From Chaplin to Chinatown My Ten Favorite Books on Films

Twelve Angry Men

I have a voracious appetite for books. Mostly I devour fiction or history but occasionally I combine two passions and read books about another great love, films. Here are brief reviews of ten books on films that I have especially enjoyed and highly recommend. Several of them are neither specifically about a particular film nor the works of a filmmaker, but all touch upon making movies in exploring their topic.

Reginald Rose and the Journey of 12 Angry Men by Phil Rosenzweig. This is an exploration of Reginald Rose who wrote the teleplay for 12 Angry Men (1957) Lumet, which he later adapted into the screenplay. The film, of course, is a Hollywood classic that has inspired countless theatrical versions, television parodies and remakes and has been used in classrooms to study everything from group dynamics, to the law itself. To say 12 Angry Men is one of America’s most important films is to understate it. Phil (I refer him to him by his first name because — full disclosure — he’s been a good friend since our high school days) introduces us to Rose, who besides 12 Angry Men, is also known for writing teleplays during TV’s golden age when brilliant anthology shows ruled the air waves. He also created an excellent (if little remembered) drama of the early sixties, The Defenders. Twelve Angry Men was the apex of a great career. (Rose was also co-producer, along with Henry Fonda.) It is a film worthy of study and re-study, as this wonderful book demonstrates.

Made Men the Story of Goodfellas by Glenn Kenny. A great film deserves books written about it and Kenny has done an admirable job writing about Goodfellas (1990) Scorsese. He seems to have had access to everyone involved, even tangentially, with the making of this Martin Scorsese classic. But this book does more than serve as a “the making of …” story, it also informs our love of the film, exploring why and how it has had such an impact on audiences and is watched and re-watched by cinephiles like me. As a book like this should, it will have you scrambling to watch it again, now with renewed appreciation.

Apropos of Nothing by Woody Allen. Allen’s sharp wit and keen intelligence are on full display in this wonderful chronicle of his life as a comedy writer, comic and most importantly, a filmmaker. Allen has always been a master story teller and Apropos is rife with the kind of wonderful and often hilarious stories that are so integral to entertainment lore. Of course, there’s plenty on his process of filmmaking, featuring his own self-effacing humor and self-criticism. It is an absolutely delightful read from beginning to end. 

The brothers Marx

Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Sometimes Zeppo A Celebration of the Marx Brothers by Joe Adamson. I bought this book over forty-five years ago and still haven’t found a better one about Marx Brothers’ films. The book is thoughtful, comprehensive and well-written. The author is clearly a fan of their work and happily celebrates their early classic films while bemoaning some of their weaker later efforts. There are stories and anecdotes aplenty in this  celebration of filmdom’s greatest comedy quartet (later trio).

Hitchcock by Francois Truffaut. Absolutely indispensable for anyone who loves films, particularly those with an appreciation for Hitchcock. The great French film director conducted a series of interviews with Hitchcock covering every one of Hitch’s film. It’s great fun to watch a Hitchcock film, then read what the master himself said about it. It helps that Truffaut was such an adept interviewer. We get real insights from the storyteller himself on just how he did it. (See also the documentary about the book.)

My Autobiography by Charlie Chaplin. One of the giants of filmmaking left behind this absorbing autobiography. It is rich with detail and chock full of stories from Hollywood’s early days through the early fifties. Among his many other talents, Chaplin was a good writer -- as this book displays. Also on display are his wit and charm. An absolute must for fans of the Little Tramp, the silent era and great films.

Pictures at a Revolution Five Movie at the Birth of the New Hollywood by Mark Harris. It’s hard to overstate what a good writer Harris is nor how diligent he is about research. He is a superior journalist who also writes engaging prose. His topic here are the five films from 1967 that were nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award. His main focus is on the two that helped revolutionize filmmaking (or at least were perfect examples of that revolution) Bonnie and Clyde (1967) Penn and The Graduate (1967) Nicholas. But he also explores the two that dealt frankly (for the times) with race, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) Kramer and In the Heat of the Night (1967) Jewison. The fifth picture was Doctor Doolittle (1967) Fleischer which fits not at all with others but represents the dying gasps of old Hollywood. 

Images My Life in Film by Ingmar Bergman. Bergman is my favorite director so you can well imagine how much I love a book by the man himself. But anyone who appreciates the great Swede, or for that matter appreciates films, would enjoy this intimate look at his oeuvre. As one would hope (and seems to be the theme of this writing) Images enhances one’s appreciation of films just watched and has one scrambling to watch more. Filled with photos that enliven the text.

The Kid Stays in the Picture by Robert Evans. First the negative: Producer Robert Evans’ memoirs are, in the way of many such books, self-serving. What he omits could fill another couple of books and be compelling reading. That said this is damn entertaining. Evans worked in interesting times and was at the epicenter of Hollywood’s big changes in the late sixties/early seventies and was a key player in the makings of such classics as The Godfather (1972) Coppola and Chinatown (1974) Polanski. He knew everyone and they all knew him and here he tells the tales. It is a book rich with gossip but it also gives insight into how films are produced and how talent is developed and used or misused. 

"Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown."

The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood by Sam Wasson. In writing this post I’ve been constantly tempted to write that this book is the best or most important of the lot. It is again very tempting in my final submission to the list. Like Goodfellas and 12 Angry Men, Chinatown is a towering American film deserving of a book or ten about it. Absent nine others, this will do nicely. Chinatown brought together some of the most important people in Hollywood at the time, the aforementioned producer Robert Evans, director Roman Polanski, screenwriter Robert Towne and star Jack Nicholson. The Big Goodbye tells the tale of how these giants came together and — sometimes in spite of each other — made a film that hasn’t aged a day since its release forty seven years ago. This is also a story of Hollywood at the time and the seismic changes that were going on in the film industry. It was after the collapse of both the studio system and the production code, when independent studios were making independent films with great directors creating the best decade of film the world has ever seen. We also see why and how that wouldn’t (or couldn’t last). Like all the other books on this list, a damn good read on a fascinating topic.