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Memo from David O. Selznick; the Creation of Gone With the Wind and Other Motion-Picture Classics as Revealed in the Producer's Private Letters, Telegrams, Memorandums, and Other Autobiographical Remarks
A compilation of the renowned producer's memos, letters, and telegrams provides insight into his personality as well as his dominant role in fashioning the motion-picture industry
Hardcover
First published October 16, 1972
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
March 28, 2016
Having acquired film rights to the best-seller "Rebecca," David Ohmy Selznick then wondered if the movie should have a different title. In a memo he frets that Rebecca may sound too Jewish. What a showman ! ~ Here's your classic Hollywood pig mogul that Hitchcock hated. David Oh decided to rewrite (the big flop) "The Paradine Case." To end his contract, Hitch shrugged and let him. Meantime, DOH kept writing memo after memo...now the companion to this vivid, inside Hollywood book is "The Graham Greene Film Reader," a collection of essays, stories, reviews edited by David Parkinson. GG, of course, disdained him with perfect taste (DOH had a meddling involvement on "The Third Man." He didnt like that title either. ) Memorable GG tale : he was invited to lunch x DOH who said, "I've a great idea for a film -- made for you." GG alerts us, "I had been careful not to take a third martini."
And then DOH burbled : "The life of St Mary Magdalene."
GG smiled and replied, "I'm sorry...it's not really in my line."
Don't you luvit?
And then DOH burbled : "The life of St Mary Magdalene."
GG smiled and replied, "I'm sorry...it's not really in my line."
Don't you luvit?
January 31, 2024
This is a wonderful book for anyone interested in film. And for anyone interested in the art of communication.
David O. Selznick, of course, was one of the geniuses of film. The guy who gave us Gone With The Wind. The letters, telegrams, memos on this film alone take up more than 100 pages. From the buying of the film rights (for the then quite substantial sum of $50,000.) to the casting, scoring, the struggles with the directors (what really happened with George Cukor gets not clarified.) One thing I found particularly interesting was that he was dissatisfied with Howard Leslie as Ashley. At one point (my favorite actor) Ray Milland was considered for the role. How the (one of the?) best films of all time would have become even better!
One problem with the movie was the famous line of Gable “Frankly I don’t give a damn”. Damn was a word not to be used according to the Hays Code (the agreed upon censorship). The letter Selznick wrote to Hays himself, arguing his case is one excellent example how to write a letter to someone who needs to do something for you. It is polite and respectful but wonderfully persuasive. And Hays gave in.
How difficult it must have been to handle the egos of his stars. In the letters to Vivien Leigh he manages to get the message across that she is a great across and yet not suited for the role she would have liked to play.
One letter (to the president of 20th Fox) starts with this great paradoxical line: “You know as well as I do that exhibitors almost always fail to realize that generalities never apply in this business.”
And then he produces a long list of common knowledge rules that turned out to be false, that people did not like costumes films until he (DOS) made Little Women that they did not like musicals, tragic endings, films on the Civil war(!) and so on. And since he did have an encyclopaedic knowledge of films he can any number of examples to his claims.
From what one reads in these memos he seems to have gotten along quite well with most of the people in business. But there were exceptions. And an extraordinary example is the letter he wrote to Ingrid Bergman disguised as a letter written by her. A masterpiece of polemic showing how deeply hurt he was by Bergman: It starts like this:
And following is the history of her career. And then it ends with: “Upon payment of this amount to me, you are free of the obligation which I feel that you owe me, having had the privilege and the glory of lifting me from obscurity to great stardom…”
How sad. And glorious.
David O. Selznick, of course, was one of the geniuses of film. The guy who gave us Gone With The Wind. The letters, telegrams, memos on this film alone take up more than 100 pages. From the buying of the film rights (for the then quite substantial sum of $50,000.) to the casting, scoring, the struggles with the directors (what really happened with George Cukor gets not clarified.) One thing I found particularly interesting was that he was dissatisfied with Howard Leslie as Ashley. At one point (my favorite actor) Ray Milland was considered for the role. How the (one of the?) best films of all time would have become even better!
One problem with the movie was the famous line of Gable “Frankly I don’t give a damn”. Damn was a word not to be used according to the Hays Code (the agreed upon censorship). The letter Selznick wrote to Hays himself, arguing his case is one excellent example how to write a letter to someone who needs to do something for you. It is polite and respectful but wonderfully persuasive. And Hays gave in.
How difficult it must have been to handle the egos of his stars. In the letters to Vivien Leigh he manages to get the message across that she is a great across and yet not suited for the role she would have liked to play.
One letter (to the president of 20th Fox) starts with this great paradoxical line: “You know as well as I do that exhibitors almost always fail to realize that generalities never apply in this business.”
And then he produces a long list of common knowledge rules that turned out to be false, that people did not like costumes films until he (DOS) made Little Women that they did not like musicals, tragic endings, films on the Civil war(!) and so on. And since he did have an encyclopaedic knowledge of films he can any number of examples to his claims.
