Robert Mitchum: Baby, I Don't Care

I first read this biography tye year it came out after it had been named one of the Best Books of the Year in the Los Angeles Times list. This took me by surprise since Robert Mitchum was not the type of actor who usually ended up on Best anything lists when he was alive. I would go so far as to say he was one of the most overlooked great actors and stars. I read the book from cover to cover and it was as good as the Times said and better, enthralling, informative, full of new information about Mitchum and the hundred movies he made. More crazy things happened to Mitchum than all the other stars put together. This book has some of the most entertaining and funny Hollywood stories I have ever read. Mitchum was an eccentric man who didnt play by anybody's rules. He refused to take Hollywood bull-- (I don't think i can use the word that Mitchum aimed at Hollywood most of the time. The book recounts a larger than life story and tells it so that you feel like you are reading a novel and want to know what happens next. You go from the hard living of the Depression and Mitchum running away from home and riding the rails until he gets into big trouble and on a chain gang. Then the first years as a struggling movie actor falling on his butt in a lot of b westerns. Then stardom but he almost ruins that by a little problem with drugs and a police raid when Mitchum is playing around with some sexy young actresses. This is a long section in the book that covers his trial and jail time and it is great. Some of the stories in the book had me rolling over with laughter (I won't spoil it but the best oneis about a big donnybrook fight with Frank Sinatra and some other actor and Mitchum and it involves eating Sinatra's toupee). The author writes in a very readable style that is like watching a Mitchum movie if you know what I mean, with a lot of tough snappy lines and a cynical attitude but I don't think Mitchum could have asked for a better biographer because he never lets you forget what a great actor Mitchum is and how much he brought to these movies. Sever interviewed hundreds of people who knew Robert Mitchum. He found the people who went to grade school with him in the 1920s, and they proved that Mitchum was an original even then. He talks to relatives, co-stars, drinking buddies, his personal assistant for fifty years, people who knew every aspect of Mitchum's life so that you get a fully rounded picture of the man. He finds the most amazing people to talk to about Mitchum and they all have amazing, funny, outrageous stories to tell (oh yes let me mention the story about sneaking the hashish out of India or the story about The Night of the Hunter when Mitchum has a little disagreement with the movie's producer and does something to the man's car (it is the producer himself who tells Server this funny story) The biographer seems to have spent a lot of time with the one person living who knew Mitchum from the time he was born, his older sister, and she gives

Actor Robert Mitchum was the Real Deal, and author Lee Server has written a wonderful book about him entitled "Robert Mitchum, 'Baby I Don't Care'." Relatively unschooled, the naturally intelligent Mitchum hit the Depression era American roads at age 14. A dozen years later, in the midst of WWII, the roustabout made his motion picture acting debut as a bad guy in a Hopalong Cassidy western. That began a "magic carpet ride" that spanned six decades of glamorous, rough and tumble Hollywood history. Server's thoroughly researched page-turner takes us along for the ride. And what a life it was! If you love movies, you'll love this book.Mitchum took a lifelong lunch bucket approach to his work. He was not about making high art, he was there for the paycheck. He showed-up on time, hit his mark, and delivered his lines. Then he went out and played hard, oftentimes until it was time to show-up again. As a studio contract player for RKO early in his career, he assured himself a lasting place in cinematic history by starring in many of the "dark" potboilers that became a beloved genre, film noir. When the studio system came apart in the mid-fifties, Mitchum transitioned into a globe-trotting international star who held his own with anybody for the next twenty years. He never quit working, even as age and lifestyle finally caught up with him. It is astonishing to remember that his last picture was released just six years ago.Like all good biographers (and good filmmakers) Server does not get in the way of the story. He does not burden the reader with any amateur psychoanalysis or judgmental moralizing about his subject. As Server leads us chronologically through this unique actor's 120-film career, his admiration and sympathy for Mitchum are self-evident. But Server pulls no punches. As he so ably and entertainingly relates, Mitchum was a contradictory and sometimes complex character. A fundamentally liberal and philosophical man who enjoyed writing poetry, he was also quite capable of chauvinism, bigotry, and the crassest vulgarianism. Some of Mitchum's story hurts, but most of it is pure pleasure.Pull on a trench coat. Stick a gat in your pocket. Saddle-up your horse and ride out and buy Server's book. Then take it home, get in your favorite armchair and "roll `em." It doesn't get any better than this.

Lee Server's new book on Robert Mitchum will satisfy the knowledgeable and the curious . It is replete with facts and interviews never before available and written with a charm and wit that the erudite Mr. Mitchum would have found appealing. At the same time the book confronts the conflicts within that made Mitchum beguiling and boorish simultaneously. A gifted talent, a mercurial loner, and an impossible puzzle even to all who knew him best... this book is a fascinating and amazing read. It is with out question one of the best biographies to come along in many, many years. Kudos upon kudos for Mr. Server. A stellar effort with a fabulous subject. Buy it today, and ship it rush! Sincerely, Butch Huff [email protected]

I just recently finished Lee Server's bio on Robert Mitchum and found it to be extremely worthwhile. I had been eagerly awaiting for it to come out, both as a Robert Mitchum fan and as a fan of the writer, Lee Server, who has written excellent books on Pulp Fiction, Vintage Paperbacks, and Noir culture in general. He has a humorous and hip take on these subjects, knowledgable and enthusiastic without being academic.The Mitchum book is written in the same style. It's full of great stories and details, particularly about his early life on the road, his infamous Reefer Bust, and how many of his movies were developed. There are numerous and lively anecdotes about many well-known directors and actors (John Huston, Charles Laughton, Jane Russell, Marilyn Monroe) and some others who should be better known (Jane Greer, Edward Dmytryk, Anthony Caruso, Jacques Tourneur) The blend of Mitchum's actual life and his film life is shown seamlessly and there are no phony explanations about any of his actions. He is shown in many aspects: poet, partyer, brawler, and father. Warts and all. The book is a long one with many details but it is written in a crisp and fast-moving style. A very enjoyable read. Anyone who wants to learn more about: Mitchum, Film Noir, Hollywood, and a fascinating slice of 20th Century history should pick it up. This one's a keeper!

Bio's I generally keep around for "light" reading to fill in those breaks when other books get to heavy. However, this well done tome written by Lee Server kept my attention from the introduction to the epilog. Of course, being a life-long fan of Mitchum may have had something to do my diligent enthusiasm for sticking with it while dust settled around me. The author obviously dug deep in his research because he offers much information I don't think was generally known about Mitchum. His long marriage, which had to be a great trial to his long-suffering wife Dorothy, was exposed in a different tenor then anything else I've read on the couple. He brings out a soft, compassionate side to the crusty, vulgar macho man one generally hasn't been exposed to. Mitchum have been one of the few actors who worked with Marilyn Monroe that was understanding of her tardiness and outward vanity that covered a very vunerable woman with low self-esteem. Yet, he wasn't afraid to take on the "big guys"....the directors and producers while endeavoring to protect those that were intimidated by the "fat cats". He stood up for his convictions and remained honorable to those he cared about. To the end he was his image...Robert Mitchum; tough guy. He probably never had a clue how highly he was thought of because to him, he was just doing a job that as he put it, a dog, "Rin Tin Tin" was in the same profession! He tossed out one-liners that years from now will probably be well known cliches. I always respected him as an actor....now, I also respect him as a man. Hollywood lost their last great actor from the glory days.