She was the top female star at the box office in 1940. Five years later, she told Darryl F. Zanuck where to go and walked out on 20th Century-Fox—or “Penitentiary Fox,” as Alice Faye called it when she appeared at Cinecon in the early 1990s, to the delight of ardent fans. She led a rags-to-riches life beginning in the slums of Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen, and biographer Jane Lenz Elder doesn’t try to sugarcoat it in “Alice Faye: A Life Beyond the Silver Screen.” (Available from University Press of Mississippi).
Looking for a John Wayne DVD collection that isn’t run of the mill? Apart from the so-called special bonus inclusion of “McClintock!,” most of what appears on the 3-DVD box set “John Wayne: Bigger Than Life” is uncommon. The 1971 documentary “The American West of John Ford” is the standout; also included are “No Substitute for Victory,” and Wayne’s appearances on “Colgate Comedy Hour” and “People Are Funny.” (Available from Synergy Entertainment).
Imagine an actor who could embody both Fred Flintstone and Pancho Villa. The mind boggles, but “Yabba Dabba Doo! The Alan Reed Story” makes for a fascinating book. Reed’s unfinished autobiography was completed by Ben Ohmart with contributions by Reed Jr. and Chuck Schaden, who interviewed the versatile performer about his work on “The Fred Allen Show” (as poet Falstaff Openshaw), “Life With Luigi” and other radio programs before he starred in TV’s “The Flintstones.” (Available from BearManor Media).
If you think reviewing books is an easy job, you’re sadly mistaken—according to Laura Wagner, who handles the chore for Classic Images magazine. “Let Me Tell You How I Really Feel…” is an uncensored compendium of her reviews from 2001-2010. Wagner doesn’t mince words, and really rips into authors of film books for everything from sloppy research (copying credits from IMDb without double-checking) to wild assumptions and sordid details that don’t match up. (Available from Bear Manor Media).
Hot tip: Noir City, the 13th annual Los Angeles Film Noir Festival, runs Apr. 1-20 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. “23 of the 28 films in the series are not on DVD,” they promise.
More from Jordan:
Restored ‘Potemkin’ on big screen, Cold War comedies on DVD
Show biz bookshelf: The good, the bad and the ugly side of movies
‘Julius Caesar’ at Fullerton’s Stages, ‘Napoleon & Love’ on DVD
A ‘Wicked’ evening in Costa Mesa
“You’re Lookin’ Swell, Dali” - Westways, March-April 2011, page 24.
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