The Star Machine (Vintage Vintage) [Paperback]

Jeanine Basinger is astonishing, she seems to have seen just about every movie that was ever made and has a comment ready about every one of them -they are interesting comments too. When very young she worked as a cinema usher, and she mentions how she noticed, even then, how audiences reacted in different ways to different stars.

If you have ever fantasised about being a movie-star -this is the book for you! Ms Basinger gives you the facts about the Star Machine, and she gives you them straight. Those famous 'Seven Year Contracts'?- they were complete serfdom! (in exchange for money and a variable amount of fame). You were up by 5a.m. every morning except Sunday to be at the studio by 6, (NO ONE was late- said Joan Crawford!) and you were on your feet all day, waiting to obey orders.

You had no choice about anything, and had to do as you were told -most notably in the roles you were ordered to play. Almost all "stars", even the biggest, were chattels at the disposal of the Studio bosses who ruled with a rod of iron.

Costume fittings, instruction of all kinds, script meetings, silly photo stunts, faked interviews, all day standing and waiting for a 30-second take on-set, no sitting-down for fear of creasing your clothes, and your name and looks were "improved" (whether you liked it or not). And at the end of the day you managed to get home by 8pm, if you were lucky -six days a week. Partying? If you had any sense, forget it!

The studios knew that the glamour of Stars sold theatre tickets, and so they cultivated 'stardom', and searched endlessly for new stars. It was maddening for the management that they could never work out what the magic 'Ingredient X' was that made a performer into a star, but they tried hard enough! Sometimes it all went very wrong, and a fortune was spent on promoting a new "star", only to find that the public weren't interested. Basinger has fun looking at examples of when the 'Star Machine' malfunctioned, including the most notorious one: Sam Goldwyn's howling mistake with Anna Sten.

Much of this book is funny, and the author's frequently priceless comments and quotes will have you giggling all the way to the Gaumont, ("I'm in this strictly for the laughs!"- Victor Mature after a role blowing-up bridges.)

In the course of the book Basinger looks at the Hollywood careers of a clutch of well-known stars, such as Errol Flynn and Lana "Cleavage & Catastrophe" Turner. She even has interesting things to say about people like Deanna Durbin. Sometimes, the vast amount of comment Ms Basinger gives us is almost too much to absorb (and some stars are more fascinating than others) -but there is great deal of very interesting stuff here.

As the author writes "`Movie star' in the old Hollywood was a concept. The person who became one juggled opposing forces: studio domination and ownership versus personal ambition and self-assertion."

Basinger explores each of these forces in fascinating detail as they relate to a myriad of actors and actresses. Part One is a dissection of actors/actresses and the factory system - the lengths that studios would go to and the money spent to develop a star astounds. Of course, more often than not the "star" had little to do with the real person but as long as movie-goers voiced their approval it didn't matter. Appearances, personalities, private lives could be manufactured as long as the person had that certain something on screen. The ones who had "it" easily come to mind - Lana Turner, Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, Rita Hayworth, etc. They were, one might say, commodities, bought and sold.

At times, in order for that "it" to become apparent a perfect on-screen mate was needed. Think Walter Pidgeon and Greer Garson, Abbott and Costello. Or, as Katharine Hepburn said about Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, "He gives her class and she gives him sex."

Part Two deals largely with individuals - the human factor in the star system and, as Alice Faye said, "The deck was stacked against us." Once many reached the top they disliked, resented the price they had paid. It was hard work, six days a week, and their lives were not their own. Ann Rutherford put it succinctly, "We were really like slaves. You were chattels of the studios." The actors were forced to do whatever the studios told them to do or they were suspended. Thus, one saw Jimmy Stewart and Joan Crawford trying to teeter around in ice skates in an ice follies movie.

Some like Deanna Durbin turned their backs on Hollywood - she fled to a farmhouse in France and evidently lived quite happily there. Others remained to fight, among the best battlers were Bette Davis, James Cagney and Olivia de Havilland.

All the stars from then and now are included, their ups and downs comprehensively chronicled by Jeanine Basinger who turns in-depth research into fascinating reading. The Star Machine is more than worth the price of admission.

Enjoy.

- Gail Cooke

Jeanine Basinger is that rare Hollywood historian who combines a unique, refreshing style with authentic research. My favorite chapter is the one on Lana Turner.