Arts and Entertainment Books

Empire Publishing presents "Audie Murphy:Now Showing", celebrating the film career of Audie Leon Murphy ...born June 20, 1924 in Kingston,Texas...left us May 28, 1971 near Roanoke, Virginia.(plane crash) written by Sue Gossett who is an Audie Murphy historian...Gossett's first Empire publication "The Films and Career of Audie Murphy" received such wonderful reviews and praise.

Murphy was a top box office draw for various studios mainly Universal-International...most decorated US soldier of World War II...received the Medal of Honor, the highest award for military conduct above and beyond the call of duty, plus five other decorations from France and Belgium.

Audie made a total of 44 films, was also a successful rancher and businessman...bred and raised thoroughbred horses and owned several ranches in Texas, Arizona and California...released from active duty in 1945, struggled to make it as an actor and was cast in a starring role of "BAD BOY" (1949)..."THE KID FROM TEXAS" (1950)..."THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE" (1951)..."THE CIMARRON KID" (1952)..."GUNSMOKE" (1953)..."RIDE CLEAR OF DIABLO" (1954)..."TO HELL AND BACK" (1955), the film version of his autobiography which was a box office hit setting a record that lasted for twenty years..."WALK THE PROUD LAND" (1956)..."NIGHT PASSAGE" (1957), great western in which he played the Utica Kid, brother to James Stewart..."THE QUIET AMERICAN" (1958)..."NO NAME ON THE BULLET" (1959), another western with a twist in the screenplay and plot..."HELL BENT FOR LEATHER" (1960)..."SEVEN WAYS FROM SUNDOWN" (1960)..."THE UNFORGIVEN" (1960), as Cash Zachary brother to Ben Zachary (Burt Lancaster) in this epic story of the settlers and Indians who battle for the lost sister Rachel Zachary (Audrey Hepburn) only to find bloodshed and bring a family closer together..."POSSE FROM HELL" (1961)..."SIX BLACK HORSES" (1962)..."SHOWDOWN" (1963)..."BULLET FOR A BADMAN" (1964)..."ARIZONA RAIDERS" (1965)..."GUNPOINT" (1966)..."THE TEXICAN" (1966)..."40 GUNS TO APACHE PASS" (1967)..."A TIME FOR DYING" (1969), last film was never released in the United states, only shown in Europe.

This is a must have for any true Audie Murphy fan...with photos from films, lobby cards, publicity items and background comments from the author...more than 500 photo illustrations...complete filmography...foreign items and testimonials...interviews with many of the actors who appeared in the films...locations where the film was shot...short synopsis of each film which all "film-buffs" cherish.

Don't miss this one..."Now Showing" is appearing on Amazon and Empire Publishing ...Audie Murphy is still very much in our hearts when the films he has made appears on Turner Classic Movies, DVD and books like this one comes along...get your copy today. Great reading in the days and weeks to come...I guarantee it!

Total Page: 208 ~ Empire Publishing 9-780944 019382 ~ (10/18/2002)

I thought that this was a must have book for any fans of the Audie Murphy movies. I do wish that there were more color prints of the audie murphy western movie posters.

This book is a must for any movie fan, especially Audrey Hepburn fans. A beautiful story about the doe- eyed actress. This book contains plenty of never seen before pictures and they are absolutely amazing. You will be mesmerized by the incredible aura of Audrey Hepburn.

This is a wonderful book about the life of Audrey Hepburn. Packed with wonderful pictures and a fabulous look at her life, I must say that it's a definite A+ for all Audrey Hepburn or Golden Cinema fans.

Aimee Bratt's book is one of the most entertaining I have read in many years. All of us go to the movies and would love to see ourselves on the big screen - even just walking across the set for 2 seconds.
Ms. Bratt brings us into the world of film extras in a book that's full of fun and information. This book is great for yourself and as a gift.