From what one reads in these memos he seems to have gotten along quite well with most of the people in business. But there were exceptions. And an extraordinary example is the letter he wrote to Ingrid Bergman disguised as a letter written by her. A masterpiece of polemic showing how deeply hurt he was by Bergman: It starts like this:
Dear David,
I shall set forth herein a summary of the facts in my dispute with you. It is agreed that upon your receipt of my signature to these facts you will pay me $60,000 in payment for the picture that I did not make for you under my contract, and for which I am claiming compensation.
These facts are as follows:
And following is the history of her career. And then it ends with: “Upon payment of this amount to me, you are free of the obligation which I feel that you owe me, having had the privilege and the glory of lifting me from obscurity to great stardom…”
How sad. And glorious.
April 10, 2014
This is WONDERFUL. A joy to read the words of a man who lived and breathed cinema. His memos reveal a brilliant producer and showman, who had an instinctive understanding of what worked for the films he made and the stories he chose, a man who was widely read and deeply schooled in film, a master marketing man, and, without doubt, a NIGHTMARE for the directors he engaged. Can't recommend this highly enough - quite simply the BEST and most revealing book about cinema I've ever read. High credit also to Rudy Behlmer, whose careful editing and selection of the memos is a brilliant piece of narrative itself. The jumps made from initial talks on a film, to pre-production to shooting and then across post to premiere, show filmmaking, and the relationships it makes (and breaks) in all is crazy glory, while at times the juxtaposition from initial wooing to all out war is laugh out loud hilarious. A must!
June 9, 2018
Insecure, passionate, knowledgable, business minded, workaholic, serious, curious, voracious, sincere, humble, confident, apologetic and not.
It's all that transpires from this ample collection of memos. From a small glimpse into minuscule details of a shooting or casting to a wide panorama of the movie making business.
We get to hear his voice only but what a voice.
It's widely entertaining despite his supposedly lack of humour (I would have loved a bit more), the memos in upper case, and some pointless and repetitive letters.
What I missed the most is more introductory text about movies, particular relationship with director/actor that would have had the function of gluing together many disparate memos that have no glory or story if read on their own.
It's all that transpires from this ample collection of memos. From a small glimpse into minuscule details of a shooting or casting to a wide panorama of the movie making business.
We get to hear his voice only but what a voice.
It's widely entertaining despite his supposedly lack of humour (I would have loved a bit more), the memos in upper case, and some pointless and repetitive letters.
What I missed the most is more introductory text about movies, particular relationship with director/actor that would have had the function of gluing together many disparate memos that have no glory or story if read on their own.
April 17, 2018
This book is a loose collection of memos and telegrams compiled from the 30+ year career of a legendary filmmaker. While I did skim those from his early and late career (you can only read so many memos after all), I particularly enjoyed the ones shedding light on his two greatest films - Gone with the Wind and Rebecca - that earned back-to-back Oscars. This book certainly won’t enjoy broad reader appeal, but it does provide a trove of excellent source material for anyone interested in behind-the-scenes drama, as it happened and unfiltered, from some of the best (and a few not so good) films made during Hollywood’s golden years.
February 19, 2020
Took me longer to read than I anticipated and sometimes I opted to jump online to just get a different perspective on the events. The thing I found most interesting was just that the process of Producing a film for him was so all immersive. He was involved in every single part of the making the film. directing to him was simply just another cog in the machine making the film. The film was most definitively his. Some of his musings about stories to tell back in the 30s sounded familiar. After all the discussion regarding some of the films I've been on Youtube watching some of them and it can be hard to appreciate the things he was apparently concerned with.
December 23, 2022
A must read for anyone interested in Old Hollywood - but be sure you don’t take DOS at his own verbose word. By any measure he was bonkers, but the novel written by his former secretary (‘I Lost My Girlish Laughter’) shows how deeply unpleasant he must have been to work with.
July 22, 2017
fascinating parts make up for those that arent. One thing you can say about Gone with the Wind: he paid attention to EVERYTHING.
May 3, 2021
Weirdly I could not put this down. I almost don't want to recommend it; it should be in film school kits with Lumet's "Making Movies", despite its impenetrable-seeming structure.
September 14, 2022
Interesting !!!
January 10, 2013
As much as I enjoyed reading this 500 page collection of memos from the late great Hollywood producer David O. Selznick, I found myself more entertained than informed. Editor Ruby Behlmer certainly presented a generous amount of material...yet it felt as if he sacrificed detail in order to (ironically enough) present volume...and a broad range of years. For example, Selznick was known for his very lengthy memos...yet (if I am correct) few of David O. Selznick's memos are reprinted in their complete form. Instead, Behlmer published cover letters, which pertained to noted...without including the actual script notes of a particular film. A 1957 poison-pen memo to director John Huston (re: A FAREWELL TO ARMS) is rudely truncated to six pages from its original sixteen-page single-spaced version. It was a fascinating memo, and an important one...which lead to Huston resigning from the movie. Why deny readers the full benefit of Selznick's words, and obsessive detail?
