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Rating: 
Summary: Almost Daddy Dearest
Review: As a long time admirer of Vincent Price I found this book quite interesting and entertaining. On the plus side ,it provides a comprehensive overview of the subject's movie career with enough "Behind the Scenes" trivia to satisfy the fans. It certainly opens the door on the various Price households (plural !) and there are a few revelations. The author has a smooth writing style and the book is easy to read.However,far too much space was devoted to "Vinnie's" involvement in the world of art . I found myself skipping over ALOT of pages . Worth buying at a budget "Price" if you're a fan of this uniquely talented actor.
Rating: 
Summary: POOR PRICE TO PAY FOR SUCH A GENIUS
Review: The price one must pay for being famous -- and a father -- is that one of your kids will write a book about you. There will be the good. And the bad. Victoria Price doesn't do a "Daddy Dearest," nor does she dish too much in this bio of her father, he who continues to scare the bejesus out of filmgoers in such classics as "The Fly," "House on Haunted Hill" and "House of Wax." She does reveal some shockers: As a student, Price was anti-Semitic, writing letters praising Hitler; during the McCarthy witchhunt of the '50s, he condemned his peers who took the Fifth when asked if they were members of the Communist Party. Price's effete quality is also discussed, and though Victoria claims she could not find any evidence Dad was gay or bisexual, he did acknowledge that he once had a relationship with a man that he described as "a love affair without the sex." A small price to pay, indeed.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Good, Though Wanting on Film Info
Review: This biography is no "Mommy, Dearest"-posthumous attack. It is, instead, a balanced look at a multi-faceted man, and the biographer has been, overall, quite responsible. There are very few negative "revelations," and even those are correctly placed in context of stressful times or unfounded innuendo. Victoria Price did NOT savage her father, but as a responsible biographer she had an obligation to address some aspects that may not be regarded as flattering. Vincent Price was a human being of enormous talent, perspicacity, and personal charisma -- this book reinforces that, although admitting that he was, after all, a human being and subject to human failings. My understanding for the man was increased, not diminished, by this book. My only complaint about the book is that it is "light" on info about VP's film career. Ms Price's acknowledged disinterest in his "horror" movies is evident -- and I was saddened by her lack of appreciation. This book must be viewed as an adjunct to Lucy Chase Williams' magnificent "Complete Films of VP," not a replacement for.
Rating:
Summary: Portrait of a Renaissance Man
Review: This biography is surprisingly good, considering the subject's own daughter wrote it. Victoria Price manages to remain objective in discussing her father's life, though - as is only to be expected - she accentuates the positive and quickly glances by the negative. Not that this is a bad thing (I wouldn't expect, or necessarily be attracted to, some kind of expose on the man), but it does leave unanswered questions.Victoria brings up Vincent's "grey listing" during the House Un-American Activities Committee hearings, and his getting around it by making some general pro-American/anti-Communist statements to the FBI denoting basic agreement with them (citing organizations and non-named individuals as being un-American) for instance, and even that his affirmations to the contrary were later discovered (by her) to be false, but this is quickly glossed over - as is her father's "occasional drinking problem," which she tantalizingly hints was an ongoing familial difficulty but refuses to detail. Vincent was involved in the 1959 rigged quiz-show hearings for his part in The $64,000 Question, about which Victoria hastens to inform us he was found innocent, or at least ignorant, of - though oddly she virtually proves the actor's at least semi-knowing involvement in his behind-the-scenes pre-briefings before airtime. Victoria is best at presenting the human side of the man, which is after all what a good biography does. Her greatest strength is in detailing his psychological development and early career, pre-horror star status. She falters considerably from Vincent's American International Pictures years on, admitting herself that she still hasn't seen his many famous horror films. Anyone looking for information on those projects and those years would do best to look elsewhere. Still, that this is a less thorough biography than it could be is a matter of little import. It does genuinely paint a warm portrait of what Vincent Price was, by one of the people who would know best: an accomplished art critic and collector, a gourmand, a generous benefactor to those in need, a concerned and active political man, a devoted father, and (of course) a celebrated actor. Victoria does at least mention her father's flaws, in such fashion as one can only sympathize with them, and does a wonderful job of presenting the famous actor as the remarkably vigorous and witty Renaissance man he was.
Rating: 
Summary: The best account of a film ledgend I've ever read.
Review: This book is a very candid, affectionate and revealing look at Vincent Price, not only as a ledgend in the Horror Film genre, but as a very cultivated and educated indavidual, always willing to give more then he can, to the arts media. The book was very interesting to read because the author explains why and how Vincent Price was successful in Hollywood films while he managed to sustain his other iterests and his domestic life. The reader will learn many fascinating things about the famous actor in a way that if one were to look at any of his films afterword, they would view him in a totally different yet still mysterious manner. As a horror fanatic, I'm partial to anything related to the subject matter. This book, however, was full of fun facts and referencaes about certain horror films I've never known. The authors account was very warm, at times humorous and quite amazing. I definately enjoyed the book, and reccomend it to anyone interested in film and media, horror film ledgends or even those who just want to read something different. A must read !
