Marie Dressler
A Biography; With a Listing of Major Stage Performances, a Filmography and a Discography
Matthew
Kennedy
ISBN
978-0-7864-2844-1
56 photos, notes, bibliography, index
279pp.
softcover
(7 x 10)
2006 [1999]
Available for immediate shipment
Description
Early in the century, Marie Dressler was hailed as one of America’s finest comics, with a 20-year string of Broadway and vaudeville successes including The Lady Slavey, Miss Prinnt, Higgledy Piggledy, The Man in the Moon, and Tillie’s Nightmare. She starred with Charlie Chaplin in the first ever feature-length comedy Tillie’s Punctured Romance and later in Min and Bill for which she won an Academy Award. A brilliant comedienne in body, timing, inflection and reactions, her talents far exceeded the expectations of slapstick, and her movies earned sums far greater than those of Garbo, or Harlow, or even Gable.
This work examines Dressler’s life from vaudeville to talkies. Based on extensive research and interviews with Dressler’s surviving friends, co-stars and colleagues, including Maureen O’Sullivan, Jackie Cooper and Anita Page, it details her public and personal successes and failures. A listing of her stage appearances, vocal recordings and films is included.
About the Author
Matthew Kennedy is a film critic for Bright Lights Film Journal. Visit his website at www.matthewkennedybooks.com.
Reviews
"excellent...written with flair and impressively researched, it eloquently conveys the mixture of laughter and tears which marked the comedienne’s art and life...one of the finest McFarland books of recent years"--Past Times
"meticulous research...a must read"--The Silents Majority
"highly readable...Kennedy writes with wit and has performed remarkable research...well-illustrated"--Bay Area Reporter
Read more reviews
|
|
Table of Contents & Excerpts
Related Books
Performing Arts/Film
Interdisciplinary Studies/Women’s Studies
|
