Hollywood: Mecca of the MoviesBlaise Cendrars, one of twentieth-century France's most gifted men of letters, came to Hollywood in 1936 for the newspaper Paris-Soir. Already a well-known poet, Cendrars was a celebrity journalist whose perceptive dispatches from the American dream factory captivated millions. These articles were later published as Hollywood: Mecca of the Movies, which has since appeared in many languages. Remarkably, this is its first translation into English. Hollywood in 1936 was crowded with stars, moguls, directors, scouts, and script girls. Though no stranger to filmmaking (he had worked with director Abel Gance), Cendrars was spurned by the industry greats with whom he sought to hobnob. His response was to invent a wildly funny Hollywood of his own, embellishing his adventures and mixing them with black humor, star anecdotes, and wry social commentary. Part diary, part tall tale, this book records Cendrars's experiences on Hollywood's streets and at its studios and hottest clubs. His impressions of the town's drifters, star-crazed sailors, and undiscovered talent are recounted in a personal, conversational style that anticipates the "new journalism" of writers such as Tom Wolfe. Perfectly complemented by his friend Jean Guérin's witty drawings, and following the tradition of European travel writing, Cendrars's "little book about Hollywood" offers an astute, entertaining look at 1930s America as reflected in its unique movie mecca. |
Contents
The youngest capital in the world | 17 |
The Holly subdivision | 24 |
A news item magnified by a thousand 35 | 24 |
Fecisti patriam diversis gentibus unam | 43 |
A few statistics and to hell with | 49 |
If you want to make movies come | 77 |
At Universal | 83 |
G M | 90 |
From mathematics to myth | 97 |
MYSTIQUE OR SEX APPEAL? | 135 |
Wally Westmore expert on sex appeal | 153 |
Ill strike it | 161 |
Ernst Lubitschs opinion on the star crisis | 174 |
Agents hidden masters of the screen | 181 |
The favorite hunting grounds of | 189 |
Common terms and phrases
Abel Gance adventure agent Alain Masson American Angeles artistic asked beautiful Blaise Cendrars California capital Cendrars wrote Cendrars's cetera Charles Boyer cinema dance director drars edition electricians Ernst Lubitsch factory famous film filmmaker France French hair Harold Loeb head Holly Hollywood studios Hotel hundreds idea illusion industry jazz Jean Guérin journalist kiss known laughing living Los Angeles Lubitsch makeup Marlene Dietrich Mecca ment Michael Gunther million Miriam Cendrars modern Monsieur movie never newspapers night novel Paramount Paris Paris-Soir Paul de Longpré photography Pierre Lazareff poetry police Press production published reportage rêve ROBERT FLOREY Roue scenes screen screenplay script girl sex appeal star crisis star hunter starlet streets Sutter's Gold talent scout theater thing tion train translation Universal wall Wally Westmore window women wood writers York young Ziegfeld