Hooked on Hollywood: Discoveries from a Lifetime of Film Fandom

By Leonard Maltin

Leonard Maltin is America's best-known film historian, film reviewer, and author of books that have sold more than 7 million copies. He remains a thought leader on past and present Hollywood through his website www.leonardmaltin.com, and a social media presence that includes an active Facebook page and a Twitter feed with more than 66,000 followers. In Hooked on Hollywood, Maltin opens up his personal archive to take readers on a fascinating journey through film history. He first interviewed greats of Hollywood as a precocious teenager in 1960s New York City. He used what he learned from these luminaries to embark on a 50-year (and counting) career that has included New York Times bestselling books, 30 years of regular appearances coast-to-coast on Entertainment Tonight, movie introductions on Turner Classic Movies, and countless other television and radio performances. Early Maltin interviews had literally been stored in his garage for more than 40 years until GoodKnight Books brought them to light for the first time in this volume to entertain readers and inform future film scholars. Teenaged Leonard Maltin landed one-on-ones with Warner Bros. sexy pre-Code siren Joan Blondell; Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated actor Burgess Meredith; Cecil B. DeMille's right-hand-man Henry Wilcoxon; Oscar-winning actor Ralph Bellamy; playwright, novelist, and MGM screenwriter Anita Loos; early screen heartthrob George O'Brien; classic Paramount director Mitchell Leisen; and others. Later in his career, Maltin sat down with men and women who worked inside the top studios during the heyday of movies and early television. This second set of in-depth interviews reveals what life was like under Louis B. Mayer, Jack Warner, Harry Cohn, and the other titans of Hollywood. What emerges is a fascinating and at times uproarious homage to Golden Era Hollywood. In addition, key feature articles from Maltin's newsletter Movie Crazy are published here for the first time, providing new perspectives on the Warner Bros. classics Casablanca and Gold Diggers of 1933 as well as many other masterpieces—and bombs—from Hollywood history. Finally, Maltin looks back at what he considers Hollywood's "overlooked" studio, RKO Radio Pictures, which gave us such classics as King Kong and the many dance musicals of Astaire and Rogers. In Leonard's unique and witty style, he looks at dozens of obscure RKO features from the 1930s, including saucy pre-Codes, musicals, comedies, and mysteries. Leonard Maltin's love of movies and vast knowledge about their history shines through from the first page to the last in this unique volume, which includes 150 rare photos and a comprehensive index.

• Language: English
• Publisher: GoodKnight Books
• Release date: Jul 2, 2018
• ISBN: 9781732273528

Leonard Maltin

Leonard Maltin is a respected film critic and historian, perhaps best known for his annual paperback reference Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide, which was first published in 1969. He lives with his wife and daughter in Los Angeles and teaches at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

Reviews for Hooked on Hollywood

[joannefm2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

After reading this long (at 400 pages) book by Mr. Maltin, the one word I would use for it is comprehensive. Mr. Maltin does nothing halfway, and this book is proof of that. He begins by giving interesting information regarding the songs in several films -- Casablanca and Blues in the Night are two of them; and he does so nicely, with knowledge about them we might never have known otherwise. As a huge classic film lover, I have seen all of the films (except for the 'lost' ones naturally), so I am quite aware of the plots, but for those who have not, he also details these (without giving away endings, so never fear) in order that others might wish to see and enjoy them. While I will admit there are stinkers among them (as Mr. Maltin himself professes), some of these are worth viewing for the actors alone. I will say, though, that even with my love of musicals, there are those that I will never view again, and therefore don't really care about their history.Then we get to the meat of the matter -- the interviews. While many of them are droll, there are just as many where the participants' responses just didn't matter to me; they seemed dry. However, I will say that I absolutely loved Ralph Bellamy's interview. He had a good memory for his films, and if anyone has ever seen any of them -- or if not, I will say to do so, especially his earlier ones -- Mr. Bellamy acted with his eyes. Regardless of whatever line he was speaking at the time, his eyes showed the emotion a true actor should. I have noticed this in all of his films.What is amazing, really, is the fact that the teenaged Leonard Maltin could actually speak to these people and get them to open up so candidly to him. Each interview is no different than any from a seasoned critic, and it led him to a prolific career in television and radio. The book is also filled with over a hundred photographs from his personal collection, and some of them are quite marvelous to see. This is a book that should be in the library of classic film scholars, and quite worth the read.

