Joan Crawford: Hollywood Martyr by David Bret

From the Publisher

In the first biography of Joan Crawford to give the full, uncensored story, bestselling author David Bret tells Crawford's rags to riches climb, from working in a Kansas City laundry to collecting an Oscar for her defining role in Mildred Pierce, and on to her devotion to Christian Science and reliance on vodka. He discusses the star's legendary relationship with Clark Gable, her countless love affairs, her marriages -- three of them to gay men -- and her obsession with rough sex. Bret divulges what really happened that led her to disinherit two of her four children, earning her the nickname "Mommie Dearest," as well as how her loathed mother forced Crawford to work as a prostitute, appear in pornographic films, and sleep her way to the top.

Bret analyzes Crawford's films, many of which were constructed purely as vehicles where actress and character were often indistinguishable. Overtly generous towards her coterie of gay friends, she was heartless towards her enemies, particularly Bette Davis, her co-star in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, with whom she shared a lifelong feud.

Drawing on a wealth of unpublished material and interviews, David Bret presents a unique, fascinating portrait of a single-minded, uncompromising woman.

Publishers Weekly

Bret, who has written several celebrity bios, details Joan Crawford's rags-to-riches story in this able biography. Born Lucille LeSueur in 1905, Crawford lived a hardscrabble life in the Midwest; as the product of a Dickensian childhood, she slept her way to the top. She became a taxi dancer who turned tricks; discovered by an MGM talent scout at age 20, she headed to Hollywood. From silents to talkies, in a career that spanned from 1925 to 1970, Crawford, glamorous and vulnerable, became a gay icon and hero to working-class women in films like Possessed and the Oscar-winning Mildred Pierce. Renowned for sleeping with her leading men, she had an on-and-off affair with Clark Gable (who Bret claims swung both ways). Three of her four husbands were bisexual; two were abusive. Her voracious sexual appetite was legendary. Bret chronicles her films, her feud with Bette Davis and dismisses her daughter's Mommie Dearest tirade, but he revels in Hollywood's sexual excesses, and fans who crave a lively insider view will most appreciate this bio. (Jan.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Rosellen Brewer - Library Journal

When a celebrity biographer quotes liberally from Kenneth Anger's Hollywood Babylon, you know you're in for a campy read. Is this book over the top? Yes. But when practically everything has been said about Hollywood diva Joan Crawford—the woman even covered herself (A Portrait of Joan)—then it's time to dig for real dirt. Bret (Errol Flynn: Satan's Angel) uses "unpublished material and interviews" to reveal the following: that Crawford's mother made her prostitute herself, that three of Crawford's husbands were gay, and that the star appeared in porn films and liked rough sex. And that's just for starters. The first major biography of Crawford in almost a decade, Bret's book does a good job detailing Crawford's films and casts doubt on her adopted daughter's famous account in Mommie Dearest. However, it is often unclear where Bret has gotten some of his "facts." No matter, this is one guilty pleasure gossip fans will love. For those who want a more balanced approach, Bob Thomas's Joan Crawfordstill stands as one of the better biographies out there. For larger public libraries.

Kirkus Reviews

A flat, superficial biography that obsesses over Crawford's sex life as intensely as Crawford reportedly obsessed over having sex. Along with Greta Garbo, Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis, Bret finds Joan Crawford "one of four genuinely great movie actresses of the twentieth century." And from Bret's account, Crawford got to the top and stayed there most of her life because she was "an easy lay." In a vague and unclearly sourced account that leans heavily on previously published works (including Crawford's autobiography) and fan magazine copy, Bret has Crawford initiating sex with her high school football team, then bartering her favors to get stage and film roles (including some early porn flicks). Bret does not take into account the possibility that there's a light on Broadway for every actor willing to sleep with directors and producers to get work-but that this does not necessarily translate into a successful career. What set Crawford apart from the willing pack? Could she also act? Did the public respond to something in her often splendidly dressed and photographed images? Bret finds her work awful in Rain and enthralling in Humoresque. But rather than analyze why Crawford dominated the film frame in some of the quintessential "women's films" of Hollywood's golden age, Bret supplies flatly written plot summaries that are devoid of critical perspective. Beyond the plodding synopses, the work largely becomes another "Who Was Gay/Straight/Bisexual in Hollywood." Just about everyone, it seems, Crawford included, swung both ways. And most of the men, from this account, were sexually well equipped. Crawford's second husband, Franchot Tone, was "horse hung." Gary Cooper and John Barrymorewere "two-handers." And though he may have been the love of Crawford's life, Clark Gable had modest sexual equipment and, worse, severe halitosis. Bedroom noir.

Product Details

• ISBN: 0306816245
  
• ISBN-13: 9780306816246
• Format: Paperback, 336pp
• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Pub. Date: February 2008
• Sales Rank: 103,952

• Table of Contents

Table of Contents