Richard Schickel

An insurance salesman and an unhappy wife conspire to murder her husband and collect his insurance policy.

"From growing up the son of alcoholic, philandering parents to his recent public agony as the father of a convicted killer, Marlon Brando has lived a life beset by personal demons. Behind the myth, beneath his immense fame and fortune, he is a troubled man whom few people really know. For the first time, Brando unveils him whole: from the height of his talents to the depths of his despair; his sexual compulsions, the endless years of psychotherapy, the girlfriends who've committed suicide, his eating disorders, his notorious psychological manipulations, his lifelong love/hate relationships with his children (legitimate and not), his involvement with the radical American Indian Movement, and his controversial seclusion in Tahiti. Gripping, astonishing, and utterly revealing, Brando is both a towering achievement and exactly the biography that its subject so richly deserves."--BOOK JACKET.

Edited by Paul G. Socken

148p. : 29 cm

"Although James Cagney was branded 'tough guy' almost from the moment he asserted his claim to stardom over half a century ago in Public Enemy, Richard Schickel argues in this analysis of the actor's screen characters and career that this label could not be more misleading.". "This book shows how he began his Hollywood career as the movies' first symbol of the aspirations of America's urban second generation. But after the apotheosis that was Yankee Doodle Dandy, both Cagney and the world began to age and change.". "Richard Schickel's study of Cagney's screen personality is far more than a profile of a great and beloved star. It is a meditation on over a half century's social history, a reflection not merely on a screen character, but on the changing national character which Cagney refracted. This book is both for admirers of Cagney's artistry and for anyone seriously interested in the history of film."--BOOK JACKET.

He transformed a nickelodeon novelty into a new art form and a powerful, glamorous American industry. He codified the rules and techniques of screen story-telling, and pioneered the conventions that brought films to life, from surging spectacle to soul-baring close-ups. A poor farm boy from the South, Griffith rose to fame with The Birth of a Nation, a cinematic masterpiece stained by the racism that infected his heritage. Though he went on to direct some of the most legendary films of the silent era, Griffith was doomed by his over-reaching drives, and he died an embittered man, shunned by the community he had largely created. His story is told here with unsparing truth and compelling narrative sweep.

Book Description: This classic history of Walt Disney's life and works takes us from his wandering youth through the desperate gamble of opening his own animation studio, his daring decision to crash Hollywood, the sudden and inspired invention of Mickey Mouse-and on to the creation of a multimillion-dollar international entertainment empire. Throughout Richard Schickel asks penetrating questions about Disney's achievements and shortcomings, and the enormous popularity of the "Disney version."

Traces the life, career and paintings of the Spanish court painter, Francisco Goya, with information on the times in which he lived and other artists of that era.

Carnegie Hall in New York City from its beginning in 1891, a decade-by-decade picture of the concert stage that has produced some of the finest virtuoso performances in musical history and lectures.

A critic and historian who has been watching cinema for seventy years and has seen almost nineteen thousand films presents a tour of his favorite movies, highlighting forgotten treasures and explaining what makes a film a hit or a flop.

Book Description: The first fully illustrated history of Carnegie Hall, published to coincide with its 100th anniversary, documents the central role of Carnegie Hall in the cultural life of America.

"Simple text and photographs introduce stars and their features"--Provided by publisher.