Woody Allen on Woody Allen

Over the course of his long directing career, Woody Allen has portrayed contemporary American life with an unmistakable mixture of irony, neurotic obsession, and humor. Woody Allen on Woody Allen is a unique self-portrait of this uncompromising filmmaker that offers a revealing account of his life and work. In a series of rare, in-depth interviews, Allen brings us onto the sets and behind the scenes of all his films. Since its original publication, Woody Allen on Woody Allen has been the primary source of Allen's own thoughts on his work, childhood, favorite films, and inspirations. Now updated with one hundred pages of new material that brings us up to his Hollywood Ending, Woody Allen on Woody Allen is a required addition to any cinephile's library.

Each chapter is a conversation between Allen and filmmaker Stig Bjorkman about a particular film. Much like what Trufault did with Hitchcock. This is the kind of book you consult before and/or after watching a Woody Allen film, so you can get an understanding about the decisions behind casting, cinematography, producing, directing a particular scene, etc. from Annie Hall, Take the Money and Run, Manhattan, Manhattan Murder Mystery, they are all here. Published by Grove Press Books and with a price tag of $12, you cannot go wrong with this one.

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Doc Savage and The Monsters

Doc Savage battles genetically-engineered giants in "The Monsters," the classic pulp thriller that inspired the Hugo Strange story in Batman #1. Why did I point this out? Because this pulp reprint contains two original essays written by historian Will Murray, about the four color comics and the connection between those and the novels in this reprint. A nice way of pairing the stories together. 

Then, the Man of Bronze and his Iron Crew discover that a metabolism-accelerating elixir is creating an army of superpowered criminals in "The Whisker of Hercules." 

This classic pulp reprint also features the original color pulp covers by Walter Baumhofer and Modest Stein, and interior illustrations by Paul Orban.

I would like to point out that these reprints from Nostalgia Ventures are a welcome addition to my bookshelf, are graphically pleasing to the eye and the reprinting of the original illustrations are a nice touch. Most pulp reprints don't include the illustrations from the pulps. As a result, they read like today's novels and stories were are printed on the cheap because the publishers don't want to spend money on an illustrator. I believe Girosol was the first publishing company to do this with pulp reprints and Nostalgia Ventures followed their lead.

The essays by Will Murray are also welcome, but can be too in-depth at times for the casual reader. But since those are extras on top of the two novels you are buying, it's not a bad thing. My only gripe is that many of these Doc Savage novels were reprinted in the 1970s in trade paperbacks and you can buy them for as low as $5 a piece. So the $12.95 cover price isn't too bad for the product but shop around and buy them for $8 or $9 bucks a piece and you'll do fine.

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Doc Savage and the Brand of the Werewolf

Review of Nostalgia Ventures pulp reprint #13. Doc Savage teams up with his beautiful cousin in the Lester Dent novels that introduced the character of Patricia Savage. First, the Man of Bronze and his Iron Crew investigate the murder of Doc's uncle. The only clues, a strange ivory cube and the mysterious "Brand of the Werewolf," set them on the trail of an ancient mystery. This pulp reprint includes a fascinating essay by historian Will Murray about the origins of Patricia Savage, but I really wish Murray would stop offering theories in between facts and giving readers the false impressions that such theories are facts. He's a gifted writer but the way he words his sentences you have to seek the underlying meanings. I suspect this is not as much the fault of Murray as it is with editor Anthony Tollin, who has repeatedly done this in other pulp reprints and magazine articles.

The second story gives you the impression that George Lucas wanted to reprise the hoard of man-eating ants sequence in "Fear Cay" for his recent movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls. After a failed kidnapping attempt, Doc and Pat Savage travel to the West Indies and encounter flesh-eating ants and a 130-year-old man on the strange island called "Fear Cay."

This collector's item pulp reprint features the classic color pulp covers by Walter Baumhofer, interior illustrations by Paul Orban, and historical articles by Will Murray. A biography in the back about Lester Dent looks familiar and I keep thinking it was reprinted from another pulp reprint in the series.

By the way, these early volume numbers are available for low prices. Don't spend the full $12.95 cover price or subscribe to the series like a magazine, which the publishing company offers. Seriously, if you shop around you can get them for about $8 or $9. If there was only one pulp reprint, I would say buy it at any price. But when there are more than fifty Doc Savage reprints available, every little bit helps.

