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Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool: A True Love Story
Now a Major Motion Picture Starring Annette Bening, Jamie Bell, Julie Walters, and Vanessa Redgrave
The Golden Age of Hollywood, a young British actor, a love affair, and a tragedy, Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool is Peter Turner's touching memoir of the last days of Hollywood icon Gloria Grahame, the Oscar-winner best known for her portrayal of irresistible femme fatales in films such as The Big Heat,Oklahoma and The Bad and the Beautiful.
On September 29, 1981, Peter Turner received a phone call that would change his life. His former lover, Hollywood actress Gloria Grahame, had collapsed in a Lancaster hotel and was refusing medical attention. He took her into his chaotic and often eccentric family’s home in Liverpool to see her through her last days. Though their affair had ended years before, it was to him that she turned in her final hour of need.
Taking place over the course of three weeks in Turner’s larger-than-life working-class family home, Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool is an affectionate, moving, and wryly humorous memoir of friendship, love, and stardom.
The Golden Age of Hollywood, a young British actor, a love affair, and a tragedy, Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool is Peter Turner's touching memoir of the last days of Hollywood icon Gloria Grahame, the Oscar-winner best known for her portrayal of irresistible femme fatales in films such as The Big Heat,Oklahoma and The Bad and the Beautiful.
On September 29, 1981, Peter Turner received a phone call that would change his life. His former lover, Hollywood actress Gloria Grahame, had collapsed in a Lancaster hotel and was refusing medical attention. He took her into his chaotic and often eccentric family’s home in Liverpool to see her through her last days. Though their affair had ended years before, it was to him that she turned in her final hour of need.
Taking place over the course of three weeks in Turner’s larger-than-life working-class family home, Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool is an affectionate, moving, and wryly humorous memoir of friendship, love, and stardom.
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First published September 10, 1987
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About the author
Peter Turner
131 books10 followersPETER TURNER was born in Liverpool in 1952 the youngest of nine children. He was educated at a local comprehensive school and started acting at the age of sixteen with The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain. He worked extensively in British theatre both in London and the regions. He played Terry Adams in three seasons of the hit television drama series Spearhead and his film parts included playing Trinculo in Derek Jarman’s version of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. He met the Academy Award–winning American film star Gloria Grahame in London in 1978. They became lovers and their relationship lasted until the end of her life, dying from cancer in 1981. He wrote his memoir Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool in 1984. Peter has also written screenplays and devised and written scripts, British television, plays, and serials.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
March 9, 2020
Insider's invitation to an operatic swan song. Actually, not operatic as much as blisteringly real, arresting, singular and very beautiful for its own sake. "Film Stars" has a protagonist (Turner) which the reader cannot help but try to embody or emulate: he, too, was an actor & quasicelebrity. There are many STRONG FEMALE figures in the book, Gloria Grahame but only one more...
So what does the goddess eat, think about, say? It's all here--sadness and reality intermingling, everything from the retro cancer brochures to the actress' caked-on makeup is for Turner alone to relate. His details are pregnant with meaning & rich in emotion.
The film? Skipable.
So what does the goddess eat, think about, say? It's all here--sadness and reality intermingling, everything from the retro cancer brochures to the actress' caked-on makeup is for Turner alone to relate. His details are pregnant with meaning & rich in emotion.
The film? Skipable.
January 25, 2017
This is a sad tale of the final days of a talented star who had a fascinating career, and a chaotic life. The writer, Peter Turner, was a friend and ex-lover who didn't understand why Grahame had pushed him away, at the time, not knowing that she was sick with cancer. She re-enters his life a couple of years later, when she is in the UK working and he is back in Liverpool, temporarily living at his parents home and acting in a theatrical play.
What disturbs me about the book is how self-centered the writer is. Grahame's illness, and last weeks of life are told by Turner, who seems so distressed and inconvenienced by how her imminent death is affecting him, and his family. He can't seem to get it together enough to be a friend and companion to someone he cared deeply about. She is on her deathbed, and he is leaving most of the work and details to his mother and brother and sister-in-law. He continues in his play, and avoids coming home one evening because he just needs a break, leaving his mother to stay up most of the night caring for the sick lady. He is not sensitive or thoughtful or strong for Grahame.
Of course it is emotional and trying and strange to have someone famous dying in your home, but everyone (excluding his father) handles the trauma far better than he--- including the dying woman herself. One of his crazier contributions to the situation is to give a bottle of gin as a gift to the last-minute nurse he finds to care for Grahame-- guess what? The nurse gets drunk. Who could have predicted that?
