Hollywood Enigma: Dana Andrews

by Carl Rollyson and Mary Louise Kelly

Book Overview

Dana Andrews (1909-1992) worked with distinguished directors such as John Ford, Lewis Milestone, Otto Preminger, Fritz Lang, William Wyler, William A. Wellman, Mervyn Le Roy, Jean Renoir, and Elia Kazan. He played romantic leads alongside the great beauties of the modern screen, including Joan Crawford, Elizabeth Taylor, Greer Garson, Merle Oberon, Linda Darnell, Susan Hayward, Maureen O'Hara, and most important of all, Gene Tierney, with whom he...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1604735678
• ISBN13: 9781604735673
• Release Date: July 2012
• Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
• Length: 350 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Rather poorly written

The author uses words like "evanscent," "concatenation," and "foci mimics," just to name a few elite words. A bit of a turnoff. Was the author trying to show off his broad vocabulary? I found that a distraction. I also did not like his format. At first, I thought I would like it because he used quotes from Dana's journal and direct quotes from his daughter Susan. But then the author proceeded to describe each and every movie in detail. Meaning the beginning, the middle, and all of the endings. Not to showcase anecdotes from Dana's experiences or people that he met along the way, but to reveal all the endings, leaving nothing for the reader to explore on their own. Rather insulting and condescending, like I couldn't form an opinion of a movie by myself. The author did not get to the root of the reason for Dana's drinking compulsion. He had a fabulous, loving family life; both family of origin and his married life with kids. I think that the author left me thinking less of Dana Andrews, instead of an insight into what makes him tick. I couldn't detect what his problems were that caused him to drink to excess. All in all, a major disappointment as I waited months to buy this book.