Ms. Bratt does it again. Background Player is fascinating and engaging. Watching movies is a richer experience after reading her account of life as a bit player. Ms. Bratt pays tribute to all those extras whose names we don't know but who are vital to the movie industry. The well-chosen photographs illustrate the author's delightful narrative. This is a truly enchanting tale. I look forward to Ms. Bratt's next book.

This book can let people know what kind of singers that this cute and good band is that they are voting for! And also lets the fans get to know a little bit more about the people who inspire them!!IT ALSO HAS VERY ACCURATE PICTURES!

This bok is one ofthe most accurate and most informative out there. It gives us fans an intimate look into the boys. The picturese in the book are fantastic

I take ballet as a supplement to my gymnastics training. This book is a great help, and has thourougly guided me along the way. All ballet dancers will find this book has a fantastic resource, with tons of helpful info and advice. My favorite part, like always, has to be the section with all the ballet moves. It provides detailed instructions with full-color photographs to explain each move. This book also has advice on what to wear, which ballet school is right for you, and how to sew ribbons on pointe shoes. It also includes a chapter on pointe work skills. All and all, this is a terrific book, and I think all ballet dancers will love it.

This book is great for children with a dream of being a ballet dance good for boys and girls!!!! I give it 100 stars!!

I cannot imagine my life without the influence of Jack MacGowran as a crucial part of it. Young does an excellent job of bringing this amazing actor's life and work to the reader. But, after reading the book, please take the time to discover what Jack did best: Bringing the works of Samuel Beckett to life.

My interest in Irish theatre brought me to this book. What a find! A fascinating look at a fascinating actor. The author brings alive the work and times of MacGowran. A well-researched and thorough work recommended for any student of theatre. I was especially impressed with the variety of interview subjects. Made me do a search for MacGowran's available work on video. While not a big fan of Beckett, I was impressed by the relationship between the playwright and this ultimate interpreter of his works.

Though he died, sadly and miserably, before I was even born, the greatness of Canada Lee cast a long shadow over my early life on Long Island (a suburb of New York). Lee was but one of the victims of the tragic blacklist, and the HUAC hearings which tore apart the country, especially the entertainment world in which many well-meaning folks had taken part in various charitable organizations before and during World War II only to find themselves suspected of Communism or merely "premature anti-Fascism." It was a time in which, to paraphrase playwright Lillian Hellman, you had to cut your conscience to suit this year's fashions, and such a time may be coming around again. If so, the Canada Lees of today are going to come to a terrible end.

What a world! And yet, as Mona Smith shows us, there is redemption for even the most miserable of us, and Lee was able again and again to triumph over the ingrown and casual racism of the film world by finding parts that made him more than just a grinning servant a la the underrated Stepin Fetchit. He refused to play a servant and thus suffered many privations and was debied many roles, along with his better known compatriot Paul Robeson, also a famous athlete before turning to acting.

Lee's greatest films included Hitchcock's LIFEBOAT, in which he plays the only sane man in a lifeboat filled with hysterical excuses for human beings. This film, written partially by John Steinbeck, is one of those movies that seem more and more central to Hitch's career as time goes by--to Steinbeck's too.

Mona Smith's account of how she came to write the life of Canada Lee, as set forth in her preface, is heartbreaking. Unbelievably, Canada Lee's widow was still alive and was able to share with Ms. Smith a mountain of personal papers. It is trily one of the miracles of the archival process, and it makes her book not only a showbiz biography, but a study in civil rights and in American history and human endurance.

I recommend this book to everyone, of all ages, who wants to learn about redemption and sacrifice.

The story of Mr. Canada Lee is complex and great to read, I had heard of him growing up and I remember watching "Body and Soul" when it came on tv as a child and my family telling me all the great things he had done, and the fact that history until now has reported very little about him, gets me. He contributed a lot to helping others who were not treated fairly. And he also made it possible for stars today to not have to be limited to certain roles. He was a man of courage and stood firm in what he believed, even when others around him abandoned him, he never gave up. I can only hope I can be that strong in my own life.

