Hollywood - the name signifies a world of American dreams and dreamers. Its influence seems to be riding higher than ever in the midst of the current economic downturn. As always, we want to be amused, amazed, transported from the routine of daily life into something more diverting and exciting. Movies are one of America’s most popular exports. Via movie theater, tape, DVD or streaming video, Hollywood films keep us entertained here at home as well. Yet, with all our wishes to be swept away in the dream of the big screen, we also seem never to lose a certain curiosity about where the illusion ends, and reality begins.
The Library is currently featuring a Hooray for Hollywood Book and Film Display, located on the main floor of the Library. To explore all things Hollywood - legend and reality - stop by and check out classic films, biographies of film personalities and exciting novels that will deliver you deep into the heart of the town.
Book selections currently featured on the display include:
Clara Bow, Runnin’ Wild by David Stenn
Clara Bow, star of numerous silent films and early talkies, personified sex as fun, earning the sobriquet “The It Girl.” Notoriety ended her career before she was 30. In this sensitive biography, readers will find a vibrant woman to empathize with, as well as an engrossing history of early picture-making.
Paul Newman: a Life by Shawn Levy
Respectful survey of Newman’s long life and massive film career. A kind of accidental hero, Newman recognized that his blue-eyed good looks would open doors for him, but by sheer determination and work ethic he muscled his way to the Olympian heights of America’s finest actors.
Blonde: a Novel by Joyce Carol Oates
Dramatic, provocative and unsettlingly suggestive, Blonde is as much a bombshell as its protagonist, the legendary Marilyn Monroe. Writing in highly charged, impressionistic prose, Oates creates a striking and poignant portrait of the mythic star and the society that made and failed her.
And don’t miss a screening of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical wartime romance South Pacific in the Library Theater on Saturday, March 20 at 2 PM. This 1958 color film will be screened in stunning High Definition and Surround Sound. Even better, it will be introduced with superb pre-film commentary by the Library’s own Doug Swiszcz, Librarian and Film Enthusiast extraordinare!
