Book Review: "Who the Hell's In It?" by Peter Bogdanovich

Just when I thought I had read most great books about Hollywood in its Golden Age does Peter Bogdanovich come along and surprise me with his amazing classic “Who the Hell’s In It?” - A book not just about Golden Age Hollywood, but something that humanises its most timeless classic stars and the encounters he had with them. Each of these stories alongside well-worded talks, memories and brilliant amounts of emotion will have you believing that there is nothing more incredible than reading the stories of some of the most talented actors of the 50s to the 70s and learning about their intimate human lives as people and not just as Hollywood names. It is one of the most incredible books about the topic I have read because since, I have learned a lot about some of my own favourite actors of the age. When I look at the writing style, there is almost something very personal about it and not just because the writer met a lot of these people. There are memories that connect one person to another, from one star to a random person in the street or to the writer themselves, or even to another star. It is something that is a pretty good moment for style in the book.

One of the best things about this book is the story that the writer tells about Cary Grant. Now, if you do not know who Cary Grant is then please proceed off this review and watch a movie or ten. From one of my personal favourite comedies, “Arsenic and Old Lace” to the films of Sir Alfred Hitchcock, Cary Grant was known as one of the greatest men to ever grace cinema. But in this text, he is humanised in a brilliant story about when he gets a phone call from the President of the United States of America. At this point, he is nearing the end at eighty-one years’ old and is a veteran of the screen. The story kind of makes you laugh but then it makes you upset again after you realise that the man in this story only has just over another year to live. Be that as it may, it really does make you see another side to Cary Grant which includes his strange-twinged famous British-esque accent that nobody could quite place.

Another story is about the writer of this book meeting and then collecting the autograph of the great Marlon Brando. The writer explains that he kept the signature of Marlon Brando in his wallet for years until it was lost to time. Yes, I know, that is what I don’t understand either - why would you simply allow the signature of one of the greatest actors to ever live to suddenly become lost to time just because you got rid of a wallet? A strange story, but it really does show you some sides to Brando that the screen and interviews may have failed in letting us see.

There are many more stories including: Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn and more until we end with one of the last of the great teen stars - River Phoenix. A book that is so packed full of greatness that sometimes it seems a bit odd that the writer would be telling you stories that seem at first, so inconsequential. But, in the end it all makes complete sense. We get a taste of their work, their world and most importantly, the moments of emotion that come from their real-time lives. It truly is a beautiful book of amazing people from one of the greatest eras of 20th century artistic history.