Leading Ladies

Part of the Encore Film Book Classics series, this is a reprint of the original text to The Leading Ladies by James Robert Parish and Don E. Stanke. Each of these major Hollywood movie stars had her own very special blend of glamour, persistence, and magnetism. One was a flippant, saucer-eyed, wisecracking blonde. Another was a sharp-edged rugged individualist. A third was delicate-looking, a demure pretty heroine with great reserves of strength. All six major talents profiled in this volume were uniquely themselves. But they had one thing in common: the tenacity and adaptability to survive in the Hollywood film business for many decades. They were the great, indestructible Leading Ladies. JOAN BLONDELL: “I play Joan Blondell, and I play her the best the I can.” JOAN CRAWFORD: “A Star will last always, as in the heavens. A personality will go down just as quick as it appears.” BETTE DAVIS: “I survived because I was tougher than everybody else.” OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND: “I love to work. It’s something I need very much.” ROSALIND RUSSELL: “It’s okay to have talent. But talent is the least of it. In a performance or a career, you’ve got to have vitality.” BARBARA STANWYCK: “I’m the best action actress in the world. I can do horse drags, jump off buildings, and I have the scars to prove it.” The six lengthy career studies in The Leading Ladies are enhanced by detailed filmographies and expansive personal narratives of these inimitable Hollywood stars that are full of insights into what made them such enduring, unforgettable Tinseltown legends.