Good Dames

By James Robert Parish

Book Overview

Part of the Encore Film Book Classics series, this is a reprint of the original text to Good Dames by James Robert Parish. The faces, the voices, and the acting styles of Eve Arden, Agnes Moorehead, Angela Lansbury, Thelma Ritter, and Eileen Hackett have long been familiar to many people, but how many star-watchers could match the name to the performer? These five talented women are celebrated for their fine "supporting character" roles, but often the public has been ill-acquainted with them as people. Good Dames delves into the remarkable careers of these extraordinarily creative women, providing new insight into their professional and personal lives. Each of the five actresses has a full chapter devoted to her, and each chapter contains a detailed filmography of the subject's impressive output of movies. In addition, this volume provides a comprehensive survey of each actress's stage, radio, and television careers, with reviews of these ventures and quotations by the women themselves. These ladies have been seen for many years in films and on television, and this book celebrates their many impressive career achievements. These "Good Dames" have been among the most highly respected and best paid character players in show business, yet often they have not received the full critical attention or publicity of less talented actresses. In Good Dames each of these unique performers receive a long-needed appraisal of their extraordinary careers.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1530383234
• ISBN13: 9781530383238
• Release Date: August 2016
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 460 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.2" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Character Stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood

It seems James Parish churns out far too many books. However, his series of books dealing with films and stars of the Golden period of Hollywood are absolutely indispensible for movie buffs. Anyone old enough to remember the old (now defunct) film magazine, ''Films in Review'', will recall the magazine's monthly career article on stars which covered their films in detail. The article was followed by a filmography and many photos. Good Dames is in similar vein. It covers the careers of Hollywood's top character female stars - actresses like Eve Arden, Agnes Moorehead, Angela Lansbury, Thelma Ritter and Eileen Heckart. The great thing about this book is that all of the stars' films are covered in detail along with details about their personal lives (each chapter is like a mini book). At the end is a detailed filmography and a section on photos. Anyone interested in old stars should immediately add this great book to their library.