Allan R. Ellenberger

The author has done an excellent job in documenting the life of actress Miriam Hopkins. The book is well-researched with interviews with family, lovers, and co-stars. I especially liked how the author followed through and told us what happened to the major people in Hopkins' life. The book allows us to get to know Hopkins who is probably best remembered for her "feud" with Bette Davis. Well, I think she had a right to be sore at Davis. It was Hopkins who starred in Jezebel on Broadway and show more then the film was given to Davis. Other films that Hopkins was given hope that she would be given the lead in include Dark Victory, All This and Heaven Too, and The Little Foxes - all starring roles for Bette Davis. She seemed to be serious about her craft and not above upstaging fellow actors in order to be the main focus of a scene. I guess you could say she was a diva but certainly a talented one who had many interests in addition to acting including art, reading, and politics. The book contains a listing of her stage appearances, film appearances, and tv appearances. This is a long overdue, well done book on Hopkins.. show less

The book is divided into two sections. The first half is a biography of Anita Page which was very good although it seemed to focus more on her film career (which everyone would be more interested in). I would have liked to have known more about her life after films. I also would have liked to have known if there were any stars she wished she would have had a chance to work with like Bette Davis, John Barrymore, etc. I also would have liked more comments on her working with Clark Gable since show more this was essentially his break out role. I wondered what she thought of him as Rhett Butler. The second half of the book takes each film and provides information like running time, credits, synopsis of plot, reviews, and most interesting - the opening acts at both the California and New York locations. This was the days when films still had a live show before the film so that was interesting to see. show less

Perhaps this will cover an ancestor, fun for the rest of us.