Book picks similar to
The Alfred Hitchcock Encyclopedia by Stephen Whitty


nonfiction
arba-reviews
catégorie_classic-crime
cinema-and-tv

The Reluctant RV Wife


Gerri Almand - 2019
    He wanted to go; she wanted to stay. They both learn, grow, and change as a new level of freedom evolves.This book is light-hearted and humorous but at the same time serious. While not a How-To book, it gives lots of basic information about RVing. And while not a travelogue, it touches upon many travel destinations in the United States and Canada. On deeper levels, the book is about marital relationships, retiring and getting old, and finding a new kind of freedom through a minimalistic lifestyle.After reading this book, you’ll never again look at one of those huge monstrosities driving down the road in quite the same way. The book answers questions for non-RVers and triggers chuckles of recognition from experienced RVers.What Others Are Saying:When his RV dream rear-ends her perfectly mapped-out retirement, navigating through their travails and travels - in life and on the road - spins a romantic and humorous adventure. - Doreen Orion, author of Queen of the Road

Beyond His Control (Memoir of a Disobedient Daughter)


Linda Hale Bucklin - 2007
    Was it suicide or homicide?Standing up to her father, heir to the Broadway/Hale Department Store fortune, Linda is disinherited, then ostracized from the family she loves. When her father marries his mistress, Denise Minnelli, stepmother to Liza Minnelli, the family unravels.Once a child of privilege, Linda recounts, in vivid detail, her extraordinary life—summers on the family's 10,000 acre ranch in Northern California, hunting trips to Africa and Alaska, high society vignettes of a fourth-generation San Francisco family, and her father's final decision: to leave the entire family fortune to Minnelli.But amid the ashes, Linda finds a new strength: the strength to forgive the one who started it all.REVIEWS:"...a jolting memoir." ~The New York Post"...a book you won't be able to put down." ~David Patrick Columbia, New York Social DiaryMEET LINDA HALE BUCKLIN:Linda feels blessed to be surrounded by her three grown sons, two daughters-in-law and two grandchildren. A fourth-generation San Franciscan, she now lives with her husband in Mill Valley, CA.

365 More Things People Believe That Aren't True


James Egan - 2014
    Some mammoths were smaller than children. Owls are the dumbest birds in the world. Very few people with Tourette's syndrome swear. You can't get a six-pack from doing sit-ups. King Arthur's sword wasn't called Excalibur. Milk doesn't make your bones strong. There's no bones in your fingers. The Bible states that humans can't become angels. Humans have more than two nostrils. It's impossible to slide down a bannister. At a wedding, the bride doesn't walk down the aisle. Ties were invented for war, not fashion. Most Disney classics made almost no money. Slavery has only been illegal in the UK since 2010. George Washington wasn't the first American President. Velcro doesn’t exist. Nobody knows why we sleep.

Heaven Is A Real Place: True Stories Of The Afterlife From A Psychic Medium


Gaynor Carrillo - 2016
    Here she reveals how her ability to see and communicate with Spirit has helped her to pass on Spirit messages to thousands of people from around the world, sharing her understanding of what it’s really like in the Spirit world.Gaynor has answered questions about Spirit and the Afterlife in her usual honest and down to earth way.What happens when we die?Is there really such thing as life after death?Where is Heaven?Are our Spirit loved ones happy?Do we meet our pets in Heaven?Do angels exist?Is Heaven a real place?This book will give you the answers to these questions and many more, along with a guided view of life after death and a clearer understanding of the place some call Heaven.

James Arness


James Arness - 2001
    He entered college just as World War II began and dreamed of being a naval aviator. It seemed as if every night his fraternity was having a party to send off a brother to the service. Young Arness got his interview with a naval flight program officer, but his hopes vanished as he was informed that his six foot seven inch height disqualified him automatically. He wrote his draft board asking that they call him up as soon as possible and so he ended up as a private in the famed Third Infantry Division where he earned a Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. Because of his stature, he was chosen to be first off the landing craft (to test the depth of the water) when his division landed at Anzio, Italy. He was subsequently wounded by enemy machine gun fire and spent eighteen months recovering in overseas and stateside hospitals. Later his height would help him strike a commanding figure in the role of U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon of Dodge City. After Arness had toiled in Hollywood for a decade, John Wayne recommended him to CBS executives for the Gunsmoke part (after Wayne turned it down). As the principal performer of Gunsmoke for twenty years (1955-1975), the actor and the character took on mythic proportions--a born leader, honest and strong. Rare is the actor who has been cast in a role that so deeply fits his true self. James Arness gives a full account of his early years, his family, his military career, his film work in Hollywood which included appearances in the cult-favorite science fiction movies Them! and The Thing. He had a long run on Gunsmoke, a role in the highly popular television miniseries How The West Was Won, and his post-theatrical period is also covered. This is the long anticipated, never-before-told account of one of the icons of twentieth-century television. There are many personal revelations of interacting with some of the Gunsmoke family ensemble, such as Miss Kitty, Doc and Festus. His own work as a producer is covered. Throughout are rare, previously unpublished photographs from the author's personal collection. Appendices include comments by show biz colleagues and fellow Gunsmoke alumni, and a sampling of letters received from his legions of fans. As befits the man, this large-size book is a beautifully printed work in accord with the highest library standards--a luxurious and extra-strong cloth binding, acid-free paper, carefully designed photographic and textual layouts and sophisticated typography. Actor and fellow Gunsmoke performer Burt Reynolds has written a foreword to the book.

