Rating: 
Summary: An interesting work of....fiction?
Review: I must admit that I could hardly put this book down. It was dishy, with everyone hopping into bed with everyone else in the space of a few pages. However I didn't take one iota of it seriously. Basing a large portion of the book on a supposition (that Dietrich is in Joyless Street, that she had Garbo had an affair) is it's one major weak point. Also, the fact that the author uses Hollywood Babylon as a source for several "facts" in her book seriously compromises its credibility. As one reviewer already stated, the facts of the Arbuckle scandal (taken from that rag Hollywood Babylon) was covered in less than one paragraph with no questioning from the author. I guess that after questioning the lives of Dietrich and Garbo for so many pages, she didn't have any time to investigate the Arbuckle case and try to find some new "facts." A piece of advice to ALL authors on old Hollywood: do NOT use Kenneth Anger's book - based totally on gossip, you need to sift through a mountain of garbage to find one tiny grain of truth. It is not that much more difficult to bypass it and find more reliable sources.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating Girl-Centric View of Hollywood
Review: I really enjoy reading bios of the stars of Hollywood during its golden era. "The Girls" offers a needed corrective to the male-dominated perspective taken in the usual Hollywood expose. Her focus on Dietrich, Bankhead and Garbo gives the book a continuity to really assess the impact of lesbianism in Hollywood. But the tide also brings in some fascinating silent stars, and many others including Barbara Stanwyck and Marilyn Monroe. The political insights into the HUAC hearings and the studios' fickleness on the issue of gay love makes this book an essential political history for the period. Ms. McLellan takes no prisoners as she writes the real "All About Eve".
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Girl-Centric View of Hollywood
Review: I really enjoy reading bios of the stars of Hollywood during its golden era. "The Girls" offers a needed corrective to the male-dominated perspective taken in the usual Hollywood expose. Her focus on Dietrich, Bankhead and Garbo gives the book a continuity to really assess the impact of lesbianism in Hollywood. But the tide also brings in some fascinating silent stars, and many others including Barbara Stanwyck and Marilyn Monroe. The political insights into the HUAC hearings and the studios' fickleness on the issue of gay love makes this book an essential political history for the period. Ms. McLellan takes no prisoners as she writes the real "All About Eve".
Rating: 
Summary: Good but too jounalistic
Review: I really liked the subject and the ideas behind this book. It is a great group biography that has a few new things to say and presents an interesting slant on the facts we already know. But I had great difficulty with the style and presentation. The constant use of cliff-hangers that weren't really cliff hangers became annoying, as did the use of headings in the text and the journalistic suppositions that X may have slept with Y. In fact the constant catalogue of who slept with whom was a wee bit tedious to say the least. All in all I think a good editor could have made the book tighter and left out a lot of padding.
Rating: 
Summary: Calling all fans of 'Auntie Mame': Here's the real thing!
Review: I've never been a fan of biographies or gossip, biographies often seem too wooden and gossip too unreliable and salacious. But I read this book from cover to cover. Not only has Diana McLellan crafted a credible and well-researched account of the 'intimate' female community in Hollywood during the golden days of cinema, she has the brought the encouragingly entertaining, colourful and often hilarious lives of women such as Tallulah Bankhead so to life that the era has interested me like never before. The author has a wonderful sense of humour, often letting our heroines' own words and situations speak for themselves. She says in the introduction that the book grew not so much from what was right infront of her, as it did from that which was absent. A lie is always told to hide the truth, making it an excellent departure point for investigation. The web of lies that covered the contents of this book is fascinating, and McLellan's talent lies in the way she has managed to weave the public front: the 1930's Hollywood we remember from films and fan magazines; the notorious and infamous underground lesbian culture that was obviously evident if you knew the right people; and the intimately secret, private lives of the world's most famous women, hidden from not only the public, but even their friends and lovers.I think that this book succeeds, not simply because of the revelatory nature of much of the material: the alleged affair Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo had together in Berlin prior to their Hollywood careers; Dietrich's marriage to Otto Katz, communist and spy during World War II; the other roles Dietrich played during the war besides those of 'morale-builder' and entertainer, but because of the way McLellan has captured the zietgeist of the era. This book is not merely an expose, it is also a social history of lesbianism from 1900-1950, a detailed account of the Hollywood Star System and the advent of talkies. (it certainly made me appreciate 'Singin' in the Rain' all over again!). It also spans far beyond Hollywood, incorporating the bohemian and cultured worlds of Paris and New York and their fascinating figures. It captures the public and private worlds of, literally, a cast of characters in a way that is realistic and endearing. I imagined a film being made from this book as I read it, that's how believable, alive and intimate McLellan's narration is. I have to admit that the picture McLellan paints of Garbo is really depressing: that of a bitter, indifferent woman who ruined her life by keeping her 'cells' entirely seperate.. a star who was infinitely lonely, her career dying, because she trusted no one. I must also say that while I loved McLellan's wonderful humour, her witty quips, her wonderful sense of brevity... I tired of the ominously leading comments (cue the forboding theme music): 'this event would have a significant effect on upon the rest of her life'... 'a friendship which would, in fact, trigger the end of her career in 10 years time.' 'Marlene, of course, had other things to worry about...' and so on and so forth. I understand that such comments are neccesary, and I admit that they're probably one of the things that kept me reading, but for me they revealed the presense of the person behind the scenes pulling the puppet strings. I just wanted to get lost in the story, absorbed in the lives of these fascinating individuals, not made aware of the subjective nature of the narrative I was reading, and the ways in which my views and reactions could be shaped by the author. That said, it was a wonderful book, 1 part romance, 3 parts mystery, 2 parts tragedy, marvelous fun, wonderful entertainment, enlightening, educational, intelligent... So many beautiful women... and so little time.
