Product Description

From one of our leading film authorities, a rich, penetrating, amusing plum pudding of a book about the golden age of movies, full of Hollywood lore, anecdotes, and analysis.

Jeanine Basinger gives us an immensely entertaining look into the “star machine,” examining how, at the height of the studio system, from the 1930s to the 1950s, the studios worked to manufacture star actors and actresses. With revelatory insights and delightful asides, she shows us how the machine worked when it worked, how it failed when it didn’t, and how irrelevant it could sometimes be. She gives us the “human factor,” case studies focusing on big stars groomed into the system: the “awesomely beautiful” (and disillusioned) Tyrone Power; the seductive, disobedient Lana Turner; and a dazzling cast of others—Loretta Young, Errol Flynn, Irene Dunne, Deanna Durbin. She anatomizes their careers, showing how their fame happened, and what happened to them as a result. (Both Lana Turner and Errol Flynn, for instance, were involved in notorious court cases.) In her trenchantly observed conclusion, she explains what has become of the star machine and why the studios’ practice of “making” stars is no longer relevant.

Deeply engrossing, full of energy, wit, and wisdom, The Star Machine is destined to become an invaluable part of the film canon.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #877242 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-23
• Released on: 2007-10-23
• Format: Bargain Price
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 608 pages

Review
“Startling. . . . An enormous new book of star lore . . . Basinger nestles with almost delicious comfort into the intimate procedures of star manufacture.”
—The New Yorker

“Luxurious, often delicious. . . . Ms. Basinger tells her story with her customary verve and sass-she's the Rosalind Russell of film historians.”
—The New York Observer

“Entertaining and informative. . . . [Basinger], whose enthusiasm for movies is reflected on every page, has a deft way of encapsulating the kernel of an actor's attraction.”
—Chicago Sun-Times

“Engaging. . . . Smart, deeply researched but also chatty and fast-flowing. . . . Basinger's study of the studios' relentless spin control makes an instructive prism through which to view long skeins of Hollywood film history.”
—Los Angeles Times


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Review
“Startling. . . . An enormous new book of star lore . . . Basinger nestles with almost delicious comfort into the intimate procedures of star manufacture.”
—The New Yorker

“Luxurious, often delicious. . . . Ms. Basinger tells her story with her customary verve and sass-she's the Rosalind Russell of film historians.”
—The New York Observer

“Entertaining and informative. . . . [Basinger], whose enthusiasm for movies is reflected on every page, has a deft way of encapsulating the kernel of an actor's attraction.”
—Chicago Sun-Times

“Engaging. . . . Smart, deeply researched but also chatty and fast-flowing. . . . Basinger's study of the studios' relentless spin control makes an instructive prism through which to view long skeins of Hollywood film history.”
—Los Angeles Times


From the Trade Paperback edition.

About the Author
Jeanine Basinger is the chair of film studies at Wesleyan University and the curator of the cinema archives there. She has written nine other books on film, including A Woman’s View: How Hollywood Spoke to Women 1930–1960; Silent Stars, winner of the William K. Everson Award for Film History; The World War II Combat Film: Anatomy of a Genre; and American Cinema: 100 Years of Filmmaking, the companion book for a ten-part PBS series. She lives with her husband in Middletown, Connecticut.

Customer Reviews

A great disappointment
I purchased this book because it billed itself as a a look at how "the studios worked to manufacture star actors and actresses" and the description said it would "become an invaluable part of the film canon."

Wrong, and wrong again. It is a collection of biographies, based on information that appears to come from other books and fan magazines, plus a liberal serving of the author's own opinions. She seems to have had no access to unpublished information. The biographies are mostly long lists of the films in which the stars appear, punctuated with commentary from the author's viewings of these films, but very little insider knowledge of how the human beings who became those stars were "remade" by the studio or "made" themselves. Here's an example in her section on Loretta Young:

"She studied every aspect of filmmaking, asking serious questions about lighting and camera angles, making herself the master of her own makeup and costuming."

That's very general information I probably could have found on Wikipedia or in any biography of Young. How, exactly, did she influence her makeup and costuming - could we have some examples? Aren't there any details available about how she worked with the lighting and camera crews to get a certain effect? I wanted the author to show, not tell, how Young used her demands to manage her performance or the film as a whole, and how the studio reacted.