Tallulah!


Joel Lobenthal - 2004
    In 1917, a fifteen-year-old Bankhead boldly left her established Alabama political family and fled to New York City to sate her relentless need for attention and become a star. Five years later, she crossed the Atlantic, immediately taking her place as a fixture in British society and the most popular actress in London's West End. By the time she returned to America in the 1930s, she was infamous for throwing marathon parties, bedding her favorite costars, and neglecting to keep her escapades a secret from the press. At times, her notoriety distracted her audience from her formidable talent and achievements on stage and dampened the critical re-sponse to her work. As Bankhead herself put it, "they like me to 'Tallulah,' you know -- dance and sing and romp and fluff my hair and play reckless parts." Still, her reputation as a wild, witty, over-the-top leading lady persisted until the end of her life at the age of sixty-six.From her friendships with such entertainment luminaries as Tennessee Williams, Estelle Winwood, Billie Holiday, Noël Coward, and Marlene Dietrich, to the intimate details of her family relationships and her string of doomed romances, Joel Lobenthal has captured the private essence of the most public star during theater's golden age. Larger-than-life as she was, friends saw through Bankhead's veneer of humor and high times to the heart of a woman who often felt second-best in her father's eyes, who longed for the children she was unableto bear, and who forced herself into the spotlight to hide her deep-seated insecurities.Drawn from scores of exclusive interviews, as well as previously untapped information from Scotland Yard and the FBI, this is the essential biography of Tallulah Bankhead. Having spent twenty-five years researching Bankhead's life, Joel Lobenthal tells her unadulterated story, as told to him by her closest friends, enemies, lovers, and employees. Several have broken decadelong silences; many have given Lobenthal their final interviews. The result is the story of a woman more complex, more shocking, and yet more nuanced than her notorious legend suggests.

Really Interesting Stuff You Don't Need to Know: 1,500 Fascinating Facts


David Fickes - 2019
    geography, U.S. presidents, and world geography. For example: The classic film It’s a Wonderful Life originated from a Christmas card. Philip Van Doren Stern had written a short story, The Greatest Gift, and had unsuccessfully tried to get it published. He sent it out as a 21-page Christmas card to his closest friends; a producer at RKO Pictures got hold of it and purchased the movie rights. The Bible doesn't say how many wise men there were. It says wise men and mentions the gifts; there is no indication of how many wise men. Today's British accent first appeared among the British upper class about the time of the American Revolution. Before that, the British accent was like Americans. The video game company Nintendo was founded in 1889; it originally produced handmade playing cards. Frances Folsom Cleveland is the youngest U.S. first lady ever. She was 21 when she married Grover Cleveland in the White House; he was 49. No witches were burned at the stake during the Salem witch trials; 20 were executed, but most were hung, and none were burned. Roman gladiator fights started as a part of funerals; when wealthy nobles died, they would have bouts at the graveside. All the bacteria in an average human body collectively weigh about four pounds. In the song “Yankee Doodle”, the term macaroni means stylish or fashionable. In late 18th century England, the term macaroni came to mean stylish or fashionable; in the song, it is used to mock the Americans who think they can be stylish by simply sticking a feather in their cap. George Bernard Shaw and Bob Dylan are the only two people to win both a Nobel Prize and an Oscar. George Bernard Shaw won the Nobel Literature Prize in 1925 and the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for Pygmalion in 1936; Bob Dylan won the Best Original Song Oscar for “Things Have Changed” from Wonder Boys in 2000 and the Nobel Literature Prize in 2016. Neil Armstrong didn't say “one small step for man” when he set foot on the Moon. He said, “one small step for a man”; that is what Armstrong claims he said, and audio analysis confirms it. It has been misquoted all these years. Tsutomu Yamaguchi is the only recognized person in the world to survive both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb blasts. He was in Hiroshima on business for the first bomb and then returned home to Nagasaki. Please note: This book has substantial overlap with What's the Best Trivia Book? combined with new trivia that doesn't fit well in a question and answer format. It is designed for people who prefer trivia as interesting facts rather than a test yourself quiz format. This is book 1 of my Really Interesting Stuff series; I hope you enjoy it, and if you do, look for other books in the series.

