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You are here: Home / Archives for Laurence Olivier

Review: Truly, Madly: Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, and the Romance of the Century by Stephen Galloway

July 12, 2022 By Joi

Truly, Madly: Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, and the Romance of the Century by Stephen Galloway

Truly, Madly by Stephen Galloway

First of all, before I get to the actual review of Truly, Madly by Stephen Galloway, I just have to say how breathtakingly perfect the cover photo is.

Fast-paced, unique, devil-may-care, and delightfully frantic – it says all the things it should say about Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier. As a couple, they grabbed life by the lapels and seemed to say, “Keep up if you can!” and the picture chosen for the cover of this wonderful book conveys the message SPLENDIDLY.

From the Inside Cover:
In 1934, a friend brought fledgling actress Vivien Leigh to see Theatre Royal, where she would first lay eyes on Laurence Olivier in his brilliant performance as Anthony Cavendish. That night, she confided to a friend, he was the man she was going to marry. There was just one problem: she was already married—and so was he.

TRULY, MADLY is the biography of a marriage, a love affair that still captivates millions, even decades after both actors’ deaths. Vivien and Larry were two of the first truly global celebrities – their fame fueled by the explosive growth of tabloids and television, which helped and hurt them in equal measure. They seemed to have it all and yet, in their own minds, they were doomed, blighted by her long-undiagnosed mental-illness, which transformed their relationship from the stuff of dreams into a living nightmare.

Through new research, including exclusive access to previously unpublished correspondence and interviews with their friends and family, author Stephen Galloway takes readers on a bewitching journey. He brilliantly studies their tempestuous liaison, one that took place against the backdrop of two world wars, the Golden Age of Hollywood and the upheavals of the 1960s — as they struggled with love, loss and the ultimate agony of their parting.

What I Love About Truly, Madly

Vivien Leigh and Gone with the Wind are actually two of the forces that drew me to classic movies in the first place. In school, when my friends were talking about Saturday Night Fever, John Travolta, Close Encounters, and Olivia Newton John, my eyes glazed over until I steered the conversation to Vivien Leigh, James Stewart, Olivia de Havilland and Errol Flynn!

It was a bit later when I discovered Laurence Olivier – and, unfortunately, I disliked him and the film so much, I went many years before giving him another chance.

Imagine that – one of the greatest actors in the history of the world and I put him in time out!

We only children don’t always make sense, you know.

When I saw him in Wuthering Heights (1939), he was completely forgiven for allowing Marilyn Monroe to completely upstage him in The Prince and the Showgirl (kind of hard to believe this was the same actor!).

The more I read about the two stars, the more fascinating I found them to be. I marveled (and marvel) at the fact that, in spite of battling Vivien’s mental illness – a battle loved ones face as surely as the victim does – they managed to maintain such wonderful careers. They faced the music, so to speak, in spite of the symphony raging in their own lives.

I am perfectly astounded by the strength this HAD to have taken. I’d say that it also took its toll on both of them – they were, after all, only human and humans have their breaking points.

The journey that took place between the time they came together and the time they could no longer stay that way is the stuff of legends and in the right hands (Stephen Galloway, to a tee), it makes for a fascinating, spellbinding story.

Probably 200 times during the book, I would close the book simply to process what I  had just read. Whether it was a wonderful quote by Laurence Olivier, a compelling observation by the author, or a story that involved another star (Marlon Brando, Clark Gable, Olivia de Havilland, Merle Oberon…) I kept finding myself in the position of wanting to pause and reflect on what I had just mentally experienced. To sit and chew on it for a minute, as we might say in Kentucky.

Don’t you LOVE it when an author draws you that into the story he or she is sharing? I keep a mental list of books that make me hit pause in this manner and they are, inevitably, the ones I turn to first to reread.

Something I always ask myself, after reading old Hollywood biography or autobiography, is this: Do I like the actress/actor the same, better than, ore less than I did before beginning the book? After reading Truly, Madly, I would say that I am as big a fan of Vivien Leigh’s as I was before the book (I already adored her and I still do). However, with Laurence Olivier, I really didn’t have many feelings one way or another toward him before reading this particular book.

