This book did not fulfil my expectations. I am not really interested in reading some sort of judgement of character. Rather I wanted to learn more about the man’s life. For example what happened after 1960 when Mr. Granger departed America for England. This book left me little the wiser about these missing years from the autobiography. I would also have liked some explanation of the relationship between Mr. Granger, his mother and his so called uncle. I did not find the explanation of this relationship in the autobiography completely convincing. However, Don Shiach book left me little the wiser. All in all I felt this book was a missed opportunity. There are unlikely to be many other biographies and many of the people involved with Mr. Granger’s life will not be available for much longer.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
No 'Swashbuckling' in this book, 5 Aug 2008
This publication is no biography of Stewart Granger.The author appears no friend of the star,as the book is over 200 pages of sarcasm,negative comments and counter asumptions to all Granger's decisions and actions. I'll now read ,and enjoy,Granger's own account in 'Sparks Fly Upward'.
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