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This Was Hollywood

Forgotten Stars and Stories

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This Was Hollywood

By: Carla Valderrama
Narrated by: Carla Valderrama
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About this listen

 In this one-of-a-kind Hollywood history, the creator of Instagram's celebrated @ThisWasHollywood reveals the forgotten past of the film world in a dazzling visual package modeled on the classic fan magazines of yesteryear.From former screen legends who have faded into obscurity to new revelations about the biggest movie stars, Valderrama unearths the most fascinating little-known tales from the birth of Hollywood through its Golden Age.
The shocking fate of the world's first movie star. Clark Gable's secret love child. The film that nearly ended Paul Newman's career. A former child star who, at ninety-three, reveals her #metoo story for the first time. Valderrama unfolds these stories, and many more, in a volume that is by turns riveting, maddening, hilarious, and shocking.
Drawing on new interviews, archival research, and an exhaustive library of photographs, This Was Hollywood is a compelling and visually stunning catalogue of the lost history of the movies. Art Direction & Production Entertainment & Celebrities Entertainment & Performing Arts Film & TV History & Criticism Entertainment Celebrity Funny Witty Film History

Critic reviews

"Carla Valderrama genuinely loves Hollywood history, as you can tell from every page of this book. Her enthusiasm is matched only by her determination to back up her stories with good, old-fashioned research. I learned a lot from This Was Hollywood and you will, too."—Leonard Maltin, film critic and historian
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An interesting listen with lots of stories I'd not heard before, however I felt it was spoiled by the narrator who's voice was quite devoid of emotion and who seemed to hesitate at some of the more difficult words ans some punctuations. This spoiled the listen somewhat for me as it reminded me of being back in school with one of my school friends reading aloud at the front of the class.

An interesting listen but narration not up to par

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To be honest, I knew most of these stories already. They vary greatly. There is a truly fascinating story about the first female director Florence Lawrence and her work, that really needs to be rediscovered. But there is also the sort of salacious drivel that a prurient public should be ashamed of being party to (Loretta Young’s ‘child out of wedlock’ story). It’s a magazine style read, the length and depth vary too. Considering it is called ‘forgotten stars’ there are some striking omissions too (William Haines for example). Perhaps Haines story is left out because it doesn’t have the sort of downbeat National Enquirer ending that seems requisite.
I listened to it on Audible and the narrator had the voice of a very young American woman with good diction but an irritatingly and often inappropriate schoolgirl intonation. Add to that some strange pronunciation and an occasionally odd staccato rhythm, and im not sure if it wasn’t AI generated at least in part. In any case, real or fake, it was an odd choice of reader and lent it an even more trivial air.

Uneven magazine style insights

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A really enjoyable listen, lots of stories I had not heard before, which was a real treat. The narrator/author was very engaging, highly recommended.

Getting lost in old Hollywood

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Very enjoyable. Listened to it several times. I hope the author will produce similar books about old Hollywood.

Hollywood good times

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A really fascinating look at Hollywood, with a brilliant narrator in its author. Carla Valderrama is clearly passionate about her work forming the book and every chapter is presented with appropriate mood. Well worth a listen if you have even a passing interest in early Hollywood and the stars of the past

Entertaining and Informative

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