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Sydney Ladensohn Stern

Brothers Mankiewicz: Hope, Heartbreak, and Hollywood Classics Hardcover – 1 October 2019

by Sydney Ladensohn Stern (Author)

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Herman J. (1897-1953) and Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1909-1993) wrote, produced, and directed over 150 pictures. With Orson Welles, Herman wrote the screenplay for Citizen Kane and shared the picture's only Academy Award. Joe earned the second pair of his four Oscars for writing and directing All About Eve, which also won Best Picture.

Despite triumphs as diverse as Monkey Business and Cleopatra, and Pride of the Yankees and Guys and Dolls, the witty, intellectual brothers spent their Hollywood years deeply discontented and yearning for what they did not have--a career in New York theater. Herman, formerly an Algonquin Round Table habitué, New York Times and New Yorker theater critic, and playwright-collaborator with George S. Kaufman, never reconciled himself to screenwriting. He gambled away his prodigious earnings, was fired from all the major studios, and drank himself to death at fifty-five. While Herman drifted downward, Joe rose to become a critical and financial success as a writer, producer, and director, though his constant philandering with prominent stars like Joan Crawford, Judy Garland, and Gene Tierney distressed his emotionally fragile wife who eventually committed suicide. He wrecked his own health using uppers and downers in order to direct Cleopatra by day and finish writing it at night, only to be very publicly fired by Darryl F. Zanuck, an experience from which Joe never fully recovered.

For this first dual portrait of the Mankiewicz brothers, Sydney Ladensohn Stern draws on interviews, letters, diaries, and other documents still in private hands to provide a uniquely intimate behind-the-scenes chronicle of the lives, loves, work, and relationship between these complex men.

Print length

480 pages
Language

English
Publisher

University Press of Mississippi
Publication date

1 October 2019
Dimensions

16 x 4.06 x 22.86 cm
ISBN-10

1617032670
ISBN-13

978-1617032677
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Review

Beautifully researched and deftly structured. . . . This model biography tells a story of two gifted brothers, only one of whom exceeded expectations. But underneath the surface wit and brio, The Brothers Mankiewicz is a harrowing tale of subtly lethal sibling rivalry that ultimately strangled them both.--Scott Eyman "The Wall Street Journal"

If you want to know everything there is to know about the Golden Age of Cinema, as seen through the eyes of two amazing siblings, read The Brothers Mankiewicz. Herman wrote Citizen Kane, while Joe wrote All About Eve and wrote and directed Liz Taylor in Cleopatra--that's just for starters. Sydney Ladensohn Stern has done a terrific job writing about the public and private lives of these remarkable men who both became legends. It's a generous, knowledgeable, fascinating account--I couldn't put it down.--Patricia Bosworth, author of biographies on Montgomery Clift, Marlon Brando, and Jane Fonda, and contributing editor at Vanity Fair

Given the overlapping arcs of their careers, a dual biography of the two men makes perfect sense, and Sydney Ladensohn Stern, author of The Brothers Mankiewicz: Hope, Heartbreak, and Hollywood Classics, proves far more than equal to the formidable technical challenges of writing it. She succeeds in keeping the narrative strands of their lives sufficiently separate to make for easy reading while simultaneously illuminating the instructive similarities in their personalities, both of which come through with lively clarity. Above all, she tells their tightly entwined stories thoughtfully and well, with a sympathetic but honest appreciation of their talents--and limitations.--Terry Teachout "Commentary"

With her recent publication, Stern has provided a comprehensive account of not only Herman's life and career, but also that of his younger brother Joseph (1909-1993), called Joe, the director, screenwriter and producer of a range of films that are regarded as 'classics' today. This double biography is rich in facts regarding the brothers' social circle and the films they made or were involved with. . . . I have nonetheless enjoyed learning more about the two brothers and their contributions to film history, and fully recommend this book for fans and researchers of Hollywood cinema and those interested in (film) biographies.--Hanja Daemon "Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television"

Eleven years apart, and growing up with different family tensions, the Mankiewicz brothers became two of the most brilliant and charismatic men ever to ply their sometimes dubious trade in Hollywood. As allies and competitors, loyal yet also subject to intense mutual irritation, they make for a fascinating dual portrait. In Sydney Ladensohn Stern's enthralling account, their very social lives, their many enchanting and enchanted females (some of them wives), their witticisms for every occasion, furnish ample entertainment, but her book is also a thorough and judicious assessment of their extraordinary contributions to cinema.--Molly Haskell, American film critic

It's a novel introduction for those who are unfamiliar with either of them, but for those already well-versed with their respective output, the text serves as an impetus to drive one back to watching items from both of their filmographies.--Nicholas Bell "IONCINEMA.com"

Sydney Stern does a terrific job with a fascinating pair of subjects. Not only does the book read smooth as butter but it's full of great film history. I was amazed to find out how much I didn't know!--Marion Meade is a biographer whose subjects include Nathanael West, Buster Keaton, Dorothy Parker, and Woody Allen.

