|
Author, photographer and film historian Mark A. Vieira shares anecdotes from his latest book "Greta Garbo: A Cinematic Legacy."
With her breathtaking beauty and enigmatic persona, Garbo was the ultimate Hollywood icon. Though many books have tried to unlock the mystique of the "Swedish Sphinx" by focusing primarily on her personal life, Vieira’s book is the first to pay serious attention to what made her an icon—her twenty-four Hollywood films, among them classics such as "Grand Hotel," "Flesh and the Devil" and "Queen Christina."
As MGM’s highest-paid star, Garbo had approval of story, costar, director and cinematographer, wielding power for fifteen years that few could match—yet she was often at odds with the system that made her a phenomenon. Vieira’s painstakingly researched, lively, anecdotal text chronicles Garbo’s turbulent career. He provides new insights into Garbo’s surprising career moves, unconventional working methods, and stormy relationships with Louis B. Mayer, John Gilbert, Marlene Dietrich, and others.
Her fans were shocked when she suddenly retired from filmmaking in 1941 at the age of 36 to lead a life determinedly out of the public eye, until her death in 1990. Garbo would have turned 100 last month.
Vieira used the The Constance McCormick Collection in Cinema-Television for much of his research on his book, published earlier this year.
Constance "Connie" McCormick-Van Wyck is the curator of an important collection of archived newspaper clippings and magazine articles about motion picture personalities. Begun in 1934 when she was a childhood fan, the hobby soon transformed into a one-of-a-kind endeavor that has proved invaluable to students and scholars of cinema history. The collection was donated to USC in memory of her father, Lucien Littlefield, whose association with Hollywood spanned forty-seven years.
Vieira’s other books include "Sin in Soft Focus: Pre-Code Hollywood," "Hollywood Horror: From Gothic to Cosmic," "Hurrell’s Hollywood Portraits" and "In The Picture: Classic Screen Stills 1939-1951."
Following his remarks, Vieira will be available to sign books. His books are also available through the USC Pertusati Bookstore.
Reservations are requested by Oct. 19.
More Information:
|