It's a short story that is stretched very thin, with odd descriptions of scenery thrown in to fill it in.
Turner constantly describes her as not looking like a star, or sickly looking, or messy!! Who wouldn't be if you were in constant pain from cancer and unable to eat? Her body is shutting down, and she goes through terrible agony and symptoms. It's as if he can't get past the idea that his lover, the star, should be beautiful at every minute.
Peter just comes across as naive, selfish, and ultimately manipulative of the entire situation, since he profits from this very personal story. I think Peter is genuinely sad for her, but he allows his trauma and sadness to outweigh the fact that it is her story, her death. His telling is not poignant, touching, revealing, nor inspiring. It feels contrived and exploitative, without any redeeming point. The idea of the book - the death of a star in an ordinary household- is not inherintly flawed; the problem comes from the fact that it is told from the viewpoint of someone who is more concerned about his own discomforts and problems in these few weeks, than with caring for a close friend.
Gloria Grahame worked with many of the greats of Hollywood and had an amazing talent and appeal. Her career is something to be proud of, filled with strong characters and important roles, on stage and in film*; she was a mother, and has a fascinating life story; she deserves better treatment than a lengthy, and exploitative description of her appearance and symptoms in her tragic last days.
*It's a Wonderful Life, The Big Heat, In a Lonely Place, Oklahoma, ....
What disturbs me about the book is how self-centered the writer is. Grahame's illness, and last weeks of life are told by Turner, who seems so distressed and inconvenienced by how her imminent death is affecting him, and his family. He can't seem to get it together enough to be a friend and companion to someone he cared deeply about. She is on her deathbed, and he is leaving most of the work and details to his mother and brother and sister-in-law. He continues in his play, and avoids coming home one evening because he just needs a break, leaving his mother to stay up most of the night caring for the sick lady. He is not sensitive or thoughtful or strong for Grahame.
Of course it is emotional and trying and strange to have someone famous dying in your home, but everyone (excluding his father) handles the trauma far better than he--- including the dying woman herself. One of his crazier contributions to the situation is to give a bottle of gin as a gift to the last-minute nurse he finds to care for Grahame-- guess what? The nurse gets drunk. Who could have predicted that?
It's a short story that is stretched very thin, with odd descriptions of scenery thrown in to fill it in.
Turner constantly describes her as not looking like a star, or sickly looking, or messy!! Who wouldn't be if you were in constant pain from cancer and unable to eat? Her body is shutting down, and she goes through terrible agony and symptoms. It's as if he can't get past the idea that his lover, the star, should be beautiful at every minute.
Peter just comes across as naive, selfish, and ultimately manipulative of the entire situation, since he profits from this very personal story. I think Peter is genuinely sad for her, but he allows his trauma and sadness to outweigh the fact that it is her story, her death. His telling is not poignant, touching, revealing, nor inspiring. It feels contrived and exploitative, without any redeeming point. The idea of the book - the death of a star in an ordinary household- is not inherintly flawed; the problem comes from the fact that it is told from the viewpoint of someone who is more concerned about his own discomforts and problems in these few weeks, than with caring for a close friend.
Gloria Grahame worked with many of the greats of Hollywood and had an amazing talent and appeal. Her career is something to be proud of, filled with strong characters and important roles, on stage and in film*; she was a mother, and has a fascinating life story; she deserves better treatment than a lengthy, and exploitative description of her appearance and symptoms in her tragic last days.
*It's a Wonderful Life, The Big Heat, In a Lonely Place, Oklahoma, ....
January 6, 2018
I read this only because I'm interested in Gloria Grahame. Alas, the book consists mostly of Peter Turner, who's not very interesting, whining (repetitiously!) about the inconveniences he faced as the star lay dying in his home. Boring prose. No sociological speculation or psychological insight. Best to give this one a pass.
March 11, 2012
When Gloria Grahame got sick with what turned out to be her final illness, Peter Turner and his family were there for her. In this short memoir of their relationship and her final days, Turner shines a light on how difficult it is to care for the dying, especially when the person insists that they'll be okay.
Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool and be slightly hard to follow; sometimes the story is in Liverpool and sometimes it switches to New York or California without any segueway. The stream-of-consciousness feel actually adds to the evocation of confusion and upset that Gloria's illness causes, and the helplessness that the Turner family felt in trying to help her.
It's a very short and quick 143 pages, but Turner packed a lot of feeling into the story, and I felt that I had a fairly good understanding of the relationship they shared and the warm feelings he had for her. The Turners did what they could for Gloria; we should all be so blessed.
Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool and be slightly hard to follow; sometimes the story is in Liverpool and sometimes it switches to New York or California without any segueway. The stream-of-consciousness feel actually adds to the evocation of confusion and upset that Gloria's illness causes, and the helplessness that the Turner family felt in trying to help her.
It's a very short and quick 143 pages, but Turner packed a lot of feeling into the story, and I felt that I had a fairly good understanding of the relationship they shared and the warm feelings he had for her. The Turners did what they could for Gloria; we should all be so blessed.
July 6, 2020
It was like he was trying to reach a word count minimum. Everyone says his name over and over.
"What do we do now, Peter?"
"I don't know."
"Well, Peter, you must have some idea."
"I have to talk to Gloria first."
"But Peter, she's not well!"
I only made it through because it was so short.
"What do we do now, Peter?"
"I don't know."
"Well, Peter, you must have some idea."
"I have to talk to Gloria first."
"But Peter, she's not well!"
I only made it through because it was so short.
March 28, 2018
The story of the death of troubled actress Gloria Grahame written by an ex-lover Peter Turner. As he and his family care for her in her final week, he reflects on their relationship.
This could have been an engaging story, however it is badly written, uneven, and at times dull. Turner seems to give a lot of weight to irrelevant and boring details, and only briefly mentions things that could have made the book more interesting such as holidays with Gloria, the two of them spending time with her family etc.
The writer also comes off as self absorbed when it comes to looking after for his friend during her illness. His mother and siblings are far more caring and practical. He is wounded by her illness but is useless and impotent as a carer. If he at least recognised this in himself that could have been a poignant plotline, but he doesn't seem to see it.
In the edition I read there was an epilogue where Turner reflects on his relationship with Gloria and the book, thirty years after he originally wrote it. This epilogue is far more engaging than the actual book. It is short, sweet and well written. I learnt more about their relationship in this short essay. Hindsight and maturity have made him a better writer. Perhaps he should have waited a few decades to write the book.
This could have been an engaging story, however it is badly written, uneven, and at times dull. Turner seems to give a lot of weight to irrelevant and boring details, and only briefly mentions things that could have made the book more interesting such as holidays with Gloria, the two of them spending time with her family etc.
The writer also comes off as self absorbed when it comes to looking after for his friend during her illness. His mother and siblings are far more caring and practical. He is wounded by her illness but is useless and impotent as a carer. If he at least recognised this in himself that could have been a poignant plotline, but he doesn't seem to see it.
In the edition I read there was an epilogue where Turner reflects on his relationship with Gloria and the book, thirty years after he originally wrote it. This epilogue is far more engaging than the actual book. It is short, sweet and well written. I learnt more about their relationship in this short essay. Hindsight and maturity have made him a better writer. Perhaps he should have waited a few decades to write the book.
November 26, 2019
3.4 stars
I listened to this to get a fuller picture of the story after watching the film. Really odd the way this relationship developed and played out.
I listened to this to get a fuller picture of the story after watching the film. Really odd the way this relationship developed and played out.
December 17, 2017
Well, Peter Turner seems like a real piece of shit. I don’t know what he was trying to accomplish with this “memoir” but the main point he put across is that he’s a selfish, self-involved asshole. The second point he put across is that he should stick to his day job (acting, I guess?) because he is a terrible writer. This book is slim, shallow, with boring, unnecessary and awkward dialogue and descriptions of things the reader doesn’t even care about. Anyone who is reading this book only cares about one thing: Gloria Grahame. This is supposed to be the story of her last days but she’s a minor character, set aside for Peter’s complaining, wallowing selfishness. You barely get a sense of her or their relationship. She’s dying in his family’s home and he’s doing everything but be with her and letting his family stretch themselves thin taking care of her. Poor Gloria and poor Peter’s put upon family. I only read this book because I heard about the film being made with Annette Bening as Gloria (inspired casting). I sure hope they can create a better film out of what should have been a fascinating story but instead is a dull and infuriating read.
June 3, 2018
This was a nice story, sad but nice. I would love to read a longer, more in depth biography about Gloria Grahame as I think she was a very interesting movie actress and her story is a great one. Peter Turner’s time with Gloria is told in such a heartfelt, emotional, romantic and beautiful way, it’ll make you feel things. Highly recommended for Old Hollywood fans.
3.5 stars.
3.5 stars.
April 28, 2018
I am not sure this is the type of story I should have read when I am sick myself (though to my knowledge not dying like the character) it still felt alarmingly real, maybe the point, it is a true story!
I am interested in how they manage to turn this into a movie. will have to check the movie out if library has it!
