Peter Bogdanovich (1939–2022)

Ford was notoriously rough on interviewers, but he was the least rough on Bogdanovich. I suppose his is as close to an authorized biography one is likely to get, with the possible exception of his grandson's book written a quarter century after Ford's death. That isn't saying much, as Ford habitually obfuscated, embellished, and flat out lied about his life. A good litmus test is what the author puts down as John Ford's birth name. If they say "Seán Aloysius Ó Fearna" or some variant, you show more know they were insufficiently critical of Ford's statements. If they put down "John Martin Feeney" you know they looked at his birth certificate and every OFFICIAL record ever created about him. Bogdanovich unfortunately fails that test, but he makes up for it with what else he was able to pull out of Ford over the last several years of his life. That, combined with his encyclopedic knowledge of the films and filmmakers of that period and his storytelling abilities makes this slender tome very worthwhile. show less

First read this one in college. Up to that point, I had seen Welles as an intelligent guy who made a movie in his youth, burned some bridges, and faded away into obscurity. One movie to both define and swiftly ruin his career. In short, a one trick pony.

Wrong, Past Me. Very wrong indeed.

Here was a man who could very well have done anything with his life, but since the love of the theatre and performing arts held him so, he couldn't ignore the joy it brought; this joy led him to spending most show more of his life doing whatever he could to raise money to make the next film. That was the goal.

Peter made Orson come to life for me with the interviews, brought to light just how in depth the man was, how funny he could be, and truly succeeded in displaying Welles as a man of passion-- of experience, very much the portrait of a lifelong perfectionist never truly satisfied, even in exhibiting the elements of his underrated greatness.

How lucky he must have been to had known him. show less

A chaotic woman crashes a man's life.

3/4 (Good)

Chaos characters are great. Screwball comedies are great. This is far from perfect, but I was consistently delighted.

(Mar. 2022)

A con man and a little girl travel across Kansas.

3/4 (Good).

It's not the kind of funny that goes for laughs - just amusing enough to keep the drama light and entertaining.