Cheap Behind the Screen: How Gays and Lesbians Shaped Hollywood, 1910-1969 (Book) (William Mann) Price

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Customer Reviews of Behind the Screen: How Gays and Lesbians Shaped Hollywood, 1910-1969

Could have been better...
Much of this book is of the "he said/she said" mentality. Despite what the author claims, there isn't much to back up alot of what he claims are "facts." I was disappointed.

Excellent study of gays and lesbians in Hollywood
I found this book to be extremely interesting, and, ultimately, hard to forget. It is a well-researched account of what life was like in Hollywood for gays and lesbians, both pre-Code and post. While it is true that the book is comprehensive, and many, many people are discussed, I didn't find this to be problematic. They were not necessarily names which I recognized, but that was why I was reading the book. If I had a little trouble remembering who he was referring to in a given section, I let that go and read for content. What the people experienced. Why they did. How they felt about it.

The sheer volume of research Mr. Mann did is overwhelming, and necessary for this topic to be taken seriously. Very often, critics of gay and lesbian history books will claim that nothing is substantiated. Given the fact that some of these people were in the closet, therefore have left no documentation themselves, in my opinion, looking to other people who lived at the same time, who knew the people in question is just as valid as having a piece of paper which says, "I am gay/lesbian, and I loved 'X,' and I hid my orientation for 'Y' reason." It is unrealistic, in many cases, to expect that level of documentation, particularly with the generation of people the book talks about. Putting oneself into the closet in, say, 1935 (post-Hayes Code) meant that you *stayed* in the closet, for the rest of your life. That doesn't invalidate the experiences of the people who knew you, took photos of you, saw you and your lover behind closed doors, or at a party.

Mr. Mann put in untold hours of research, and when you look at the chapter notes, it's clear that the whole picture he presents is exactly that. He doesn't print mere rumour--there are a number of times when he doesn't "name names." What he does do is present his information, substantiated by any number of disparate sources, and gives it to the reader, straight out (so to speak). All of which, to me, is a valid way to deal with this subject. All of which made the book that much more valuable.

I found this book to be eminently readable. I could not put it down. I found a number of the stories heart-wrenching, and terribly sad (for example, Cary Grant and Randolph Scott's relationship). I found others to be uplifting. I learned about people I'd never heard of, and now, when I watch a movie from the 1930's, or 40's, I recognize names of set designers, and writers, and costume designers as *my* forefathers and foremothers (as Mr. Mann calls them).

I cannot recommend this book highly enough, for those of you who want to know more about gay and lesbian history, and how the shaping of Hollywood (by gays and lesbians) influenced the general American culture, and vice versa. It's fascinating.