Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different
Click for full-size.
Spellbound by Beauty: Alfred Hitchcock and His Leading Ladies
by Spoto, Donald
- Used
- Fine
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Fine/Very Good+
- ISBN 10
- 0307351300
- ISBN 13
- 9780307351302
- Seller
-
Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Harmony Books, 2008. Book. Fine. Hardcover. Stated First Edition. 324 pp, acknowledgments, notes, bibliography, index, b/w photo plates, last of a trilogy; includes Madeleine Carroll, Marlene Dietrich, Ingrid Bergman, more as leading ladies of suspense. 8vo, white boards, fine; priced dust jacket, remnants price tag rear, very good+.
Synopsis
"The trouble today is that we don't torture women enough."--Alfred HitchcockIt is remarkable how infrequently, over a period of more than fifty years, Alfred Hitchcock spoke about the beautiful, legendary and talented actresses he directed. And when he did, his remarks were mostly indifferent and often hostile. But his leading ladies greatly enriched his films, even as many of them achieved international stardom precisely because of their work for Hitchcock--among the dozens of women were Madeleine Carroll, Joan Fontaine, Grace Kelly and Tippi Hedren. Yet he maintained a stony, insistent silence about the quality of their performances and their contributions to his art. Spellbound by Beauty--the final volume in master biographer Donald Spoto's Hitchcock trilogy that began with The Art of Alfred Hitchcock and continued with The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock--is the fascinating, complex and finally tragic story of the great moviemaker and his female stars, the unusual ideas of sex and romance that inform his films and the Hollywood dreams that often became nightmares. Rich with fresh revelations based on previously undisclosed tapes, new interviews, private correspondence and personal papers made available only to the author, this thoughtful, compassionate yet explosive portrait details Hitchcock's outbursts of cruelty, the shocking humor and the odd amalgam of adoration and contempt that time and again characterized Hitchcock's obsessive relationships with women--and that also, paradoxically, fed his genius.He insisted, for example, that Madeleine Carroll submit herself to painful physical demands during the making of The 39 Steps. He harbored a poignantly unrequited love for Ingrid Bergman. He meticulously and deliberately constructed Grace Kelly's image. Finally, he stalked, harassed and abused Tippi Hedren. His treatment of his daughter, Pat, was certainly unusual, while his strange marriage to his sometime collaborator Alma Reville was a union that (according to Hitchcock himself) was forever chaste after one incident. Spellbound by Beauty offers important insights into the life of a brilliant, powerful, eccentric and tortured artist, and it corrects a major gap in movie history by paying tribute at last to those extraordinarily talented actresses who gave so much to his films.From the Hardcover edition.
Reviews
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- Abstract Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 032371
- Title
- Spellbound by Beauty: Alfred Hitchcock and His Leading Ladies
- Author
- Spoto, Donald
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Very Good+
- Edition
- Stated First Edition
- ISBN 10
- 0307351300
- ISBN 13
- 9780307351302
- Publisher
- Harmony Books
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 2008
- Keywords
- Biography Suspense Film Mystery
Terms of Sale
Abstract Books
Payment with order by check on U.S. bank, money order. Please add $4.00 for the first book and $1.00 for each additional book for special U.S. 4th class shipping. U.S. postage higher for books weighing 5 pounds and over; customer will be notified of additional postage due before order is shipped. Contact us for foreign shipments, or to make arrangements for domestic shipping. Books are shipped within 48 hours and returnable within 10 days with prior notification. Indiana residents please add 7% sales tax.
About the Seller
Abstract Books
Biblio member since 2007
Indianapolis, Indiana
About Abstract Books
Store is open by appointment. We are located on the southwest side of Indianapolis, fifteen minutes from downtown, ten minutes from Indianapolis International Airport, and are easily accessible from I-465 and I-70.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Good+
- A term used to denote a condition a slight grade better than Good.
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
Frequently asked questions
Positive Representation Matters
Books transmit cultural values and can shape the views of society. Learn more about the history of American literature in Collecting Children’s Literature by Writers and Educators of the Harlem Renaissance.
Bob Dylan - 2016 Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature
From the first screech of his electric guitar upsetting musicians at a folk festival to his writing and paintings, Bob Dylan has risen to become a seminal force in American popular culture. In 2016, he was recognized by the Nobel Committee. Learn more about his creations...
