Book Reviews

THE LEGENDARY LYDECKER BROTHERS

At last, someone has paid proper tribute to Howard and Theodore Lydecker, the legendary siblings who created unforgettable visual effects for Republic Pictures’ action-packed serials, westerns, and feature films during the studio’s heyday.

Getting To Know Groucho—And His Brothers—book reviews

I avoided reading Steve Stoliar’s 'Raised Eyebrows: My Years Inside Groucho’s House' when it was first published in 1996 because I didn’t want to learn about an aging, diminished Groucho Marx, and I wasn’t interested in rehashing the exploits of Erin Fleming, the controversial woman who took control...

New And Notable Film Books, Part One

As usual, books keep piling up much faster than I can possibly read them, so rather than wait until I can compose full-length reviews I’m going to highlight a handful of recent arrivals I’ve only had a chance to skim. I will have more for you shortly, as there is still a healthy stack of...

New And Notable Film Books

GROUCHO MARX AND OTHER SHORT STORIES AND TALL TALES: Selected Writings of Groucho Marx

The world may know Groucho Marx as a great comedian, but I’m sure I’m not the only fan who wasn’t terribly familiar with his writings—aside from his autobiographies and 'The Groucho Letters'—until now. Updating his 1993 compendium, Marx scholar and aficionado Robert S. Bader has added 19 new essays ...

Spencer Tracy: A Biography—Book review

New And Notable Film Books—book reviews

MONSTERS IN THE MOVIES: 100 Years of Cinematic Nightmares by John Landis (DK Publishing)

Faulty But Fascinating: Rin Tin Tin, The Life And The Legend—a book review

book review

New And Notable Film Books

As always, there are more books being published than I can keep up with. While I haven’t had time to read most of these cover-to-cover, I’d like to call attention to some that clearly stand out.