The Thumbnail Book Reviews
by John Q McDonald --- 30 August 2001
by A. M. Sperber and Eric Lax
Humphrey Bogart was and remains one of the greatest movie icons of the 20th century. His character is an archetype of strength and nobility with a dose of cynicism and dark realism. Some men emulate him. Some women desire him. Beneath that character, there was a real human being, insecure, flawed, and looking for happiness. Bogie also lived through one of the great ages of Hollywood history. He survived the old studio system, and was a pioneer of independent actors and producers. This book sets out to tell Bogart's life story, while also immersing the reader in Hollywood's glamorous and sometimes troubled history. It begins with a sensitive telling of Bogie's childhood, which was sometimes abusive, and prone to the absences of two working and perhaps drug-addicted parents. We read of his rise through the Broadway stage, his three marriages before he met elegant Lauren Bacall, and his rise to stardom, from the great Petrified Forest through numerous B movies, to Casablanca and beyond. Hollywood's own history is told along the way. Bogart was employed by Warner Brothers, and dominated by contractual obligations to Jack Warner. The details of movie making and Hollywood politics enrich this book. Bogart and others staged a bold, if ineffectual, protest of the early anti-Communist hearings of the House Un-American Activities Committee. He remained politically active, but prone to doubts about how far to go while protecting his career. In the end he was a dutiful and fragile man. The book tries to touch on his intimate, hidden, character. It tells of drunken binges, violent outbursts, abusive marriages, and depressed self-doubt. Behind the great image, there lay a very human man with subtle weaknesses. However, as the book also tells all about his movies and his stardom, a little of the intimacy is lost. Bogart remains somewhat distant, as perhaps he did in life (witness some of the comments by his children, Stephen and Leslie). Some of the emotional impact is missing. However, the book is a sweeping overview of stardom and history in early 20th century Hollywood. It is full of minute detail. Told by two authors (Sperber passed away before her research resulted in this book), it is sometimes uneven. The pace toward the end is less patient than the opening chapters. Yet, this remains a readable and engrossing biography of a Hollywood legend.