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Book
Review: This excellent book works on any number of levels. It chronicles, in wonderful detail and depth, the career of a unique cinematic legend. It examines with sensitivity and compassion the personal life of a fascinating, complex and idiosyncratic man. And. most impressively of all, it serves as the record of a woman's coming to understand and appreciate the man who was her father. Vincent Price may have been a unique, instantly recognizable cinematic icon, but Victoria Price focuses on him as a human being, and that makes this book universal. Ms. Price is an excellent prose stylist. She is also admirably self-revealing, and by the time you finish this book, she feels like a personal friend. A very fine achievment.
Rating:
Summary: well, it's a great book but...
Review: Victoria Price has written a book that i feel is a double edged sword toward her father. i've read it many times and prior to buying the Lucy Chase Williams book on Vincent, i'd pull out Victoria's book as a reference for something obscure or whatever. well, those times are over. it is no secret that Vincent was a liberal politically. his interest in art, conservation, and theatre among other things are stereotypically liberal that we didn't need his daughter to hammer the point home because there's some fans out there, like me, who could care less about their favorite actor or singer's political views and i get offended when it comes across that Republicans like myself shouldn't be a fan of Vincent's because "we're bad and want to destroy public TV and arts programs", which is how i took it from reading this book. politics you might ask? it's true! Victoria at times brings up the liberalism that she and her parents lived and practiced but she intentionally or accidentally makes people who don't live that way or think as her friends do as being strange or abnormal...in addition, Victoria goes into detail about his successful career on the stage in playhouses all over the United States and abroad and to me this was informative because most people focus on his horror career only. but, here comes another problem, the lack of information on his horror career and his movies in general. what we're treated to are her accounts of what critics or her father had to say about the movies...she offers no first-hand knowledge and SHE IS HIS DAUGHTER so she should know things we don't already...and by the time this book arrived she had PLENTY of time to watch his horror films and get an opinion of them. but, Vincent's dramatic films are also given very little discussion. if we're to believe her, none of her father's films are worth watching unless they recieved high praise from a nationally known critic or were box office successes. she paints a picture that her father's films can't be open to anyone's viewpoint once a critic has stamped it a bomb or whatever. i've seen quite a few of his so-called flops and they were GREAT! near the end of the book we're told about his career on TV and in commercials. his 1981-1989 run as the host of the PBS classic show "Mystery!" is also touched upon but once again, Victoria showers the chapters with second and third-hand information that family should already know first-hand. the pictures in the book are great!! i love the one where he's with his peers: Karloff, Lorre, and Rathbone during a photo shoot in the early '60s. there is a segment in the book that details Vincent's artistic flamboyance, and she brings up the silly rumors that Vincent was bi-sexual. first off, Vincent's sexual behavior isn't interesting to me! when i'm watching him stare at someone with that menacing look or if he's laughing at some devious scheme he's cooked up, i'm certainly not thinking about who he's sleeping with or who he finds attractive off-screen and so i find this section of the book silly and uncalled for and a MAJOR distraction to what the book was suppose to be, a biography of her father through HER eyes and NOT through the eyes and opinions of critics and industry insiders, which is basically what it turns out to be as a whole!! the only time i see that she gets personal and really says how she feels is when she talks about Vincent and his life with Coral Browne {near the end of the book since the marriage came in 1974}. now, i don't expect Victoria to drop to her knees and kiss the ground her step-mother walked on because after all Coral wasn't Victoria's mother, but at the same time, Corale couldn't have been that awful or else Victoria would've said something DECADES ago to a tabloid paper!! i give this book 3 stars because Victoria doesn't seem to realize that her father's fans aren't interested in rumor, gossip, and alleged communist involvement that were never proven because the accusations were flimsy and had no weight, so it's baffling as to why she'd plant those kind of thoughts about her father to potential new fans who ONLY know of Vincent through Batman re-runs {Vincent played "Egghead" on a few episodes}.
Rating:
Summary: Almost Daddy Dearest
Review: Victoria Price's book was a big disappointment. Price's own autobiography covers his early years, and the films are throroughly and more acurately covered by Lucy Chase Williams' book. Victoria's book is long, but the only "new" information would have been better left unsaid. Much of it is republican bashing from both father and daughter, at times it's hard to tell which is actually speaking. To them, it's heroic to oppose fascism, but those who opposed communism as well are "villains". The conservative bashing extended to trying to prevent the John Wayne Cancer Center from getting money Coral Browne willed them!
Rating:
Summary: A renaissance man--they don't make them like this anymore.
Review: What a life! There is one word I can think of to describe Vincent Price--Integrity. This book was a disappointment, however. The author's (Price's daughter) constant rant about evil conservatives detracted from the reason I bought the book in the first place--love of the films. Although I enjoyed reading of his personal political thoughts, I couldn't be sure where his' thoughts left off and her's began.
Rating:
Summary: Vincent Price Remembered
Review: What a refreshing way to read about a favorite celebrity. No Mommy Dearest here. This book by Mr. Price's daughter gives an honest and loving portrait of a great star from a daughters perspective. Highly recommended
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