A Touch of Stardust (46 page)

NOTES ON SUGGESTED READING FROM THE AUTHOR

An Empire of Their Own by Neal Gabler, is an excellent history of Hollywood

Gable & Lombard by Warren G. Harris (1974) holds a rich trove of interview material, which he used also for his later book, Clark Gable: A Biography.

Irene Mayer Selznick’s memoir, A Private View, provides an insider/outsider perspective on the make-believe world of the movies in their most glittering years—from her perspective as David Selznick’s wife and the daughter of Louis B. Mayer.

Scarlett, Rhett, and a Cast of Thousands, by Roland Flamini, is a lively recounting of the filming of Gone With the Wind.

Mank: The Wit, World and Life of Herman Mankiewicz, by Richard Meryman. This biography of my husband’s father brought the story of Hollywood close to home.

KATE ALCOTT’S FAVORITE MOVIES STARRING CAROLE LOMBARD

A favorite is My Man Godfrey which she made with her ex-husband, William Powell (1936). There is a scene where she keeps drying a plate over and over, anxiously hoping that Powell will admit to the same attraction she feels for him, that is funny and poignant and memorable.

Twentieth Century is on my list of favorites, too. Carole plays an actress trying out for a part that calls for restraint, and she can’t do it, she keeps bursting out with her natural ebullience, and you just feel you want to cheer her on.

I could go on and on. I love the scene where she finagles a way to keep her typewriter from being repossessed in True Confesstions.

KATE ALCOTT’S FAVORITE MOVIES STARRING CLARK GABLE

As for Clark Gable, the standout, from my perspective, is It Happened One Night (1934) with Claudette Colbert. He was perfect for the role.

And definitely his portrayal of Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind. There is irony in the fact that this role—the one he resisted the most—is the one that brought him enduring fame that went beyond his image as a standard matinee idol.