David O. Selznick's Hollywood

David O. Selznick arrived in Hollywood fully armed, like Athena springing from the head of Zeus. He practically cut his teeth on the picture industry learning from his father who produced silent films. The story of Hollywood is the story of David O. Selznick. For four magnificent decades Selznick called the shots, bringing freshness, ingenuity and just plain chutzpah to the motion picture industry. Although this book is not a biography of Selznick, he is inextricably entwined in Hollywood. You could almost say he is Hollywood. The text of this coffee table book is excellent, and often funny, and along with the magnificent pictures you'll be taken right into the studios of the great films as they are being made. You'll marvel at the intricacies of "King Kong":"For the great ape's massive footsteps, two toilet plungers were covered with sponge rubber and trompeed across a section of gravel." The ingenuity of this 1933 film is mind- boggling. With the exception of one huge head sculpture, all the figures of Kong were done using 18 inch models. The jungle scenes were carefully created to echo the work of engraver Gustave Dore'. You'll lose yourself in "Gone with the Wind" which went through three directors and fifteen script writers. GWTW took two years to complete and tying up all the loose ends of this massive panorama required a superman, and Selznick was just that. Pictures of the various actresses being tested for the role of Scarlett are included and they are fascinating. (Thank goodness Vivien Leigh won out over, say, Bette Davis!) GWTW is, of course, the benchmark against which all films are judged. There's "Rebecca", "Intermezzo", "Duel in the Sun" and many more films for you to get immersed in. Throughout the book are splendid full color movie posters, including one of Rudolph Valentino that will knock your socks off. This mighty coffee table tome weighs five pounds (for ducks, I weighed it) and I can guarantee that once you poke your nose into this book you won't be able to put it down. Selznick himself said "There are only two kinds of class: first class and no class." There's no doubt to which category "David O. Selznick's Hollywood" belongs.

Anyone who follows classic movies seriously knows who David O. Selznick was - the genius behind "Gone With the Wind" and many other immortal films. Both as a senior honcho at MGM (he was married for many years to Louis B. Mayer's daughter before moving on to actress Jennifer Jones) and as an independent producer, he was truly one of the towering figures of Hollywood's "Golden Age". Ronald Haver has done a superb job of not only writing a biography of Selznick (not only in words, but in images as well), but in assembling a breathtaking collection of photographs and images of the master's works. As other reviewers have suggested, the first edition of this book (which I'm fortunate enough to own) is the one for collectors to get because of its superior production values, but _any_ edition of this book is well worth getting. A key reference work on the height of the "studio era" and a first-rate coffee-table book.

RON HAVER PUT TOGETHER ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS ON THE GOLDEN YEARS OF HOLLYWOOD, WITH THIS BOOK ON DAVID O SELZNICK'S HOLLYWOOD FILMS. ESPECIALLY THE FIRST EDITION, WHICH HAS LARGE FOLD OUT PAGES FROM THE MOTION PICTURE KING KONG, WITH THE IMPRINTS MADE FROM THE ORIGINAL PRESSES THAT WERE ORIGINALLY USED FOR THE FILM IN 1933. THIS WAS SUCH AN EXPENSIVE PRINTING PROJECT, THE BOOK INITIALLY SOLD FOR $85.00 IN THE EARLY 1980'S. AS THE HIGH COST MADE FOR LOW SALES, THE PRODUCTION VALUES WERE DROPPED FOR LATER EDITIONS OF THIS BOOK, AND DID NOT UTILIZE THE ORIGINAL PLATES USED IN THE FIRST EDITION, AND DID NOT FOLD OUT FROM THE BOOK. THE LATER EDITIONS ONLY USED ONE PAGE FOR WHAT THE ORIGINAL EDITION USED A LARGE FOLD OUT DOUBLE THE SIZE OF WHAT WAS IN THE ORIGINAL PRINTING. SO IF YOU WANT TO SEE THIS BOOK IN ALL ITS' GLORY, LOOK FOR THE VERY FIRST EDITION, AS IT IS A MUCH MORE IMPRESSIVE PRINTING.

This is a wonderfully written and beautifully produced book about the movies. Specifically Hollywood movies that David O. Selznick was involved in making. The photographs are beautiful and it sits well on a coffee table. Just don't let anyone spill on it! I love my book and received it for Christmas years ago. I still cherish it and look at it from time to time. Of course, I'm a Gone With The Wind lover.