The Elephant to Hollywood

Unexpectedly delightful. Warm, moving, funny, sentimental, innocent but not naive. Comes across as a likeable, sociable bloke with a steely core that he doesn't need to flaunt. Could be accused of name-dropping, especially of a previous generation of Hollywood honchos, but he clearly enjoys their company and is generous to those who've helped him. Story of his falling in love (which I heard him tell before) is wonderful. Story of discovery of his disabled half-brother brought tears to my eyes. He's well aware of the media and jealous rivals snapping at his heels but seems to have little trouble from them; perhaps his mix of charm and toughness keeps them at bay. Simple but graceful style which we are led to believe is his own. ( )

What this book has going for it is that you really feel like Michael Caine is there in the room with you just shooting the you-know-what. He is just telling his stories. And that is why this book succeeds. He is sharing with us, as if we were all great friends, the way he became an actor and the way he became a famous actor and the various interactions he has had with other famous people.

By using the “I’m just telling you stories” approach, the accusation of “name dropper” never lands. And the sincerity of the prose shines through. This is a man who has succeeded through effort and (as with all of us) just a little luck. He knows it, and is thankful for the great things he has been able to do.

For most of the book, the conversational style works really well. It all loses steam at toward the end. Then again, we are all losing a little steam as we move further into our own lives.

Probably a book that is more fun to those of us who remember all the old stars. But worth trying, even if you don’t. (And I defy you to read the book without hearing Michael Caine’s voice in your head.) ( )

A lot of great actors are not interesting at all: they just think they are because they are well known, so I seldom read any actor's biography; I prefer the biographies of businessmen and sports coaches: at least I know I will learn something. I made three exceptions: one with Paul Newman, because he was successful at anything he tried, one with Laurence Olivier, because I wondered if he was as insufferable as I suspected - and he was. The third one is Michael Caine, because I have seen him in a lot of bad movies, but he never gave a bad performance or let himself go. In a 40 years career' span, it says something of the man's character.
Caine was born on the wrong side of the tracks in Britain in 1933. There was a much bigger class division in Britain than in the USA or France, a division I still felt in the 40s, 50s and early 60s. The Victorian snobbery was still in full blast; the great depression was followed by the war and the great decolonization: that did not help anybody get out of misery. What made of Michael Caine a success? Character. It makes the book worth reading for me.
The general mood of the book is good: no complaint, lament or bitterness. Caine is a good story teller and sees the funny side of things. He is faithful to his friends, so do not expect scandals and shocking revelations. If you are a good reader, you will guess who he does not care for, but he never spells it out. Caine met everybody in Hollywood. Some people call it "name dropping." I do not see it that way. Caine was starstruck as any movie fan and happy to meet his big American screen heroes. In my field, people who ever met Einstein are happy to talk about it, and they think it will make you happy too, I pass around whatever nice story I know about the few Nobel prizes I met: it is not about me, and it is not about Caine: it is sharing the small pleasures of life. Proof of this is that Caine shares memories of friends we never heard about, the people he found remarkable and was proud to meet. Once again, this shows character.
Altogether, a remarkable man. A good and easy read -with a lot of depth under the apparent lightness.
To the future actor, I heartily recommend reading Michael Caine's "Acting in Film: An Actor's Take on Movie Making." ( )

A pleasant enough amble through the life of a great movie actor. A little too much of my lovely famous friends for me but contains enough insights into what it takes to be a movie star and movie actor to keep the interest going. ( )

This is my second Michael Caine autobiography. After reading "What's It All About, Alfie?", I loved Michael Caine even more than his acting performances. Although this book revisits many of the same things from that first book, there are new stories and I think Michael is a wonderful writer and I like to listen to his stories.

This book was a little more disjointed, I had trouble keeping track of exactly where we were on his history time line and people were confusing to keep track of as he went back and forth telling stories that included them.

He has a real sense of engaging his reader, like he's talking just to you, and I adore his honesty. I think he has more stories to tell if he will just dare to tell them. And as a side note, this was my first read on my new Kindle. Perfect. ( )