The Star Machine

October 1, 2007
In Hollywood's heyday, studio bosses were on an endless quest to spot, groom, and pamper actors who could be molded into profitable commodities. Basinger (film studies, Wesleyan Univ.; "Silent Stars"), a well-known film historian and commentator, describes how the old dream factories of the 1930s50s worked, what was needed to separate stars from character actors and contract players, and the steep price some paid for their fame. The bulk of the book consists of appreciations of stars as widely varied as Eleanor Powell, Deanna Durbin, Loretta Young, and Norma Shearer. Star making was an evolutionary process, and Basinger shows how actors were shaped for changing public tastes, including the girl next door image of June Allyson and such curiosities as the Latina Carmen Miranda. Most of the profiles offer insight about the individuals, but there is little new material on familiar figures like Tyrone Power, Lana Turner, or Errol Flynn. Basinger ends with an appraisal of how today's crop of film celebrities differ from the creations of Hollywood's golden age. Overlong at points, this is still a good choice for public library browsing collections.Stephen Rees, Levittown Lib., PA

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2007
Movie stars are fascinating, but I didnt want to write about them, Basinger says. The title indicates what she does want to write abouta business topic, seeminglyand write about it she does. But, really, fat chance she wouldnt write about stars, not just because she has to cite examples of how the studios of Hollywoods golden age (1930s50s) deliberately tried to make stars like Ford made cars and how performers cooperated with or resisted the process but also because as a film historian she excels at analyzing performing in the movies. And so the enormous second part of this hefty tome (copiously and pertinently illustrated, by the way) consists of chapters homing in on one, two, or three leading performers and how they dealt with the system and vice versa, which entails lots of performance evaluation. That makes for lightly engaging, absorbing reading, perfect for waiting rooms, plane trips, and firesides as long as you dont expect anything juicier than movie plot elements, even about Errol Flynn.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)