Rating:
Summary: The Hollywood Daisy Chain
Review: I've never been a fan of biographies or gossip, biographies often seem too wooden and gossip too unreliable and salacious. But I read this book from cover to cover. Not only has Diana McLellan crafted a credible and well-researched account of the 'intimate' female community in Hollywood during the golden days of cinema, she has the brought the encouragingly entertaining, colourful and often hilarious lives of women such as Tallulah Bankhead so to life that the era has interested me like never before. The author has a wonderful sense of humour, often letting our heroines' own words and situations speak for themselves. She says in the introduction that the book grew not so much from what was right infront of her, as it did from that which was absent. A lie is always told to hide the truth, making it an excellent departure point for investigation. The web of lies that covered the contents of this book is fascinating, and McLellan's talent lies in the way she has managed to weave the public front: the 1930's Hollywood we remember from films and fan magazines; the notorious and infamous underground lesbian culture that was obviously evident if you knew the right people; and the intimately secret, private lives of the world's most famous women, hidden from not only the public, but even their friends and lovers. I think that this book succeeds, not simply because of the revelatory nature of much of the material: the alleged affair Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo had together in Berlin prior to their Hollywood careers; Dietrich's marriage to Otto Katz, communist and spy during World War II; the other roles Dietrich played during the war besides those of 'morale-builder' and entertainer, but because of the way McLellan has captured the zietgeist of the era. This book is not merely an expose, it is also a social history of lesbianism from 1900-1950, a detailed account of the Hollywood Star System and the advent of talkies. (it certainly made me appreciate 'Singin' in the Rain' all over again!). It also spans far beyond Hollywood, incorporating the bohemian and cultured worlds of Paris and New York and their fascinating figures. It captures the public and private worlds of, literally, a cast of characters in a way that is realistic and endearing. I imagined a film being made from this book as I read it, that's how believable, alive and intimate McLellan's narration is. I have to admit that the picture McLellan paints of Garbo is really depressing: that of a bitter, indifferent woman who ruined her life by keeping her 'cells' entirely seperate.. a star who was infinitely lonely, her career dying, because she trusted no one. I must also say that while I loved McLellan's wonderful humour, her witty quips, her wonderful sense of brevity... I tired of the ominously leading comments (cue the forboding theme music): 'this event would have a significant effect on upon the rest of her life'... 'a friendship which would, in fact, trigger the end of her career in 10 years time.' 'Marlene, of course, had other things to worry about...' and so on and so forth. I understand that such comments are neccesary, and I admit that they're probably one of the things that kept me reading, but for me they revealed the presense of the person behind the scenes pulling the puppet strings. I just wanted to get lost in the story, absorbed in the lives of these fascinating individuals, not made aware of the subjective nature of the narrative I was reading, and the ways in which my views and reactions could be shaped by the author. That said, it was a wonderful book, 1 part romance, 3 parts mystery, 2 parts tragedy, marvelous fun, wonderful entertainment, enlightening, educational, intelligent... So many beautiful women... and so little time.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Survey!
Review: Now this book on stars' sexuality was definitely worth buying! I could not even put it down. Miss McLellan does a superb job in revealing the true side of many of Hollywood's top female stars. And, let me tell you, some of the pictures were unbelievable! It was great fun to read about Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich and Tallulah Bankhead, as well as others such as Barbara Stanwyck, Claudette Colbert and Judy Garland. This is a must for any classic film buff, and anyone interested in sociological or sexual topics. A+
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Survey!
Review: Now this book on stars' sexuality was definitely worth buying! I could not even put it down. Miss McLellan does a superb job in revealing the true side of many of Hollywood's top female stars. And, let me tell you, some of the pictures were unbelievable! It was great fun to read about Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich and Tallulah Bankhead, as well as others such as Barbara Stanwyck, Claudette Colbert and Judy Garland. This is a must for any classic film buff, and anyone interested in sociological or sexual topics. A+
Rating:
Summary: Very Surprising
Review: One of the questions you ask after reading this was, who wasn't gay? The whole thing was close to shocking because I had no idea that life was so free and easy in the 20's, 30's and 40's. The book did keep me interested. I wondered about some of the facts which I'm sure no one will ever know the absolute truth about.
Rating:
Summary: Fun, But Too Many Flaws
Review: Sure, I had fun reading this book. But the Amazon reviewer who termed it "highly speculative" is understating the case. Opinion, conjecture, hearsay, and speculation too often take the place of thorough, solid documentation. And unlike many other Amazon reviewers, I found McLellan's tone off-putting. She alternates between patronizing her subjects (the very notion of calling them "my girls," for instance) and setting them up primarily as sources of voyeuristic thrills for the herself and the reader. Is the book dishy and intriguing and flamboyant? You bet. But is the topic of lesbianism in Hollywood well-served here? I don't think so.
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