Monty
by Robert LaGuardia
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Description
"Classically handsome, extraordinarily gifted, a legend before his death who created the mold for James Dean and Marlon Brando--Montgomery Clift will never be forgotten by anyone who saw him on the screen. Women literally screamed for him; critics acclaimed him--yet he died, at the age of 45, a haunted, broken man. What happened? Why did so promising a life end so tragically? Here, through years of research and hundreds of interviews with Clift's family, friends, lovers, associates and show more confidants, illustrated with sixty photographs, many never before published, is the first definitive in-depth biography to break through the public and private façade of Montgomery Clift--a 1950s rebel on screen and off. Here are the famous films, from Red River to From Here to Eternity to The Misfits, as well as the real stories behind them: the lacerating fights with John Huston on Freud; the intense relationship with Elizabeth Taylor begun during the filming of A Place in the Sun; the man-to-man showdown with John Wayne in Red River; the deep friendships and provocative confrontations with such people as Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, Alfred Hitchcock. Elia Kazan, William Wyler, Olivia de Havilland, James Jones, Howard Hawks, and Katharine Hepburn. Here, too, is the private Monty, a life heretofore hinted at in rumors and whispers, but never before revealed in true depth: the frank story of his battles with alcohol and drugs; his complex relationships with friends and family; his sexual encounters with men and women; his psychological disturbances and bizarre behavior; the car accident that changed his life. From his peripatetic childhood in the close care of his mother to his early Broadway successes to his meteoric rise and subsequent fall before the eyes of the world, this is a riveting, life-size portrait of Montgomery Clift the actor and the man--a fascinating voyage into the spotlighted world of the movie star, and the dark realms of the human psyche. "--Dust jacket. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Originally quickly published to jump the publication date on the excellent Bosworth biography, this sometimes lurid and foundationally questionable biography nonetheless has some value.
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174 works; 1 member
Author Information
Awards and Honors
Distinctions
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Monty
- Original title
- Monty: A Biography of Montgomery Clift
- Original publication date
- 1977
- People/Characters
- Montgomery Clift
- Dedication
- For my father, Rocco LaGuardia
- First words
- The public remembers him as a splendid screen presence, glamorous and vulnerable.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Montgomery Clift was "the oldest person in the room."
Classifications
- Genres
- Biography & Memoir, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, LGBTQ+, Sexuality and Gender Studies
- DDC/MDS
- 791.430280924 — Arts & recreation Recreation, sports, and performing arts Public performances Motion pictures, radio, television, podcasting Motion pictures Standard subdivisions Acting and performance Standard subdivisions History, geographic treatment, biography Biography
- LCC
- PN2287 .C545 .L3 — Language and Literature Literature (General) Literature (General) Drama Dramatic representation. The theater Special regions or countries
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 148
- Popularity
- 221,334
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.56)
- Languages
- English, German
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 5
- UPCs
- 1
- ASINs
- 6