Another irritant is that Basinger has a huge crush on matinee idol Tyrone Power, who died in 1958, and in addition to a long section about his career, she compares everyone else to him. A few sample quotes (there were many more): "Robert Taylor, Metro's most beautiful hero (was) their answer to Fox's Tyrone Power." "Errol Flynn was put to the test even more rapidly than Tyrone Power." "Colin Farrell REALLY looks like Tyrone Power." "Antonio Banderas is the ethnic truth of what Tyrone Power was often asked to play - an authentic Spanish hero." "Early in his career, Johnny Depp...looked like he might turn out to be a watered-down Tyrone Power." Even Loretta Young gets a whirl: "Three screwball comedies paired her with her partner in exquisite good looks, Tyrone Power."

Okay, okay, you like Tyrone Power - fine. We all have our favorites. But please, get a blog, or write a book just about him. There is a reason this actor is nearly forgotten.

It is possible to write a book about how stars are "made" - Robert Hofler's "The Man Who Invented Rock Hudson" is a good example, with details about how rough-diamond Hudson was drilled in good manners, carefully taught how to move in a less effeminate fashion (Hudson was gay), and even made to scream until his vocal cords scarred, lowering the pitch of his speaking voice. I expected "starmaking" information like this in the book I was buying.

What I got was a highly personal commentary on known facts - a printed version of a blog. I read the whole thing, and I feel as if I learned very little.

The Star Machine was the Hollywood Studio System with all gears working from 1930-1960
The Star Machine operated in Hollywood during the Golden Age of American Cinema for a little over 30 years. With the introduction of sound
recording, technological wizadry and a focus on the "star" among the public the major studios carefully groomed men and women for stardom.
The process took raw talent as well as theatre professionals through the wringer of a seven year contract; appearing in B films and moving through the hoops to appear in major roles in important movies. Not everyone, of course, made it or were happy when they were on the top of the motion picture ladder. Nevertheless, MGM, RKO, 20th Century-Fox, Columbia, Warner Brothers, Paramount, Universal and the minor studies continued to produce about 450 movies per year at the height of the golden age. MGM was the best studio with excellent cameramen, directors, producers, makeup artists and set designers to produce lavish entertainment for the millions who made movie attendance a two or three trip event during the 30s and 40s.
Basinger delves into detail on how the stars were selected, groomed and functioned within the system. Some people like Joan Blondell and Norma Shearer who married Irving Thalberg the MGM boy boss-wizard did well.
Others became disillusioned as did the good actor Tyrone Power who was typecast as a romantic/adventure hero. Deanna Durbin the musical teen walked away forever in 1948 disgusted by the business as did the reclusive Jean Arthur. Errol Flynn and the wild Lana Turner were disobedient and raised all kinds of hell without the approval of studio bosses. One of the most fascinating tales she spins is that of Eleanor Powell an average looking girl who was a great dancer.
Basinger tells these people's interesting stories while we learn about how and why movies succeed. Money was and is the bottom line with the Hollywood moguls. Today there is no system as stars have to negotiate their own contracts; run production companies and labor on a movie for a much longer time than was the norm in the studio era.
Jeanine Basinger teaches Film at Wesleyan University; is often seen on Turner Classic Movies and evinces an evident love for popular films.
Her book is well written, entertaining and informative. Recommended for movie buffs,young people wanting to become familiar with how movies were made in an earlier era and anyone interested in Hollywood history and how film has been important in American popular culture.

Basinger also discusses character actors and how Hollywood produced escapist entertainment during World War II.

Fascinating read about the machinations of old Hollywood
The Star Machine by Jeanine Basinger tells the story of how Hollywood movie studios produced stars from the 1930s through the 1950s by running them through a machine of sorts. Stars were assigned a type: star, character, or supporting, and then placed in movies that fit their type. Names were changed, teeth capped, hair cut, bodies shaped, biographies written, articles planted in the papers, and stars were born. I cannot gush enough about this book. Basinger fills it with over 200 photos of the stars that capture the era with their soft lighting and fabulous fashions. She picks specific stars and follows their journey through the star machine to show how it succeeded and how it just as often failed. She also uses stories of stars who broke the mold and made the machine unnecessary. The book feels decadent, like a box of good chocolate or fluffy slippers. But the way Basinger talks about movies is anything but fluffy. She's the chair of film studies at Wesleyan University, and reading the way she describes films, I would absolutely pay money to hear her teach a class on the subject. She gives even the flimsy, frothy comedies of the 1930s depth by discussing how a character is developed before they even walk onscreen. This is a book that demands a class or TV special filled with clips. I discovered stars I'd never heard of and fell back in love with long time favorites. My too see list has expanded exponentially.Two small notes: Johnny Depp's singing was dubbed in CryBaby, but he's proven he can sing since in Sweeney Todd. And, why the hatred toward Abbot and Costello? They are two of my family's favorites! Those points aside, if you are a fan of old movies, this is a must read. Charmingly written with insight and witty asides, Basinger's love for film shines on every page.