Howard Hawks: The Grey Fox of Hollywood
by Todd McCarthy
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Book Summary Information
Author: Todd McCarthyEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2000-11
ISBN: 0802137407
Number of pages: 768
Publisher: Grove Press
Book Reviews of Howard Hawks: The Grey Fox of Hollywood
Book Review: Hawks Biography Depicts a Sphinxlike Director of Good Movies
Summary: 3 Stars
As a native Hoosier I was prepared to like Howard Hawks. Hawks was born into relative luxury in Goshen, Indiana. He was raised
in Pasedena, graduated with an engineering degree from Cornell,
served briefly in World War I and rose to directorial fame in
silent film.
Hawks wed three times. Wife one was Athole the daughter of
the lovely and nice Norma Shearer. His second wife "Slim"was a
social climbing fashion plate whose nickname was used by Lauren
Bacall in To Have and Have Not with Bogey. His third wife Dee
was an aspiring actress who wed the older Hawks to achieve a life of comfort. Hawks was a womanizer throughout his life who was unfaithful and often cruel in his dealings with women.
Repugnant!
Hawks was also a gambler losing fortunes and also known as a drinker of note matching bourbons with such buddies as William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway and Gary Cooper. His closest friend was famed director Victor Fleming the director of Gone With the Wind and other classics.
Why then spend almost 700 pages on this taciturn, egocentric,
cruel man? Simply put -the great movies he directed. Hawks is
known for such classics as Dawn Patrol; Sergeant York; To Have and Have Not; the Big Sleep. Classic westerns directed by Hawks include Red River with John Wayne and Rio Bravo with the Duke.
Sophisticated comedy delivered at torrid rates of dialogue verbniage include His Girl Friday with Cary Grant and Rosalind
Russell. Grant also stared in Hawks's Only Angels Have Wings
and "I Was a Male War Bride" with Ann Sheridan. My personal
favorite of the great director are "To Have and Have Not" and
"The Big Sleep" with Bogey and Bacall.
On and on I could go listing the classics making this man's
oeuvre impressive; his influence on younger directors and his
storytelling skills reasons to celebrate the genius of HWH!
Movie books like this one could be boring to someone who tires of reading countless pages on the making of each movie, the financing of the films and the often legal troubles Hawks engaged in against such powerful moguls as Mayer. Warner and
Zanuck. To those of us who enjoy learning about the golden age of Hollywood they are glorious glimpses in the story of Tinseltown.
Hawks was a man of action enjoying sports, auto racing and
even croquet! He loved horses, bourbon, babes and making films!
Hawks was no intellectual and admired he-men like Wayne. If we
look at America we see the vision of HOward Hawks making an impression for generations of filmgoers. His films never won an
Oscar but his ability to excell in many genres from Westerns to
light romance to war/adventure tales is admirable.
McCarthy gets a good grade for showing us Hawks in all his
glory and all his greedy desire to seize life by the neck!
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