Customer Reviews
A Devasting Read, Highly Recommended - By: R. Dawson, 12 Sep 2008 
Being a big fan of Monty's work & after viewing numerous TV documentaries on him, I decided to read his biography which was often quoted as being 'one of the best celebrity biographies ever written'. Knowing his basic bio & the films he starred in, it was a joy to read through the book, discovering Monty's take on his roles, his private life & who he was as a person rather than an actor. The anecdotes & stories told by his friends range from the hilarious to the downright depressing.
He lead an awfully tragic life, some details of which were more sensational than the films he acted in. The story of the latter part of his life, after the car crash which disfigured him, was sometimes painful to read. He seemed intent on destroying himself through drugs, drinks & having relationships with the wrong kind of people. Throughout it all though, he was completely committed to his craft, sometimes saying that it was the only thing which kept him alive. Such a shame that now he is not as well known as actors such as James Dean & Marlon Brando, both of which copied his style throughout their career. A truly interesting & humbling look at celebrity, the cinema world & of course, Montgomery Clift.
this guy inspired the clash - By: Mr. M. E. Daubney, 08 Jun 2000 The book that inspired the writing of 'The Right Profile' on the Clash's epoch-shattering LP, 'London Calling'. On the strength of such evidence alone - without even reading a word - what self-respecting man can resist the temptation to buy this little fella? It happens to be a top read. In a day of anodine, rehab-bore celebrities, it comes as wondrous relief to discover that flawed celebs really are the best.
In praise of Bosworth's Clift - By: , 28 Jul 1999 Patricia Bosworth has written one of the great movie star biographies with her examination of the life & career of Montgomery Clift. Clift was the troubled actor who emergedin the post WW2 era when movie audiences were ready for a new type of star. His first movie was the western Red Riverin which he co-starred with John Wayne & this meeting of the old style movie hero with the new introverted acting style is nicely illustratedin Bosworth's book. It is fair to say that a direct lineage from modern stars such as Al Pacino & Robert De Niro can be traced back through Brando & James Dean to Clift. The strength of this book though liesin the use of biographical detail. There is much to sensationalize here, dysfunctional family, homosexuality, drugs, drink, bizarre behaviour & relationships with the biggest stars of the era, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Marylin Monroe, Marlon Brando etc., but Bosworth manages to describe Clift's childhood & personal lifein enormous detail while using it to help the reader to better understand the subject. The section on the 1956 car accident which disfigured Clift & hastened his decline is particularly moving & the frankness & sympathy with which Bosworth treats Clift's relationship with his Mother, his troubled sexuality & his drink & drugs problems leads to book which is neither a Goldmanesque expose nor a mere fan paean. Ultimately it is a book about how relationships, family, the past etc., can screw you up & it brings to life a complex, flawed, brilliant & unhappy individual.
