- Hardcover: 256 pages
- Publisher: Hutchinson (4 Jun 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0091796393
- ISBN-13: 978-0091796396
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 576,529 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Book Description
This new biography draws on a series of unpublished interviews and offers a startling and intitmate portrait of one of the most glamourous icons of the 20th century.
Product Description
In just seven years (from 1950 through 1956), Grace Kelly made eleven feature films. They established her as one of the screen's iconic beauties, and as a performer of rare intelligence and wit. Initially, she was sustained by the old studio system, which exerted often punitive control over the life and work of its contract players. But Grace Kelly was not a woman who believed in being subservient to anyone or anything. She refused to submit to the pervasive influence of the movie moguls,thus effectively changing the old rules about how actors ought to behave. After her departure from Hollywood, the film-making capital of the world was never the same again. Drawing on a series of taped interviews with Grace Kelly which have never been published anywhere, Donald Spoto examines the transformation of a convent girl from Philadelphia, raised in wealth during the Depression, to New York print model to television actress to the last star of Hollywood's Golden Age to European princess. Grace Kelly confided in Donald Spoto, they remained friends until her death, and she wrote the Foreword to his first book, The Art of Alfred Hitchcock. To tell her story, Spoto also draws on interviews conducted with a range of people – from James Stewart and Cary Grant to Fred Zinnemann, who directed Grace in her first major movie as the wife of Gary Cooper in High Noon. Much has been written about her personal life, and there have been wild allegations about the number of her sexual partners. Most certainly, Grace Kelly was a passionate woman. She had a liking for the style and manners of European men, which culminated in her marriage to Prince Rainier of Monaco. With great tact and insight, Donald Spoto examines her key relationships, not only with the men who loved her, but with great directors, like Alfred Hitchcock and John Ford, who helped make her an enduring star of motion pictures.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Cava rather than the champagne Grace Kelly deserves,
By
This review is from: High Society: Grace Kelly and Hollywood (Hardcover)
I've recently discovered a love of Grace Kelly and bought this book after watching the film, High Society. I found the book disappointing. I can't judge it on whether it's factual as it's the first bio on Grace I've read, but in places it seemed more about Spoto's other books and who Spoto had met and how great they thought he was / how they confided in him / what privileged insights they gave him, rather than information about Grace Kelly.
The book was expensive (I actually bought it in Waterstones, £18.99) and I don't think I got good value for money. It was very light touch and I feel I could have learned as much from a couple of hours on Wikipedia.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Nothing new under the sun,
By
This review is from: High Society: Grace Kelly and Hollywood (Hardcover)
To begin with, I am a huge Grace Kelly fan so I was very excited to see this book.
I was a bit disappointed, to be truthful. The book is not a long one, at 216 pages and doesn't cover anything that hasn't been covered in numerous other books. For an indepth biography I would recommend Steven Englund. Most of the book is spent discussing the pre-Monaco life of Grace Kelly, and I will admit, I have always found what happened after she became Princess Grace of Monaco far more interesting. Also Mr Spoto seems incapable of saying anything negative about Ms Kelly. It smacks of a Palace-approved biography. He also rates her acting skills far higher than I would- and I'm a big fan! Having said all of that I would suggesting giving this book a read, it is interesting and there is a lot of direct quotes from Grace thanks to an interview in the late 1970's with the author.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing Grace,
By Michael Watson "skirrow22" (Halifax, England) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: High Society: Grace Kelly and Hollywood (Hardcover)
I grew up with a major crush on this lady, matters made worse when she married Prince Rainier of Monaco, since I was living not too far away from the Principality at the time. Events, of course, as we all know, took an horrendous turn for the worse when she was killed in a road accident which, at the time, was the subject of much speculation as to who was driving the car.
However, this and much more of her earlier life - the few years of her Hollywood stardom especially, are not coverd by this author with a view to painting anything less than a saintly image of the beautiful lady. Her life seemed to be almost magical and even though it was abruptly terminated, her lasting presence after starring in a relatively small number of films over only a few short years, is still seared in the memories of film fans like me. I don't know whether she still has the appeal of say, Monroe, to younger filmgoers; this book will certainly give her a glow which is perhaps not entirely deserved. However, there's not a great deal extra in this book which cannot be found elsewhere but, no matter. It's always great to read about such a star, especially when her leading men are still well-remembered by just about everyone - and she certainly put Monaco back on the map of the jet-setters, a legacy which runs today and probably will tomorrow. One thing I didn't know - or had, maybe, forgoten, is that there is still an unreleased short film from 1980 awaiting a viewing. Intriguing.
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