However, I find that I like him a great, great deal now. In fact, I have never had anyone who, after reading a biography, jumped so many leaps and bounds in my mental popularity poll! Was he perfect.. well, heck no.. none of us are. But, by gosh, he was a perfect hoot (throwing a little more Kentucky flavor your way).

I find Vivien Leigh to be fascinating. I find Laurence Olivier to be fascinating. I find the two together to be blindingly fascinating and you will as well.

More Things to Love About Truly, Madly

  • You meet the stars as children and see events that led them to become the adults they grew into – for better or worse.
  • You see their flaws, yet still, somehow, feel for them. Each made monumental mistakes and hurt people who loved them, but there are often forces in life that blow us so completely off kilter that we, ourselves, don’t recognize the things we say and do. Not condoning.. simply stating facts.
  • The pictures are stunning. Mind you, I spend a great deal of time in Classic Hollywood – basically, I only step out of it long enough to go to the store and feed my cats, yet there are photos even I have never seen in this remarkable book.
  • Laurence Olivier was a brilliant, complex, infuriating, intriguing, and often very humorous man. None of his roles even come close to the “character” he was in real life and, if you’ve never met him, I TRULY hope you will allow the introductions to be made by Stephen Galloway.
  • Vivien Leigh was like a beautiful princess who lived in a gorgeous castle and had the world at her fingertips. Because she had so much going on for her, the princess only had ONE enemy. The problem is, when you ARE the enemy, escaping takes its own kind of fairy tale magic and, tragically, when Vivien Leigh lived such magic did not exist. Again, to see what this stunningly beautiful lady battled.. and yet somehow kept working.. is truly remarkable.
  • As I always say, the stars you meet “along the way” are one of my favorite things about old Hollywood biographies. Between the two of them, Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier crossed paths with a lot of household names – and many of them rivaled them when it came to charisma and stories worth repeating!
  • The author, Stephen Galloway is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. He draws you into each scene with the artistry of a legendary director… but, somehow does so (like all great directors) without shining the light on himself. His stars are the stars… and what stars they were.

I hope you’ll grab a copy of the excellent Truly, Madly: Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, and the Romance of the Century (Amazon link) right away. I can’t think of a better book or two more colorful stars to spend summer with. ~ Joi (“Joy”)

Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier, Fire Over England

Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier, Fire Over England

Filed Under: Laurence Olivier, Old Hollywood Book Reviews, Vivien Leigh Tagged With: Laurence Olivier, old Hollywood biography review, old Hollywood book review, Vivien Leigh

Pride and Prejudice (1940): Greer Garson, Ann Rutherford, Laurence Olivier…

April 25, 2021 By Joi

Greer Garson, Pride and Prejudice

Greer Garson, Pride and Prejudice

Greer Garson, Laurence Olivier, Mary Boland, Edna May Oliver, Maureen O’Sullivan, Marsha Hunt, and Ann Rutherford led a wonderful cast in the 1940 film Pride and Prejudice. I have seen quite a few people who didn’t “love” Greer Garson in the role of Elizabeth because of her age (Greer Garson was 36 whereas Elizabeth in Jane Austen’s novel was twenty). Given that people during the period of time being depicted were more mature (and often looked the part), I have zero problem with the age difference.

Greer Garson, Ann Rutherford, and Marsha Hunt

Greer Garson, Ann Rutherford, and Marsha Hunt

Pride and Prejudice (1940, directed by Robert Z. Leonard). This film reawakened a great interest in Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice. At least five editions of the novel were printed to coincide with the movie’s release.

Within 10 years of 1940’s Pride and Prejudice’s release, the novel had become so wildly popular, that it had gone through twenty-one printings!

Greer Garson and Edna May Oliver

Edna May Oliver and Greer Garson

You can find the wonderful Pride and Prejudice on dvd (link to Amazon) or watch on Prime Video.

Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier

Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier

Filed Under: Ann Rutherford, Edna May Oliver, Greer Garson, Laurence Olivier, Marsha Hunt, Picture of the Day Tagged With: Ann Rutherford, Edna May Oliver, Greer Garson, Laurence Olivier, Marsha Hunt, Pride and Prejudice

The Prince and The Showgirl with Marilyn Monroe and a Legendary Actor…

May 24, 2017 By Joi

Okay, first of all, I know the legendary actor’s name as well as anyone – Sir Laurence Olivier. Many people (I’m not among them I’m afraid) consider him to be the greatest actor of all time. Don’t get me wrong, he was magnificent and I certainly believe he is “one” of the best ever… even if I hesitate to give him the title “the best.”

