Open Secret: Gay Hollywood, 1928-2000: Amazon.ca: David Ehrenstein: Books

Product Description

Review

"Brings a welcome, steady compass to barely charted territory." -- --Entertainment Weekly

Book Description

Part social history and part exposé, this revealing, entertaining, and provocative book spans nearly seventy years as it explores the lives and careers of some of the silver screen's foremost gays and lesbians and the effect of their high-profile lifestyles on the general public. From Charles Laughton and Greta Garbo to Nathan Lane and Ellen DeGeneres, David Ehrenstein traces the gradual transformation of Hollywood from a time when it was box-office poison to be publicly gay to the modern era when many top entertainment figures are celebrating their gay sexuality--and are in turn celebrated for it. Updated, Open Secret reveals what has happened to the key players in gay Hollywood since the original hardcover publication.

See all Product Description

Tag this product

(What's this?)

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

Customer Reviews

6 Reviews

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

3.3 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars For the aficionados., Jun 7 2004

By

Luc REYNAERT (Beernem, Belgium) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Open Secret: Gay Hollywood, 1928-2000 (Paperback)

This book lifts a veil on a still rather taboo issue. A lot of well known people are mentioned in it, but I felt that most of the chapters were written more for insiders.
Fortunately, this book contains some other important movie items which tell a lot about the Pharisaic mentality of the people who ran the studios.
Hollywood's success story is built on its star system. A big panic broke out in the fifties of last century when one of Hollywood's superstars Ingrid Bergman left the US to marry the Italian director Roberto Rossellini. The movie bosses were shattered and thought that they would lose a big part of their public (box office). They launched a big smear campaign against the actress (adulteress...) and forced the movie critics to criticize heavily her new movies. The not so 'orthodox' behaviour of other superstars was left unblemished.
The author unveils the real role of Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons as the 'Big Sisters' of Hollywood, spying on the stars and employees on behalf of the studio bosses. If the crew didn't behave as the bosses wanted they 'were called on the carpet and told - Unless you show yourself as a respectable person, you'll lose your contract'.

I found this book a decent work on a difficult subject.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

2.0 out of 5 stars Worthy of a magazine, Dec 23 2001

By

S. McEnaney (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Open Secret: Gay Hollywood, 1928-2000 (Paperback)

After a quick glance of my friend's copy, I picked this up, curious to find out more about the current state of affairs for gays and lesbians in Hollywood. While it's certainly encouraging that many lesbian and gay writers/producers/et al are now able (thanks to Ms. DeGeneres) to live their lives more openly, the book itself offers little insight other than Ellen DeGeneres and a couple of other passing (gay) cultural moments, such as Howard Ashman's lover's acceptance of his posthumous Academy Award. Being a supposed historical exploration, the book flips back and forth in time and era, never focusing on one person or subject long enough to discover anything insightful. It's coverage of the early part of Hollywood's gay history is slight at best, focusing mostly on Rock Hudson, and offers little to illuminate that situation. It has the depth and tone of a good magazine article, but as a book it doesn't offer enough: it seems as if it was padded, and interviews are quoted verbatim with every bit of bad syntax and "you know"'s intact. I learned nothing from this book that I wasn't aware of through soundbites on entertainment news shows. I realy don't like writing a negative review, but reading this was increasingly frustrating and ultimately unsatisfying.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

4.0 out of 5 stars Very intelligent and insightful, July 6 2001

By

Barry J. Callahan (Milladore, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Open Secret: Gay Hollywood, 1928-2000 (Paperback)

The author examines Hollywood like it is a set decoration being used in a movie. He shows us the attractive scenery (the Hollywood that middle America sees every day), as well as behind the scenes: the nails, glue, and sandbags that hold the set in place. In this case, however, the nails, glue, and sandbags are decades of deception, denial, and hushed tones that the industry continues to use. Ehrenstein writes with a knowledgeable pen, yet rarely if ever comes across as smug or elitest. His narrative is conversational, but structured. It allows the reader to understand better many individual stories in Hollywood's past and present while showing them in context relative to time and social acceptance. "Open Secret" is well-written and comprehensive.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 6 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Want to see more reviews on this item?

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 7 reviews 3.0 out of 5 stars

Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Still the same
This book may as well be a horror novel in that Hollywood is still the same as it was in the 1920's. Read more

Published on July 30 2000 by sean95i

1.0 out of 5 stars Unsightful paste job
This book talks alot and shows very little for it. Ehrenstein loves to gab and rehash tired rumors, but the point gets lost time and again as you slog thru this poorly written... Read more

Published on July 6 2000