Books About Movies

I seem to have a harder and harder time these days reading fiction. I have read so much that I can usually figure out where the plot is going by page 20 and after that I just lose interest. So I have more and more often turned to non-fiction where things are rarely so predictable.

Truth very definitely is stranger than fiction and I've often wondered why that fact would surprise anyone. For storytelling, the human mind demands a well worn narrative line but reality is not amenable to such a demand.

Lately, I've been reading books about the fascinating world of movie making. The two most recent are:

1) THE SONGS OF HOLLYWOOD by Philip Furia and Laurie Patterson

The surprising thing about this book is how a subject which could have been geeked to death and appeal only to those who are steeped in movie musical trivia is actually quite accessible to a dabbler, like me. It is lively and fun and full of tidbits like how after Gershwin wrote his concert works like Rhapsody in Blue, Hollywood studios were afraid he'd become too highbrow to write for them and he had to instruct his agent to send a telegram to studios saying "RUMOR ABOUT HIGHBROW MUSIC RIDICULOUS STOP AM OUT TO WRITE HITS."

The use of music in film incorporates a lot about performers, writers, lyricists, composers and directors and not a bit of it is boring. If you need a diversion, this is it.

2) CHARLIE CHAN: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE HONORABLE DETECTIVE AND HIS RENDEZVOUS WITH AMERICAN HISTORY by Yunte Huang

When I was a teenager in the 60's, the highly popular Charlie Chan detective series of books and movies was attacked by those who saw the Honolulu policeman created by author Earl Derr Biggers as exhibiting the worst of "orientalism," a noxious brew of Western condescension and stereotyping. The sagacious Chinese sleuth with a taste for aphorisms and a talent for solving puzzles was considered a Chinese "Uncle Tom." It didn't help that the author, Biggers, was a Westerner nor that Chan was played in the movies by white actors, in what is derisively termed"yellowface."

The surprising thing about this book is that the author, Yunte Huang, who was born in China, delves deep into the genesis of the Charlie Chan character and comes up with really interesting stuff. For instance, there is the fact that Biggers loved wordplay and Chan's aphorisms like, "Big head is only a good place for a very large headache," were the result. They were very clever and though they were often lampooned, they certainly never gave the impression that Charlie Chan was a "dim son" (sorry, sorry -couldn't resist). Or there is the fact that Biggers based Chan on a real Honolulu detective named Chang Apana and that this real Chinese policeman was a bull-whip wielding tough guy who went after the gambling syndicates in Honolulu's Chinatown.

Then there is the fact that Warner Oland, a Swedish actor, could play Chan without heavy make-up because some of his ancestors were Mongol. Less benign is the fact that the producers of the Chan movies encouraged Oland and his Chan successor, Sidney Toler, to work while inebriated because the drink slowed their speech and made them sound, supposedly, more like Chinese trying to speak English. This unfortunately had the effect of turning both of these actors into raging alcoholics. You see, you couldn't make this stuff up. And that is what I love about this book.

So, if you check out and read these books, let me also recommend that you visit the Fort Worth Central Library's multi-media center and check out our musicals and our DVD's of the Charlie Chan mysteries. I have and I found especially the Chans to be still very watchable and of course, musicals are always a delight and reading about how the music and songs were incorporated to enhance the stories and express the emotions of the characters will enhance your viewing experience. And the viewing will enhance your reading experience. See how that works?