The man’s name is synonymous with fine acting and for good reason.

Oddly enough, however, the name Marilyn Monroe is synonymous with beauty and sex appeal (again, for good reason) but it’s the rare bird who’d associate her with good acting, let alone great acting.

I guess I’m among the rarest of birds.

Marilyn Monroe was so much more than just a beautiful face.  Her intelligence led to her ability to bring so much to each character she portrayed.  She simply knew what each character would feel and how they would react to everything and everyone around them.

The Prince and the Showgirl is one of my personal favorite Marilyn Monroe performances, which kind of sucks because Laurence Olivier’s performance makes me cringe. I understand he’s portraying royalty, here, but I’d have preferred royalty with a pulse!

His performance is one of my least favorites in any movie, to be honest. Leslie Howard in Gone With the Wind is right up there, too. The thought of both characters being appealing to ANYONE is hard to buy into.. and yet both characters had beautiful ladies fawning over them.

Please!

Somehow, in spite of a lackluster, stiff performance by one of the greatest actors of all-time, The Prince and The Showgirl is still a pretty cute and enjoyable movie. It is, of course, primarily thanks to MM and her adorable portrayal of the “showgirl.”  In fact, the entire rest of the cast (aside from the legend) did a fine job – even those who had only one or two scenes.

I’ve read that MM and LO did not get along at all – he took all kinds of exception to her frequent tardiness and “moods.”  I don’t want to believe that this affected his performance, however, because he was the very definition of a professional. Their relationship actually makes me want to read “The Prince, the Showgirl, and Me: Six Months on the Set With Marilyn and Olivier” by  Colin Clark.

Book Description: When Colin Clark left college in the 1950s, he got a job as a gofer on the set of the movie The Prince and the Showgirl, starring Marilyn Monroe and Laurence Olivier. The film should have been a box office smash, but even before cameras rolled, things began going wrong–and Clark recorded it all in this beguiling, fly-on-the-wall diary.

New and used copies are available on Amazon, so I’m going to order one SOON.

When I watch The Prince and The Showgirl I always come away with the same question…. “Why is he making his character so painful to watch?!?! Is he trying to win her over or bore her to tears?!”

Marilyn is so fun, lively, and energetic – she makes the screen sizzle and pop when she’s on it. Then, here he comes… dragging the movie, as a whole, down with him.

If you’ve never seen the movie, I hope you’ll watch it soon and see what you think. As I’ve said a million times, old movies and old performances are worth watching even when we don’t love or even like them. There’s always something good or worthwhile about every single movie and in this particular movie, MM and a very strong, lively cast make it worth watching.

In spite of you know who.

 

Filed Under: Art Prints and Posters, Laurence Olivier, Marilyn Monroe, Movie Posters, Movie Reviews, Old Movies Tagged With: Laurence Olivier, Marilyn Monroe, Old Hollywood Movie Review, The Prince and The Showgirl review

Welcome to Hollywood Yesterday!

Ann Sheridan, It All Came True

Ann Sheridan
My name is Joi (“Joy”) and I created Hollywood Yesterday as my personal tribute to Old Hollywood. It’s my effort to help keep the stars from Old Hollywood, Classic Television, and Old Radio Shows alive and shining forever. Old Hollywood was positively magical and I see no reason for the magic to ever die.

Be warned, I am (by nature) overtly positive, I never take anything too seriously, I say extraordinary so often you’d think I invented the word, and I overuse exclamation points to distraction. I’m perpetually over-caffeinated.. we’ll blame that.

Read more about Hollywood Yesterday (and see my personal favorites) here!

Old Hollywood Actresses

Lena Horne, Meet Me in Las Vegas

See the Old Hollywood Actresses page for the index of Classic Hollywood Actresses and Classic TV Actresses.

Old Hollywood Actors

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See the Old Hollywood Actors page for the index of Old Hollywood and Classic TV actors.

Old Hollywood Book Reviews

Ann Dvorak: Hollywood's Forgotten Rebel by Christina Rice

I love reading old Hollywood biographies and memoirs as much as I love watching classic movies, and that’s truly saying something!

