Laura, Book Club Edition
Ad Gal, Fortune Teller, Scriptwriter, Producer, Hit Novelist, Commie sympathizer Vera Caspary lived one hell of a roller coaster life — on her own terms.
Caspary was a natural storyteller and was driven to write, write, write!. At 17 Caspary dropped out of school and was soon writing ad copy and editing magazines. She even “created” mail order correspondence courses, such as the Sergei Marinoff School of Classic Dancing –and other topics she knew zilch about.
In the mid-1920′s she moved to Greenwich Village, quit her job, and began writing a “meaningful” novel. The White Girl in 1929 was about a southern black girl who moves north and passes as white (another expert topic for a nice Jewish girl from NYC). After this surprising hit, a stint editing an entertainment guide provided Caspary with an entree to the theater world and celebrities. Dazzled, Caspary set her sights on plays and short stories that could be sold to Hollywood.
Fallen Angel, Half Sheet
You’d never know it from the mousey part she plays in this picture, but Alice Faye was one tough cookie. The cop’s daughter from Hell’s kitchen was barely a teen when she scored her first job as a chorus girl in 1929. Two years later she hooked up with notorious letch Rudy Vallee and became his jailbait protégée. Adultry scandals followed, but sheer talent won out –she well on her way to stardom. During her years as a musical superstar, Alice Faye managed to introduce twenty-three songs to the hit parade, more than any other female Hollywood movie star. During her peak years, she was often considered the female equivalent to Bing Crosby. During this time she made numerous musicals which were pretty light on the plot, but were successful moneymakers for the studio. By 1938 she was Fox’s top female star.
Years after producing one of the great gritty noirs, Where the Sidewalk Ends, Otto Preminger was asked for his thoughts on the film. His response?
Avon 186, First Edition Paperback
His memories were similarly “blank” with regard to other 20th Century Fox noirs: Fallen Angel, “I can’t remember the picture at all”; and,Whirlpool ,” I cannot remember anything about this film.” Since his amnesia did not extend to Laura, or films after he left 20th Century Fox, OR to his life while at Fox, we can assume he didn’t suffer from a klunk on the head..
In his Autobiography, “Preminger“, published in 1977, he describes Fox as a “sausage factory” and then goes on to explain that after he finishes a film he basically forgets all about it*. Preminger went on to say that, “According to Freud, the ability to forget is the sign of a healthy mind.” ???????? Wow, nothing like reading an autobiography from a charter member of the hip-hooray amnesia club.