This is one of the best of the recent biographies of screenwriters. . . . A particular strength of the book is that it is exactly a dual biography, which means Stern can and does bounce the two brothers off each other. Their relationship was complex, to say the least, something that Stern gets better than the earlier writers.--Tom Stempel "Script"

About the Author

Sydney Ladensohn Stern, a New York–based freelance writer, has contributed to the New York Times and many other publications. She is author of Toyland: The High-Stakes Game of the Toy Industry, a Book of the Month Club pick, and Gloria Steinem: Her Passions, Politics, and Mystique.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ University Press of Mississippi (1 October 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 480 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1617032670
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1617032677
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 16 x 4.06 x 22.86 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 255,353 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 182 in Cinematography Production & Technology
- 386 in Biographies of Movie Directors
- 505 in Film Direction & Production (Books)

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Wingate

Sets the record straight on Kane

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 October 2020

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Both brothers were exceptionally talented. Herman writing the screenplay for the best film ever made.Joe for many films that remain classics.The author does an excellent job of melding these two fascinating careers and lives together

stephen kuzak

Great book on old Hollywood!

Reviewed in Canada on 18 February 2021

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I've read many books on the old days of La La Land and this is one of the best! Both brothers are interesting and had a huge hand in shaping early Hollywood. A great read. Goes well with TCM...

Dona Munker

Everything a good biography should be

Reviewed in the United States on 28 October 2019

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I don't read many Hollywood biographies, but I love the good ones because of the insights they give you into creative men and women who inhabited a world most of us will never enter. That's what a serious biography should do, and this book about two brothers--one troubled but likable, the other troubled and not so likable who are important figures in the history of films--is absorbing from the get-go. It's well-written and insightful, keeps its eye on the ball in spite of what must have been a labyrinthine amount of research, and doesn't pass judgment on its two difficult subjects. Highly recommended.

25 people found this helpful

James Cooper

That's Entertainment!

Reviewed in the United States on 27 November 2019

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I was fortunate to see Citizen Kane on its first release when I was an 11-year-old. What an enthralling experience! Nine years later I was equally captivated by All About Eve. So it was a delight indeed to read about the gestation and execution of these terrific films and the life and times of the brilliant brothers Mankiewicz. Author Sydney Stern has done an excellent job of bringing the siblings to life, and I read her book, in huge gulps, with delight. What an entertaining, incident-filled saga. It's a pity that a great read was marred by many obvious typos.

20 people found this helpful

C. M Mills

The Brothers Mankiewiciz is an outstanding dual biography of two showbiz siblings of Hollywood fame

Reviewed in the United States on 15 April 2020

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Last month I was watching TCM my favorite channel when Ben Mankiewicz introduced Sydney Stern to his audience. She is the author of this new book on the two brothers who made a major impact on Hollywood history. The brothers were sons of a distinguished Ph.D father who taught in several colleges in New York and Los Angeles
. Frank (1897-1953) became a reporter and covered Broadway. He graduated high in his class at Columbia University. Frank was a member of the famous Algonquin Roundtable and was friends which such literary luminaries as George S. Kauffman, Ben Hecht, Robert Benchley, Marc Connelly and many more. He relocated in Hollywood and became a valued screenwriter. Frank co-wrote the screenplay for Citizen Kane winning a screenwriting Oscar with his cowriter Orson Welles. Frank liked to drink, gamble and womanize although he remained married to Sara for over sixty years. He was an alcoholic known for his wit who died too young.
Younger brother Joe (1911-1993) followed in his brother's footsteps. He became a famous producer at MGM and bedded such stars as Joan Crawford, Loretta Young, Gene Tierney and more. He was twice married. He won several Oscars for his work and produced such classics as A Letter to Three Wives, All About Eve, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir and Cleopatra. He too loved to drink, gamble, womanize and sail boats.
Both the brothers were intellectuals who enjoyed reading and studying politics. They represent a vanished Hollywood studio system. The author has produced a beautiful book filled with period photos of the colorful era when the brothers were at their creative peak of wit, humor and a clever writing style. This is one of the best Hollywood books I have read in quite a while. If you love the movies this book will entertain and enlighten you!

12 people found this helpful

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