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The Shadow: Judge Lawless and The Living Joss

Sanctum Books, formerly Nostalgia Ventures, continues to reprint old Shadow pulp novels from the 1930s and 1940s, especially the ones that have not been reprinted in paperback during the 1970s. The quality of the pulp reprints is on cheap, thin paper which allows the text on the back side of the paper to bleed through. Most pulp reprints from other companies (such as Girasol Collectables) have thicker paper to prevent this issue.

The reprinting of the original interior pulp illustrations by Tom Lovell and Paul Orban is a nice touch, also being done by Girasol Collectables. I wish more people inserted the art among the text like Girasol and Sanctum.

In the first novel, The Shadow goes undercover in Chinatown to battle a legendary oriental demi-god in "The Living Joss." It's not one of the better Shadow novels, but the editor, Anthony Tollin, romantically talks it up as if it was one of the better novels. But then again, he's read all 200 plus issues so he can compare this novel to all the others and be a better judge. In the second novel, the more action-packed story, we discover what can prevent "Judge Lawless" from making a mockery of the law. The Shadow investigates and smashes this crooked operation. In the back of the book there is a reprint of an old-time radio script for a "lost" Orson Welles thriller that does not exist in recorded form, "Djaruti, Goddess of Death." For old-time radio fans this script is a must-read.

The historical commentary by Anthony Tollin leaves me with secondary thoughts. Much of the information in his essay about the early Shadow radio program appears to be a reprint of material from a book I recently read, The Shadow: The History and Mystery of the Radio Program by Martin Grams. When Grams branched into obscure trivia such as Frank Readick being the star of two radio programs, Tollin's essay does the same. Coincidence? Might be when you're talking about history but I could cite half a dozen other coincidences which makes me wonder if Anthony Tollin wrote The Shadow book under the pen name of Martin Grams, or if he's lifting material from the Grams book. I don't want to open a can of worms so I'll leave it as "shades of suspicion." I never would have caught this had I not recently read Grams' book, but this isn't the first time I've seen repetition from one book to another on other subjects.

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The Films of Audie Murphy

Boyd Magers has done it again! Another winner, especially if you love Audie Murphy.

This work traces Audie Murphy's life as a film actor, including reviews of each of his films from Beyond Glory (1948) to A Time for Dying (1971). Did I say review? It's actually a reference guide. 

A biography of the actor runs from his birthdate (listed as 1924 so he could get into the army a year early, but really 1925) to his three years in the army winning every possible combat medal, including the Congressional Medal of Honor, and from his entry into Hollywood at James Cagney's invitation to his final dramatic decline, gambling his fortunes away, becoming involved in violent episodes, and dying in a plane crash in 1971. Sadly, the biography is limited to an extensive "Introduction," and not a chapter of its own.

Then, each of the 49 film reviews include credits, including casts, characters, crew, date of release, location, and cost, backgrounds for directors and main players, dates of production and comments and anecdotes from interviews with Murphy's colleagues. Each section also describes what was happening in the actor's life at the time of the filming and gives interesting comments about the production. The sections on films also include reviews and critics' notices from tradepapers and newspapers of the time, and the work is richly illustrated with film stills and private photographs.

I couldn't speak better and describe the book any more than I just did. For a company like McFarland that has been printing more and more slackers, it is nice to see a winner from time to time originating from the book factory.

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Dwight Frye's Last Laugh

Gregory William Mank is one of the best authors in the field of movie research. There can be no doubt about it when you read this book about the dramatic rise and fall of the actor who won screen immortality as the giggling Renfield in Dracula (1931), and the sadistic hunchback of Frankenstein (1931).

Mank went to the right source to do this book, the family of Dwight Frye, and everything from his stage and Broadway career to a photo of his wooden Christmas card can be found within the front and back cover. Midnight Marquee deserves praise for publishing a book about an actor who didn't accomplish a lot in Hollywood, and the general public would ask "Dwight who?"

Frye's theater work is even divided up in the bibliography as Early Theater Work 1918-1922, Broadway plays, and Regional Theatre. Frye Junior admits that his father was most proud of his role on Dracula, and how that role led to his casting as the murderous butler in a Charlie Chan movie.

Frye is also known for his roles in The Vampire Bat and the pre-code version of The Maltese Falcon and By Whose Hand? A photo of Frye's Hollywood home is even included.

I could go on and on with tidbits that intrigue the casual Dwight Frye fan, but I'd like to say you'll do better buying your copy of the book today.

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