Only authentic gold is tarnish-free, and the Golden Age of Hollywood was anything but. Hollywood’s public persona was gilded by contractual morality clauses, invented identities, and arranged love lives – and yet, Hollywood’s greatest starlets continue to shine as bright as the set lights that illuminated them. This Women’s History Month, discover the glamour, innovation, misconduct, and legacy of this pivotal era of filmmaking through the lens of the pioneering women that made it. With titles from The University Press of Kentucky Screen Classics series, this reading list offers a deeper look into the artistic contributions of the women film producers and performers who played a hand in the creation of some of Hollywood’s most influential cinema.
A Front Row Seat
An Intimate Look at Broadway, Hollywood, and the Age of Glamour
Nancy Olson Livingston
From her idyllic childhood in the American Midwest to her Oscar–nominated performance in Sunset Boulevard (1950) and the social circles of New York and Los Angeles, actress Nancy Olson Livingston has lived abundantly. In her memoir, A Front Row Seat, Livingston treats readers to an intimate, charming chronicle of her life as an actress, wife, and mother, and her memories of many of the most notable figures and moments of her time. Find out more
9780813196190 | 408 Pages | Hardback | 2022
Jayne Mansfield
The Girl Couldn’t Help It
Eve Golden
The first definitive biography of tragicomic sex symbol Jayne Mansfield, one of the most colorful and eccentric movie stars of the 1950s-60s. The book examines both her life and her career, detailing her movie, TV, and stage work, as well as her drive to become an old-fashioned movie star at the end of the big-studio era. Find out more
9780813180953 | 502 Pages | Hardback | 2021
Anne Bancroft
A Life
Douglass K. Daniel
In the first biography to cover the entire scope of Anne Bancroft’s life and career, Douglass K. Daniel brings together interviews with dozens of her friends and colleagues, never-before-published family photos, and material from film and theater archives to present a portrait of an artist who raised the standards of acting for all those who followed. Find out more
9780813169682 | 406 Pages | HB • PB | 2017
Olivia de Havilland
Lady Triumphant
Victoria Amador
Legendary actress and two-time Academy Award winner Olivia de Havilland is best known for her role as Melanie Wilkes in Gone with the Wind (1939). Victoria Amador utilizes extensive interviews and forty years of personal correspondence with de Havilland to present an in-depth look at the life and career of this celebrated actress, who has evolved from a gentle heroine to a strong-willed, respected, and admired artist. Find out more
9780813177274 | 404 Pages | HB • PB | 2019
Maureen O’Hara
The Biography
Aubrey Malone
Though she was an icon of cinema’s golden age, Maureen O’Hara’s penchant for privacy and habit of making public statements that contradicted her personal choices have made her an enigma. This breakthrough biography offers the first look at the woman behind the larger-than-life persona, sorting through the myths to present a balanced assessment of one of the greatest stars of the silver screen. Find out more
9780813142388 | 312 Pages | HB • PB | 2020
Mean…Moody…Magnificent!
Jane Russell and the Marketing of a Hollywood Legend
Christina Rice
Serving as a companion to Russell’s 1985 autobiography, this is the first volume to explore the life and filmography of Jane Russell, who first starred in Howard Hughes’ The Outlaw. It examines how the highly sexualised marketing of Jane Russell the Movie Star conflicted with the off-screen Russell, a woman of strong religious faith who spent much of her life devoted to advocating for international adoption. Find out more
9780813181080 | 392 Pages | Hardback | 2021
The Queen of Technicolor
Maria Montez in Hollywood
Tom Zimmerman
Best known for her appearances in the six Technicolor ‘Neverland’ movies, Maria Montez is a film icon. Author Tom Zimmerman puts Montez’s life in historical context, including her role as a cultural icon and a living representation of the United States’ Good Neighbor Policy with Latin American countries. Find out more
9780813182575 | 472 Pages | Hardback | 2022
Aline MacMahon
Hollywood, the Blacklist, and the Birth of Method Acting
John Stangeland
During the 1930s and 1940s, Aline MacMahon starred in countless films and was among the most influential actors of the era, her talent revered as highly as peers Katherine Hepburn, Paul Muni, and Bette Davis. John Stangeland’s biography of this unique actress offers an insightful look into the life and oeuvre of this largely overlooked talent and how the atmosphere of Hollywood’s golden age created an inescapable blueprint for a career nearly destroyed by politics and fear. Find out more
9780813196060 | 352 Pages | Hardback | 2022
The Woman Who Dared
The Life and Times of Pearl White, Queen of the Serials
William M. Drew
The first full-length biography of pioneering star Pearl White (1889-1938). A study in film and female agency, William Drew delves into the cultural impact of White’s work and how it evolved along a concurrent trajectory with the social upheavals of the Progressive Era. Find out more
9780813196831 | 672 Pages | Hardback | 2023
Follow