[gpangel_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Hooked on Hollywood: Discoveries from a Lifetime of Film Fandom by Leonard Maltin is a 2018 publication. If you are a film buff with a healthy appreciation for old movies and old Hollywood, you simply must treat yourself to this book!! Having based a successful career around the movie industry, all his knowledge about the business, the information he gleened from interviews, and the critical eye he was required to apply to his movie reviews, could have left Maltin feeling a little jaded. After all, it is a job, just like any other, but this book makes it obvious the author is still enthalled with his subject. Despite the professional approach, the movie fan in Maltin still shines through. Maltin has been interviewing actors and actresses since he was in high school, and he certainly has a knack for it. He’s been doing interviews and reviewing movies for over fifty years. So, naturally, during that time, he’s learned quite a few interesting tidbits and trivia about Hollywood, some of which he has compiled here in this book, along with some of his early interviews. I found the interview with Burgess Meredith quite interesting. I only knew him in a few roles- mainly ‘Batman’, a role he was quick to say he enjoyed playing. However, I was surprised by the depth of his career. I was also impressed by the amount of time he sat with Maltin and the interesting answers he gave. And... I love Joan Blondell- Many may know her from the movie "Grease" but, her career spanned over fify years. She once did 32 pictures in 27 months!! She gave an interesting, blunt, and insightful interview, as well. The ‘Conversations’ section differs slightly from in the interview segment, the main difference being that Maltin’s subjects were given more latitude, and the answers were much lengthier with many more interesting details, opinions and impressions. Other interesting conversations for me were from people whose names I did not recognize. I was not familiar with Madge Evans or Peggy Webber ,but found their careers and interviews very intriguing. As it turns out Peggy’s career was quite long, as she ‘looped’ and ‘dubbed’ for many films. But, perhaps the most interesting part of the book is the section about RKO Studios. RKO stopped making movies in the 1950’s, and as Maltin says- the corporate name lived on, but it was in many respects the ‘forgotten’ studio. But, RKO studio had some real blockbusters back in its prime- like ‘King Kong” for example. But, here, Maltin takes a closer look at some lesser known gems- some of which even the most avid film buff may not be aware of, or if they are, wouldn’t know half of the information Maltin as provided for us here. The pre-code gems were a fantastic addition to the list. I’ve seen some pre-code media and it’s amazing what was allowed on film- especially for those of us who have always lived under the strict ratings system we have today. To tell the truth, I’ve long ago given up on the movie industry, but the rest of my family are avid movie fans. For me, the older movies are the only ones I will spare time for. Old Hollywood has always been fascinating to me, and I tend to gravitate towards books, fiction or non-fiction, that explore that era of time. This book, then, was very fun for me, and I discovered many movies I had not heard of, learned many interesting facts about actors and actresses I was aware of, and of course a few I was unfamiliar with. The book is well organized and packed with a wealth of little -known facts and frank conversations, which may also make it appealing to those who enjoy history, pop culture, nostalgia, or to those who thrive on trivia. This book can be read straight through, but I enjoyed picking up between reads and savoring it a little at a time. This is a book I will keep as a reference from time to time, or to simply reminisce. I love books like this one. It appeals to my love of history, old Hollywood, and my ever -increasing fascination with anything off the beaten path or obscure, lost or forgotten. Maltin’s first -hand experience adds that special added touch of magic, and even feels a little poignant, as well. 4.5 stars