Oh, Gavin Lambert! King of writing books that fail me on subjects that interest me! I was sorely disappointed in his bio of Norma Shearer and I couldn't get through the one he wrote on Cukor. He deserves kudos for writing about gay artists but I wish his writing talent were better. Don't you wish Barry Paris had attempted this subject?
Still, because there are so few mentions, let alone books, on Nazimova I might check this one out. Didn't she have an affair with Oscar Wilde's niece? Plus, the pictures look fab! I always remember her in Since You Went Away, where she plays a factory worker in a war plant. She's on screen for about 10 minutes but you can't get her out of your mind. I had no idea she was 65 in that film--she looks about 40. Good genes ftw!
Yargh, I wish I'd known that about him! I noticed his list of previous works was pretty long. Yeah, Barry Paris or Robert Stein would've been much better at tackling this subject. I'll grudgingly give Lambert credit for the fact (as some reviewers pointed out) he didn't sensationalize the more, well, sensational aspects of Nazimova's life (the lavender marriage and general free boinking on the side with both genders). But I know Stein personally loathes Hollywood Babylon and its offshoots and I'm fairly sure Paris like any other esteemed biographer would've handled the material well, too
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Still, because there are so few mentions, let alone books, on Nazimova I might check this one out. Didn't she have an affair with Oscar Wilde's niece? Plus, the pictures look fab! I always remember her in Since You Went Away, where she plays a factory worker in a war plant. She's on screen for about 10 minutes but you can't get her out of your mind. I had no idea she was 65 in that film--she looks about 40. Good genes ftw!
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