Also, I was disappointed that Behlner did not include more memos (and detail) in relation to the several films Alfred Hitchcock made under contract to Selznick. There's very little on REBECCA, and even less on SPELLBOUND, and THE PARADINE CASE.
That said, "Memo From David O. Selznick" does present an interest portrait of a smart, educated, eloquent, obsessive Hollywood producer...one with a humongous ego, who as relentless in his confidence that he knew better than everybody else. Selznick's strengths and flaws are all there...in each and every memo. Despite by disappointments, I am thankful that Ruby Behlmer at least took the time to go through the file boxes, and publish these forthright communications from the man who brought Hitchcock to America, made a star out of Jennifer Jones, and produced the biggest movie of all time...GONE WITH THE WIND.
Also, I was disappointed that Behlner did not include more memos (and detail) in relation to the several films Alfred Hitchcock made under contract to Selznick. There's very little on REBECCA, and even less on SPELLBOUND, and THE PARADINE CASE.
That said, "Memo From David O. Selznick" does present an interest portrait of a smart, educated, eloquent, obsessive Hollywood producer...one with a humongous ego, who as relentless in his confidence that he knew better than everybody else. Selznick's strengths and flaws are all there...in each and every memo. Despite by disappointments, I am thankful that Ruby Behlmer at least took the time to go through the file boxes, and publish these forthright communications from the man who brought Hitchcock to America, made a star out of Jennifer Jones, and produced the biggest movie of all time...GONE WITH THE WIND.
April 9, 2009
Please see my detailed review at Amazon Graceann's "Memo from David O. Selznick" Review"
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I now need to read anything else that Rudy Behlmer has written, or to which he has contributed, because this was one of the best film history books I've ever encountered. In a literary world populated by salacious dreck, Behlmer has done something particularly amazing. He has put together a fascinating portrait, essentially in Selznick's own words, that is fair, even-handed and objective without being prurient.
Please click that the review was helpful to you at Amazon so that my rating continues to climb!
I now need to read anything else that Rudy Behlmer has written, or to which he has contributed, because this was one of the best film history books I've ever encountered. In a literary world populated by salacious dreck, Behlmer has done something particularly amazing. He has put together a fascinating portrait, essentially in Selznick's own words, that is fair, even-handed and objective without being prurient.
February 5, 2013
Really gives you insight into the mind of one of Hollywood's greatest producers. Collects basically every scrap of paper that Selznick wrote (and he wrote A LOT) dealing with his films, including: Intermezzo, David Copperfield, Prisoner of Zenda, and that little thing called Gone With the Wind. Fueled by benzadrine, Selznick runs a million miles an hour. A must-have for any serious fan of old Hollywood.
October 31, 2009
This is a wonderful, juicy and enjoyable book. Selznick's memos are well-written, evocative and candid. The book is highly recommended for anyone who enjoys his movies (Gone With the Wind, A Star is Born, Rebecca, to name a few) or is curious about how movies are made.
June 27, 2007
excellent if you are interested in the studio system and old hollywood.
October 13, 2007
Indispensable.
February 1, 2012
"Memo from David O. Selznick" remains a classic in the field. If you want understand how the Hollywood Studio System worked, read this book!
February 24, 2012
A collection of, yes, memos from David O. Selznick. I'm scanning it and delving in to read his correspondence with Alfred Hitchcock.
November 14, 2012
Amazing glimpse into this stage in Hollywood.
January 10, 2013
It's so very clear from reading this book that O'Selnick was a an amphetamine freak.
January 13, 2009
A behind-the-scenes look at the classic. Check it out.
March 28, 2017
If you want a deep dive into filmmaking of the 30's & 40's, this book would be a must read. Selznick was mostly known for producing Gone With the Wind. But he also produced quite a few other significant classics. Katharine Hepburn, Freddy Bartholomew, Ingrid Bergman, Joan Fontaine, Jennifer Jones (his 2nd wife), just to name a few, were some of the stars Selznick discovered, or at least gave them their first big breaks. Val Lewton was his assistant for many years and was responsible for bringing Alfred Hitchcock to US to direct his first American film, Rebecca (my personal favorite). Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly also owe Selznick due credit for their first big breaks. He produced the first Star is Born ('37), and according to this book, conceived many of the scenes. Dinner At Eight, Anna Karenina, A Tale Of Two Cities, Since You Went Away, Spellbound, Duel In The Sun, all under Selznick's production. A controlling, ruthless and unrelenting producer, not to mention a control freak (just a few of his shortcomings), there is no denying he was a remarkable producer. His memos were legendary....they could be lengthy, rambling, but also forthright, detailed, perceptive, and at times unabashedly boastful with a healthy dose of egotism.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews