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by James Bawden (Author), Ron Miller (Author)
For decades, James Bawden and Ron Miller have established themselves as maestros of provocative interviews, giving fans unmatched insights into the lives of Hollywood A-listers. In their fourth collection, the authors pay tribute to film pioneers who lit up Tinseltown from the 1930s through the 1960s.
They Made the Movies features conversations with legendary directors who created many of film's all-time classics, including Frank Capra (It's A Wonderful Life, 1946), Richard Fleischer (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, 1954), Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho, 1960), Ralph Nelson (Lilies of the Field, 1963), Robert Wise (The Sound of Music, 1965), and Chuck Jones (How the Grinch Stole Christmas! 1966). Tantalizing firsthand details about many acclaimed films are revealed, such as the revelation of Mervyn LeRoy's first-choice of lead actress for TheWizard of Oz ("Shirley Temple . . . but Shirley couldn't sing like Judy [Garland]"), Billy Wilder's insights on directing ("You have to be a sycophant, a sadist, a nurse, a philosopher"), and how megaproducer Hal B. Wallis purchased an unproduced play titled Everybody Comes to Rick's and transformed it into Casablanca ("The part [of Sam] almost went to Lena Horne, but I thought she was too beautiful"). The authors also celebrate the contributions of marginalized filmmakers such as Ida Lupino, James Wong Howe, Oscar Micheaux, and Luis Valdez, who prevailed in Hollywood despite the discrimination they faced throughout their careers. They Made the Movies appeals to film and television enthusiasts of all ages.
Author Biography
James Bawden (1945-2021), a TV columnist for the Toronto Star, wasrenowned for his distinguished profiles of prominent actors and directors. He also wrote for Films in Review and numerous other cinema magazines. He is coauthor of Conversations with Classic Film Stars: Interviews from Hollywood's Golden Era, You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet: Interviews with Stars from Hollywood's Golden Era, and Conversations with Legendary Television Stars: Interviews from the First Fifty Years. Ron Miller served as a TV editor of the San Jose Mercury News from 1977 to1999, as a syndicated columnist for the Knight Ridder News Service, and as a former national president of the Television Critics Association. He is also a recipient of the National Headliner Award. He is coauthor of Conversations with Classic Film Stars: Interviews from Hollywood's Golden Era, You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet: Interviews with Stars from Hollywood's Golden Era, and Conversations with Legendary Television Stars: Interviews from the First Fifty Years.
