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Title: Vamp: The Rise and Fall of Theda Bara by Eve Golden ISBN: 1-879511-32-0 Publisher: Vestal Press Ltd Pub. Date: February, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.6 (15 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Movie Star Vamp: Available for Dinner Parties and Scrabble
Comment: My exposure to Theda Bara and her career in silent films was very minimal when I decided to pick up this book. Basically, I knew she was the original "Vamp", that Theda Bara was not her birth name and that her name was an anagram for Arab Death. My knowledge, for lack of a better word, was encyclopedic. All I knew was that she had dark haunting eyes, reeked of glamour and was so, so Silent Film-ish. I had to know more. Thankfully, the first book I picked up on this underappreciated film legend was "VAMP: The Rise and Fall of Theda Bara" by Eve Golden. Ms. Golden's well-researched material is nicely presented through a gauzy veil of wit, aptly aimed sarcasm and insight. She presents the new film industry as it was at that time-assembly line production of films mixed with bizarre PR schemes, a now far outdated style of acting, tedium and excitement. Theda Bara may have been one of the first actresses to be treated like a true movie star but off-screen she was no "vampire"; on the contrary, she was college-educated bookworm Theodosia Goodman from Cincinnati, OH. Off screen, Theda Bara much preferred a good book or a small dinner gathering to "vamping" it up. (In contemporary Colleen Moore's autobiography "Silent Star", Ms. Moore praised Ms. Bara for her delectable wit and lack of pretentiousness. With her interest in entertaining, Ms. Bara ended up being one of the most sought after hostesses in Hollywood, as mentioned in Anita Loos' "The Talmadge Girls".)
Eve Golden does a praiseworthy job of combining the "otherness" of the film industry with the surprising pragmatism of its first star-Theda Bara. The inspired, sometimes sarcastic writing of Ms. Golden seems only appropriate when one thinks of how Ms. Bara was known by her contemporaries for her snappy witticisms. So many books written on the Silent Era take on the tone of a college lecture and I commend Ms. Golden for giving the subject matter a life and vibrancy due the often under-appreciated Theda Bara. And lest I forget, a comment about the included photos: they are simply stunning. A myriad of Hollywood movie stills and personal photos, the included pictures bring a realness to the era and to Theodosia Goodman/Theda Bara that is often overlooked. These shots become even more of a treasure when one learns that only 4 of Theda's many films are still in existence-and none still exists from her most lavish and sensational performances, like Cleopatra, Salome, and Kathleen Mavoureen.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Fascinating Woman
Comment: I'm not sure where or when I first heard of Theda Bara, but ever since I did, I thought it was a 'cool' name. The name --- and that she was an actress in the distant past --- was about all I knew about her ... until I read Eve Golden's excellent book. I got this book more or less on a whim; but from it I learned a great deal about this fascinating actress with the cool name. It turns out that she probably was a pretty 'cool' person as well! In fact, this book led me to seek out copies of the few remaining movies Miss Bara made --- such a pity that more examples of her work don't exist. The examples I've seen are, it is often said, not her best; but she seems to have been quite a capable actress.
This is not a review of Miss Bara, however, but of Ms. Golden's book. And a great book it is: informative, well-illustrated (I agree with the author's philosophy that 'a biography without pictures is like a cake without icing'), and with a clear writing style. It is extremely well-researched too --- the numerous quotes from contemporary reviews of Miss Bara's movies shows that Ms. Golden did her homework.
I don't know exactly what some reviewers meant when they noted Ms. Golden's 'sarcastic' attitude. I enjoyed her writing. Her book was informative, not too scholarly, and written with good humor. I think it's a book Miss Bara herself might have liked. It certainly succeeded in sparking my interest in this actress, and in the genre of silent films in general.
In this book you will learn not only about Theda Bara's life and work; you will also discover much about the early film industry, and about Hollywood publicity operations too. And here's an interesting tidbit: the 'cool' name was not really an invention of a Hollywood studio at all; in fact, the 'Arab Death' story came about as an afterthought, long after the name itself had stuck on Theodosia ('Theda') Goodman.
Rating: 5
Summary: Great Look Into Hollywoods First Bad Girl
Comment: I have always had an interest in the Silent Era this was one of the first books I read on this era.Theda Bara was the movies first bad girl in reality the book will show that she was happiest with a book in her lap. What I mostly enjoy about Eve Golden and her work is her ability to write a biography without showing bias.This is a great intersting account into the life of Hollywoods "Vamp".
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Title: Clara Bow: Runnin' Wild by David Stenn ISBN: 0815410255 Publisher: Cooper Square Press Pub. Date: March, 2000 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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Title: American Silent Film by William K. Everson ISBN: 0306808765 Publisher: DaCapo Press Pub. Date: September, 1998 List Price(USD): $18.50 |
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Title: Silent Stars by Jeanine Basinger ISBN: 0819564516 Publisher: Wesleyan Univ Pr Pub. Date: November, 2000 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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Title: Lulu in Hollywood: Expanded Edition by Louise Brooks, Kenneth Tynan ISBN: 0816637318 Publisher: Univ of Minnesota Pr (Trd) Pub. Date: 10 July, 2000 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Louise Brooks: A Biography by Barry Paris ISBN: 0816637814 Publisher: Univ of Minnesota Pr (Trd) Pub. Date: 10 July, 2000 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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