To see my Old Hollywood book reviews, please see the index listed here: Book Reviews.

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Maureen O'Hara, The Parent Trap

Maureen O’Hara

The Old Hollywood & Classic TV Pictures of the Day are published as regularly as possible. If I miss a few days, please just know that the husband, daughters, sons-in-law, grandbabies, and/or my cats were demanding my attention. I’ll be honest, nothing comes before any of them! Not even Maureen O’Hara or Henry Fonda.

Priorities, y’all.

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Thank you so much for visiting Hollywood Yesterday! You truly HONOR me with your presence. ~ Joi (“Joy”)

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My main goal with Hollywood Yesterday is to keep the names, faces, and films of the stars that mean so much to me shining brightly. When I’m guilty of focusing more time on my personal favorites (such as Olivia de Havilland) than other stars, I hope you’ll forgive me. I am, by all indications, very human!

Also, please know that I try to keep my posts (except for book reviews) short and to the point, so you can enjoy the pictures, grab the information, and get back to your life. I don’t appreciate anything that’s overly wordy, so I don’t want to do that to others. For better or worse, I write as I talk, so if you ever feel like you’re reading the words of someone who’s a cross between Lucy Ricardo, Daisy Duck, and a Jerry Lewis character, that’s just because you are!

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Old Hollywood Movies

Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire Top Hat Cheek to Cheek

There’s nothing quite like watching a movie from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Whether it’s a Musical, Western, Comedy, Romance, Film Noir, or Drama – if it’s on, I’m not too far away… with popcorn and raspberry tea in hand and a couple of cats nearby.

Below are a few Old Hollywood movie reviews I’ve done on the blog. There are, as you’d imagine, a lot more to come. – Joi (“Joy”)

We’re in the Money (Joan Blondell, Glenda Farrell)

The Naked Spur (James Stewart, Janet Leigh)

The Prince and the Showgirl (Marilyn Monroe, Laurence Olivier)

The White Sister (Helen Hayes, Clark Gable)

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Howard Keel, Jane Powell, Russ Tamblyn, Julie Newmar)

Rio Bravo (John Wayne, Dean Martin, Angie Dickinson, Ricky Nelson, Walter Brennan)

El Dorado (John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, James Caan, Charlene Holt, Michele Carey)

Rio Grande (John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara)

Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein (What is it With Me and These Movies??)

The Stooge (Jerry Lewis’ favorite Lewis and Martin Movie… for good reason.)

Critic’s Choice (Hilarious movie starring Bob Hope and Lucille Ball)

To Please a Lady (Clark Gable and Barbara Stanwyck team up in a fast track movie)

Grand Hotel (Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore)

Hearts Divided (Marion Davies, Dick Powell)

The Quiet Man (John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Barry Fitzgerald)

More Old Hollywood Movie Reviews

Classic Hollywood Books & Biographies (Reviews)

Maureen O'Hara's Autobiography 'Tis Herself

‘Tis Herself by Maureen O’Hara
I Know Where I'm Going (Katharine Hepburn Biography) and Princess

I Know Where I’m Going: Katharine Hepburn

 

Debbie Reynolds Unsinkable
Unsinkable: A Memoir by Debbie Reynolds

 

Ginger Rogers Autobiography - Ginger: My Story

Ginger by Ginger Rogers
Love, Lucy by Lucille Ball

Love, Lucy by Lucille Ball
Vitagraph by Andrew A. Erish
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More Old Hollywood Book Reviews!

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Lucille Ball

Find out just how much I (truly) Love Lucy in the Lucille Ball category. I’m warning you, I call it an obsession for a very good reason…

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Aside from pictures of books I review, I do not claim to have taken any of the pictures on this website, nor do I own the pictures – the ones of the stars or the affiliate (product) pictures.  Other, far more talented photographers than me have the credit for the beautiful photos you see. If you would like credit for a photograph or would like one removed, please e-mail me (joitsigers@gmail.com).

Movie posters and promotional photos are used in the belief that they qualify for the Fair Use law. Fair use is a doctrine in the law of the United States that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder. Fair use is one of the limitations to copyright intended to balance the interests of copyright holders with the public interest in the wider distribution and use of creative works by allowing as a defense to copyright infringement claims certain limited uses that might otherwise be considered infringement.

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