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A Third Face: My Tale of Writing, Fighting, and Filmmaking
Winner of Best Non-Fiction for 2002 Award from the Los Angeles Times Book Review Samuel Fuller was one of the most prolific and independent writer-director-producers in Hollywood. His 29 tough, gritty films made from 1949 to 1989 set out to capture the truth of war, racism and human frailties, and incorporate some of his own experiences. His film Park Row was inspired by ...more
Paperback, 592 pages
Published
April 28th 2004
by Applause Theatre & Cinema Book Publishers
(first published 2002)
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"A Third Face" is one of the great crusty, caustic memoirs in the Hollywood canon.
Fuller was an old-school cigar smoker of pithy phrase, maverick inclination, and artistic courage. As a crime reporter in New York in the 20s, as a hobo in the 30s, as a GI in World War II, as a novelist, screenwriter and director of noir and war movies ("Pickup on South Street," "House of Bamboo," "The Big Red One"), Fuller was a force of nature, a feisty realis...more
Fuller was an old-school cigar smoker of pithy phrase, maverick inclination, and artistic courage. As a crime reporter in New York in the 20s, as a hobo in the 30s, as a GI in World War II, as a novelist, screenwriter and director of noir and war movies ("Pickup on South Street," "House of Bamboo," "The Big Red One"), Fuller was a force of nature, a feisty realis...more
Damn, what a great read. Fuller grabs you from the get-go and doesn't let up until the final page.
The book starts with descriptions of Fuller's impoverished but mostly happy childhood, then his early years as a newsboy who worked his way up to teenage cub reporter and, thanks to his mentor Gene Fowler, wound up hanging out in speakeasies with Ring Lardner and Damon Runyon.
Here's a passage that begins chapter 8, "Westward Ho": "What reporter didn't get a...more
The book starts with descriptions of Fuller's impoverished but mostly happy childhood, then his early years as a newsboy who worked his way up to teenage cub reporter and, thanks to his mentor Gene Fowler, wound up hanging out in speakeasies with Ring Lardner and Damon Runyon.
Here's a passage that begins chapter 8, "Westward Ho": "What reporter didn't get a...more
You know, I loved this book, and remembered loving Fuller's lurid "Naked Kiss"... but after reading this book I went on a Fuller film binge, and... well, he made a lot of terrible movies, there is no getting around that. But what is amazing about him is that he always fought to make HIS movies, even giving up a successful hollywood career to do so. The guy is all integrity, and was always true to his pulpy genius, sticking to his "ballsy yarns".
But watch his 400 ...more
But watch his 400 ...more
Why isn’t there a movie about Samuel Fuller? Any of his careers would have been enough for one life: journalist, novelist, screenwriter, WW II infantryman and film director. He also managed the feat of irking J. Edgar Hoover and the NAACP almost simultaneously. This look at the profane and blunt Fuller isn’t a how-to book, but more a motivational yarn about pursuing your dreams. The book, like Fuller’s films, is as subtle as a bust in the chops. His advice: “. . .persist with all your heart and ...more
An exciting, funny, informative, and all-around terrific autobiography (with help from film critic Richard Schickel and Fuller's widow Christa Lang Fuller) from one of the most unique and under-appreciated filmmakers in cinema. My only minor gripe is that the book could have used a bit more attention to editorial details such as obvious errors in the listing of dates (example: Fuller has himself meeting celebrated French New Wave critic and founder of the Cahiers Du Cinema magazine, Andre Bazin ...more
Downright spectacular. Fuller writes his memoir with the same spare language and focus on telling a compelling yarn that make his movies feel so timeless and authentic. There's a truly Zeligesque amount of bumping shoulders with historical figures throughout this, the key difference being that Fuller always was proactively seeking out adventure and life experience throughout his career. It's a six hundred page book and I was profoundly sad that it had to end. Loved every minute of it. Harro...more
I only learned about Fuller in the late 90s after seeing the IFC documentary "The Typewriter, The Rifle and the Movie Camera," but I was so amazed by what I saw that I had to know more. Fuller was a great director, but I didn't realize that he lived an incredible life.
*One of the youngest crime beat reporters in the history of New York.
*Rode the rails during the great depression writing stories of the hobos that moved from town to town.
*Became a screen writer a...more
*One of the youngest crime beat reporters in the history of New York.
*Rode the rails during the great depression writing stories of the hobos that moved from town to town.
*Became a screen writer a...more
Drew Nevis
is currently reading it
From the intro, I was hooked! I'm not that far in, but I am an even bigger fan of Fuller as a human being and even more so as an artist.
It's not just a great book. It's a veritable how-to guide on how to be a great American
Amazing, amazing, amazing. Just read it. Imagine if The Kid Stays In the Picture had been written by someone who had real life experience and was not self-delusional.
He started as a young reporter in NY (shown the ropes by John Huston's Mother), was a ground troop in seemingly all the most memorable WW2 battles, & then became a maverick film director whose best works surprise & shock more than 50 years later. His personality & talent come through clear on every page - if you've been fortunate enough to enjoy his films, you'll love his story.
This is an instruction book for life: How to be a reporter, writer, filmaker, soldier, whatever. In every picture herein the author has a cigar in his mouth:
"This is not a film. It's a hard-hitting, war melodrama!"
Brilliant.
"This is not a film. It's a hard-hitting, war melodrama!"
Brilliant.
Yay, I read one book this year.
This is the greatest film-related book and the greatest autobiography I've ever read, and Sam is one of the greatest people of the 20th century.
Thirty.
This is the greatest film-related book and the greatest autobiography I've ever read, and Sam is one of the greatest people of the 20th century.
Thirty.
Can't believe I've never read this. Sort of embarrassed. Don't judge me (if you thought at all of judging me).
Recommended by AVQ&A.
read this if you consider yourself a true american
Garrett
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