One of the most influential and respected entertainers of Hollywood's golden age, Gene Kelly revolutionized film musicals with his innovative and timeless choreography. A would-be baseball player and one-time law student, Kelly captured the nation's imagination in films such as Anchors Aweigh (1945), On the Town (1949), An American in Paris (1951), and Singin' in the Rain (1952).In the first comprehensive biography written since the legendary star's death, authors Cynthia Brideson and Sara Brideson disclose new details of Kelly's complex life. Not only do they examine his contributions to the world of entertainment in depth, but they also consider his political activities-including his opposition to the Hollywood blacklist. The authors even confront Kelly's darker side and explore his notorious competitive streak, his tendency to be a taskmaster on set, and his multiple marriages.Drawing on previously untapped articles and interviews with Kelly's wives, friends, and colleagues, Brideson and Brideson illuminate new and unexpected aspects of the actor's life and work. He's Got Rhythm is a balanced and compelling view of one of the screen's enduring legends.

    The Da Vinci Code Illustrated Screenplay goes behind the scenes of one of the most highly anticipated movies of all time, created by Academy Award®–winning filmmakers Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and Akiva Goldsman.  Offering unprecedented access to the tightly guarded “closed set,” and a view of the filmmaking process that has never been seen publicly, screenwriter Goldsman provides a backstage look at the incredible journey to bring Dan Brown’s record-setting novel to the big screen.  Goldsman’s richly rendered screenplay is included here in its entirety.  It offers a fascinating new way to experience the story—and includes a number of moments (and even full scenes) that do not appear in the final cut of the movie. Lavishly illustrated with 275 images of the actors and filmmakers—from both the movie set and the film itself—this behind-the-scenes features include: • Filming in the Louvre in the dead of night, and re-creating a 400-foot section of the museum’s Grand Gallery on a soundstage—down to the precise architectural details, and complete with 120 oil-painting masterpieces • The full digital and soundstage re-creation of the Church of Saint-Sulpice • The transformation of Lincolnshire’s Lincoln Cathedral into London’s Westminster Abbey, and the reproduction of Sir Isaac Newton’s enormous tomb• Handwritten notes on pages from Ron Howard’s script • The evolution of script dialogue as it progressed from an early draft of the screenplay to final shooting form • Dozens of never-before-seen storyboards that were used to block out scenes before filming commenced  For any fan of the filmmaking process, and of the extraordinary movie and novel, this exquisitely produced book will be an invaluable companion.

    Will Valentine Day and Jalen Kiss survive the combustion of the Valentine Kiss?

    Reports of strange activities at the scene of the crime circulated soon after. When the police arrived, was the head of Paramount Studios burning a bundle of papers in the fireplace, and was a well-known actress searching the house for letters she claimed were hers? Despite a full-scale investigation, the case was never solved; for sixty years is has remained a lingering Hollywood scandal. In 1967, more than forty years after Taylor's death, the great King Vidor, whose directing credits include Northwest Passage, The Fountainhead, Duel in the Sun, and War and Peace, determined to solve the mystery, which had haunted him throughout his career, in order to make a film about it. Through his intimate knowledge of both the studios and the stars, he succeeded, where dozens of professional detectives had failed, in discovering the identity of the murderer. But because his findings were so explosive, he decided he could never go public and locked his evidence away. After Vidor's death in 1982, Sidney D. Kirkpatrick, Vidor's authorized biographer, gained access to the evidence and reconstructed the amazing story of Taylor's murder and Vidor's investigation. With a cast of suspects that includes the actress Mabel Normand, a reputed drug addict; the beautiful ingénue, Mary Miles Minter; Mary's domineering mother, Charlotte Shelby; Taylor's homosexual houseman; and Taylor's secretary, who bore an uncanny resemblance to Taylor's mysteriously elusive brother, this true crime story has all the elements of a classic murder mystery. Covered up for more than half a century, the full story can now be told in all its riveting, shocking detail.

    Monica Savage is delighted when new neighbours move in next door, and she and Joan Copperfield quickly become firm friends. While Monica's father has a good job as a guard on the railway, Joan's family are harder up, with her sailor dad Billy mostly off at sea, and restless when he's home - Mersey View is no substitute for the exotic places he sails to. Though money's tight, the Copperfield women are spirited and independent, and it's her friendship with the more confident Joan that gives Monica the courage to challenge her parents and pursue her dream of becoming a hairdresser. Joan is lucky enough to get a job at Crawford's biscuit factory, where she's even allowed to buy broken biscuits cheaply as a perk.But there are dark secrets lurking. When an abandoned child arrives unexpectedly on the Copperfields' doorstep, her arrival will change everything. As war clouds gather, can the girls make their back street dreams reality, or will the families of Mersey View be torn apart?