Gene D. Phillips's "Beyong the Epic: The Life & Films of David Lean" comes at a time of renewed interest in David Lean and his films, and puts perhaps the definitive stamp on this filmmaker's achievements. Though it often goes over the same ground as previous books have on Lean--especially the excellent biography by Kevin Brownlow (1996)--Phillips's book has assembled a mass of material from biographical, critical and other sources, including personal interviews with actors, colleagues and filmmakers who knew Lean, and has integrated these materials into an admirable whole, lucidly and painstaikingly evaluating the opus of Lean in its entirety. At last, Phillips offers the Lean devotees--and a broader audience--a remarkable book that places the cinematic achievemnts of David lean into proper perspective, balancing all the elements of a director whose directorial style and methods both attracted and repelled viewers and critics, some of whom still have not accorded Lean the high place he deserves among twentieth century filmmakers. Massive and minutely authenticated, tackling the knottiest problems head on, "Beyond the Epic" redresses critical lapses, and, without being maudlin or worshipful, presents an image of David Lean as, deservedly, one of the greatest narrative film directors of the twentieth century.

The film historian Phillips brings out the person, the immense talent, and the consummate skills of the director about whom one film critic wrote that David Lean's films were "too mammoth in scope and Olympian in style" for moviegoers, even students of the artistic genre, "to get an impression of the man behind the camera." Lean was an extraordinarily ambitious and skilled director who brought his particular, uncompromising touch to any movie he made. Among his movies are the panoramic classics "Dr. Zhivago" and "Lawrence of Arabia"; "Great Expectations" and "Passage to India" adapted from major novels of different centuries; and the war movies "In Which We Serve" and "Bridge on the River Kwai." Lean worked with Alec Guiness, Katherine Hepburn, Omar Sharif, Charles Laughton, and Julie Andrews--all of whom acknowledged his indelible impact on their performances as well as the finished movie even though viewers were not distinctly aware of the director behind it, as they are in a Woody Allen or Alfred Hitchcock film for example. Phillips hones in on Lean's particular style and accomplishments by close readings of many of his 16 films. The author analyzes details of scenes from the films to cast light on Lean's techniques and masterful intentions; and he often notes commentary and critiques by critic, actors, and others for additional perspectives and appreciations of Lean's work. As his major, most memorable films show--"Lawrence of Arabia," for example--Lean was able to create and project romanticism, expansive emotions, genuine characters, and variously the sweep of history or the genius of literature without sensationalism or sentimentality. This is his characteristic, extraordinary, achievement in the world of film.

Everytime my mom comes to visit me she loves doing the crossword puzzles in my TV Guide's. So, I got her this for Mother's Day.

I use to buy the monthly TV Guide Crossword puzzle whenever I could find it in my local grocery store. That's if I was lucky enough to get my hands on it before it sold out. Now with 300 puzzles from the past 40 years, I'll be occupied for quite some time. The crosswords break down like this: crosswords from the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s; theme puzzles; and modern classics. also, throughout the book you'll find 10 Brain Teasers, i.e. matching the TV parent with its TV show, cool, huh? Anyhoo, if you love crosswords, hell, if you LIKE crosswords then order this book now, you won't regret it.

I never read this book without laughing out loud in wonderment and delight. Unlike most other Wilder biographers, Zolotow (who died only a few years before Wilder) was a contemporary and spent years with the man, interviewing meticulously Wilder, Iz Diamond, and many of Wilder's actors and friends.His was the original, foundational research many later biographers drew oon. "Words, words, words?" Well, of course --- that is what books are made of! In the interest of full disclosure: I am Zolotow's daughter. I don't adore all my father's books, but this one truly delights me. The tapes of these interviews, BTW, are held by the University of Texas Special Collections department.

Amidst the flurry of new books by and about Billy Wilder, don't neglect this forgotten gem originally published in the mid-70s. Author Zolotow has an 'Old Hollywood' perspective on Wilder's astonishingly productive career and acerbic personality--not to be missed.