The Paramount Pretties

It seems James Parish churns out far too many books. However, his series of books dealing with films and stars of the Golden period of Hollywood are absolutely indispensible for movie buffs. Anyone old enough to remember the old (now defunct) film magazine, ''Films in Review'', will recall the magazine's monthly career article on stars which covered their films in detail. The article was followed by a filmography and many photos. The Paramount Pretties is in similar vein. It covers the careers of female stars (under contract at one time) to Paramount studio - stars like Gloria Swanson, Clara Bow, Claudette Colbert, Carole Lombard, Marlene Dietrich, Miriam Hopkins, Sylvia Sidney, Mae West, Dorothy Lamour, Paulette Doddard, Veronica Lake, Diana Lynn, Betty Hutton, Joan Caulfield, Lizabeth Scott and Shirley Maclaine. The great thing about this book is that all of the stars' films are covered in detail along with details about their personal lives (each chapter is like a mini book). At the end is a detailed filmography and a section on photos. Anyone interested in old stars should immediately add this great book to their library.

The majority of this books has chapters on known stars like Clara Bow, Marlene Dietrich, and Carole Lombard. What makes it worthwhile and different than other books is the inclusion of Diana Lynn. Seeing as how this book was published in 1972 it makes sense she's here as she's unfortunately been forgotten over time. She was a perky cute blonde who played girl next door types. Her most famous roles were her small ones in Major and the Minor and Miracle of Morgan's Creek. But her best performance was the leading female one in Bedtime for Bonzo. As I've been watching some of her films lately getting a chance to read about her career was a real joy for me.