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Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down: How One Generation of British Actors Changed the World
 
 
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Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down: How One Generation of British Actors Changed the World [Hardcover]

Robert Sellers (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
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Frequently Bought Together

Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down: How One Generation of British Actors Changed the World + Hellraisers: The Life and Inebriated Times of Burton, Harris, O'Toole and Reed + An A-Z of Hellraisers: A Comprehensive Compendium of Outrageous Insobriety
Price For All Three: £24.32

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 448 pages
  • Publisher: Preface Publishing (12 May 2011)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1848092970
  • ISBN-13: 978-1848092976
  • Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.6 x 4.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 246,522 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Robert Sellers
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Product Description

Book Description

Jaw-dropping tales of legendary excess and bad behaviour from the British stars of the 1950s and 60s, from the author of the bestselling Hellraisers and Hollywood Hellraisers.

Product Description

Alan Bates, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Tom Courtenay, Albert Finney, Richard Harris, Peter O'Toole, Robert Shaw and Terence Stamp: They are the most formidable acting generation ever to tread the boards or stare into a camera, whose anti-establishment attitude changed the cultural landscape of Britain.

This was a new breed, many culled from the working class industrial towns of Britain, and nothing like them has been seen before or since. Their raw earthy brilliance brought realism to a whole range of groundbreaking theatre from John Osborne's Look Back in Anger to Joan Littlewood and Harold Pinter and the creation of the National Theatre. And they ripped apart the staid, middle class British film industry with kitchen sink classics like Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, This Sporting Life, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, A Kind of Loving and Billy Liar before turning their sights on international stardom: Connery with James Bond, O'Toole as Lawrence of Arabia, Finney with Tom Jones and Caine in Zulu.

Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down brings alive the trail-blazing period of theatre and film from 1956-1964 through the vibrant energy and exploits of this revolutionary generation of stars who bulldozed over austerity Britain and paved the way for the swinging 60s. What Peter Biskind's 'Easy Riders Raging Bulls' did for American cinema writing so 'Don't Let the Bastards' will do for the British cinema.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
A Minor Masterpiece 15 Aug 2011
Format:Hardcover
I must admit, I was a bit reluctant to buy Robert Sellers' latest book. A superficial glance suggested that after Hellraisers, Bad Boy Drive and The A-Z of Hellraisers we were re-treading old ground. Happily, I was completely wrong. Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down is a well-researched, thorough book charting the rise of a group of working-class actors in the nineteen-fifties who went on to successful careers, nationally and internationally. Finney, O'Toole, Connery, Caine, Harris, Robert Shaw and Alan Bates receive generous coverage, as does the slightly later Tom Courtenay. Whilst one might question whether these people "changed the world", they certainly brought a new style to British acting, and Sellers has spoken to as many of their contemporaries as he could (some of whom, like Trevor Bannister, have since died, but that's inevitable when you're dealing with people of this age). Where the book triumphs is in the sheer amount of ground it covers. No career move is ignored, and one really leaves the book thinking one has learnt something. For instance, Sian Phillips is a saint, and so is Elizabeth Harris (who has gone on to wed both Rex Harrison and Jonathan Aitken!); Robert Shaw was a nasty piece of work (who'd have thought it); Richard Harris and Peter O'Toole were headed for oblivion before they even started...the list goes on. Of all the actors covered, I think it's Finney who emerges as the real star. The book ends with him hearing that he hasn't won an Oscar for Tom Jones, beaten by Sidney Poitier. He raises a glass to Poitier, turns to his girlfriend, and says "Let's Dance."

I eagerly await the sequel. I may be slightly warped but I always find stories of decline more interesting than stories of success. And there's plenty of decline to come in the lives of these actors. Not all of them come out of the other side.

Robert Seller's best book to date. Well researched, carefully written (only one major typo gaffe - Alec McCowen is mis-spelled, but no genuine mistakes that I could spot). Highly recommended (as if you couldn't guess).
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interesting read 26 April 2012
By johnk
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
i enjoyed this book very much and its wide variety of the famous and infamous if you enjoyed the stars of yesteryear you should love this
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