Eros Plus Massacre: An Introduction to the Japanese New Wave Cinema


David Desser - 1988
    The films of the New Wave in Japan have, until now, been largely overlooked. Eros plus Massacre (taking its title from a 1969 Yoshida Yoshishige film) is the first major study devoted to the examination and explanation of Japanese New Wave film.Desser organizes his volume around the defining motifs of the New Wave. Chapters examine in depth such themes as youth, identity, sexuality, and women, as they are revealed in the Japanese film of the sixties. Desser's research in Japanese film archives, his interviews with major figures of the movement, and his keen insight into Japanese culture combine to offer a solid and balanced analysis of films by Oshima, Shinoda, Imamura, Yoshida, Suzuki, and others.

Successful Television Writing


Lee Goldberg - 2003
    They teach you how to discover the "Franchise" or structure of a television show in order to write a successful and eye catching spec script. The four-act structure is covered, along with the elements that go into telling a good story. After you've blown them away with your spec script, learn how to pitch confidently and concisely. You'll also find invaluable information on how to work with producers, how to handle your first writing assignment, and tackle revisions. Also included are Writer's Guidelines, and beat sheets, from several television shows to help you familiarize yourself with the way writer's work.

The 'Three Colours' Trilogy


Geoff Andrew - 1998
    An interview with Kieslowsi shortly before his death concludes this tribute.

Evil Spirits: The Life of Oliver Reed


Cliff Goodwin - 2000
    Having risen through Hammer Horror films to international stardom as Bill Sykes in Oliver!, Reed became, in his own works, 'the biggest star this country has got'. With his legendary off-screen exploits and blunt opinions - especially of his co-stars - he was also one of the most infamous.Bestselling author Cliff Goodwin uses material from first-hand interviews with Reed's family, friends and colleagues and never before seen photographs to explore Reed's eventful career. But he also reveals another side to this unique and complex man.

All God Worshippers Are Mad: a little book of sanity


J.P. Tate - 2013
    The method employed is to take the obscurantist vocabulary of monotheism and translate it into plain language. In doing so, the book attempts to show that god worshippers themselves do not understand the things they claim to believe, and by which they live their lives. For the reader who believes in god, this polemical little volume may help them to understand why secularists get so frustrated and infuriated when in debate with god worshippers. For the secularist, this book is a reminder that not everyone is susceptible to reasoned argument. The reminder is a timely one for those who live in an era of the resurgence of Islamic Jihad. A clear understanding of the irrationality of monotheism is something which matters urgently when confronted by the global rise of religious fascism. What is said in this little book will no doubt be found impolite and overly-provocative by those authoritarian people within the politically correct establishment who conflate morality with niceness. They will probably utter the familiar refrain that we ought not to denigrate other people’s deeply and sincerely held beliefs. Instead we should live in a permanent state of apology for the crime of having minds of our own. But religions are no more above criticism than any other ideologies. They have no entitlement to a privileged status. Besides which, large numbers of god worshippers feel free to denigrate and insult everyone else’s deeply and sincerely held beliefs, so why should they have special permission to be hypocrites? Topics covered: 01. God 02. Prayer 03. Worship 04. God the Infinite 05. Immortality and Heaven 06. Soul / Spirit 07. Salvation 08. Faith 09. Spreading The Word 10. Theocracy 11. Theocracy and Nuclear Armageddon 12. God, Guilty of Genocide 13. Religion and Morality are Mutually Exclusive 14. God worship is Immoral 15. God worship is Obscene 16. Everything is God’s Fault 17. If it’s in The Book, then it Must be True 18. Claiming Incomprehensible Beliefs 19. Is Islamism the New Fascism? 20. The Moderates

In and Out of Character


Basil Rathbone - 1956
    "Basil Rathbone's book about himself...is better written than most books by or about actors and is more intellectually vigorous...Sherlock Holmes fans will be much interested in his remarks on the character with whom he has been so closely identified." -Library Journal "Quite naturally full of memories, full of names, full of glimpses of stars of stage and screen of yesterday and today." -New York Times Book Review

Step Right Up!: I'm Gonna Scare The Pants Off America


William Castle - 1976
    Here are the outrageous memoirs of an American original whose life was every bit as outlandish as his movies. Photographs. Filmography.

Goodbye, Dragon Inn


Nick Pinkerton - 2021
    In this wide-ranging and elegiac essay, Nick Pinkerton reflects upon Tsai Ming-liang’s 2003 film Goodbye, Dragon Inn, a modern classic haunted by the ghosts and portents of a culture in flux.