I am interested in how they manage to turn this into a movie. will have to check the movie out if library has it!
October 27, 2017
There's something really sad about Peter Turner's memoir, Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool. I've long been intrigued by the classic film actress, Gloria Grahame - best known for her work in the films The Big Heat, Crossfire, and her Supporting Oscar-winning turn in The Bad and the Beautiful. I knew a little about her troubled background - her controversial marriages, her worries about her looks that had her drastically attempting to alter her appearance, and her eventual succumbing to cancer at a young age (in her 50s). What I wasn't aware of is that, later in life, she had taken up with a young English actor (Turner), and that her final week of life was spent being cared for by his family - as she gradually wasted away from her disease - in their Liverpool home.
Turner's memoir of that sad week is interspersed with flashbacks of their times together when they were lovers; he seamlessly blends present and past together in his narrative throughout this short book. Settings go from Liverpool to New York back to Liverpool, then to Vegas and Hollywood, and so on. A bulk of the story, however, is taken up with the story of his family in Liverpool - specifically, his mother, brother, sister-in-law, and himself - ministering to Gloria as she adamantly refuses medical assistance and gradually gives in to death in an upstairs guest room.
I notice that other readers of this book have been quick to judge Turner as making a callous and selfish move by escaping away to perform in a play while Gloria is ill. As an actor myself, I well know the harsh truth that "the show must go on" and therefore can understand and identify with Turner's struggle, which he makes all too evident. Of course he wanted to be there constantly for Gloria, but he had to go on with his theatrical obligations. (I myself missed my own grandmother's funeral when she passed away shortly after I opened a show; I will always regret this). Theatre is not very forgiving - if you do not have an understudy, regardless of the circumstances, you must go on. For Turner, it also provided moments of escape for him that I feel he dearly needed.
I don't feel it's too much of a spoiler to say that the book's title - a remark tossed out by one of Turner's fellow thespians when they hear a famous film star is at death's door in Liverpool - becomes, indeed, a fulfilled prophecy. Grahame's children eventually made the trip to England and brought Grahame back to New York, where she died hours later. There is a poignancy in the final pages, especially when Peter spends the final night at Grahame's bedside, basically pleading with her to die, then and there. One wishes that had happened, to spare her what was no doubt a painful trip home.
This is an interesting homage to a great actress's final days. It's sad, it's maddening... and perhaps Turner does betray a bit of a cold, removed voice in his writing, but nonetheless, I felt it was heartfelt, and something he felt sincerely compelled to write. Fans of Grahame's will find this an interesting piece to read; even a casual fan or classic film fanatic like myself will also find it a unique kind of memoir to sum up the final, tragic days of a classic star's life. What if she had allowed medical treatment? Who knows if it would have saved her, or not. I only wish that she had, in fact, met her end in Liverpool among a family who truly surrounded her with love, compassion, and care in those last few days.
Turner's memoir of that sad week is interspersed with flashbacks of their times together when they were lovers; he seamlessly blends present and past together in his narrative throughout this short book. Settings go from Liverpool to New York back to Liverpool, then to Vegas and Hollywood, and so on. A bulk of the story, however, is taken up with the story of his family in Liverpool - specifically, his mother, brother, sister-in-law, and himself - ministering to Gloria as she adamantly refuses medical assistance and gradually gives in to death in an upstairs guest room.
I notice that other readers of this book have been quick to judge Turner as making a callous and selfish move by escaping away to perform in a play while Gloria is ill. As an actor myself, I well know the harsh truth that "the show must go on" and therefore can understand and identify with Turner's struggle, which he makes all too evident. Of course he wanted to be there constantly for Gloria, but he had to go on with his theatrical obligations. (I myself missed my own grandmother's funeral when she passed away shortly after I opened a show; I will always regret this). Theatre is not very forgiving - if you do not have an understudy, regardless of the circumstances, you must go on. For Turner, it also provided moments of escape for him that I feel he dearly needed.
I don't feel it's too much of a spoiler to say that the book's title - a remark tossed out by one of Turner's fellow thespians when they hear a famous film star is at death's door in Liverpool - becomes, indeed, a fulfilled prophecy. Grahame's children eventually made the trip to England and brought Grahame back to New York, where she died hours later. There is a poignancy in the final pages, especially when Peter spends the final night at Grahame's bedside, basically pleading with her to die, then and there. One wishes that had happened, to spare her what was no doubt a painful trip home.
This is an interesting homage to a great actress's final days. It's sad, it's maddening... and perhaps Turner does betray a bit of a cold, removed voice in his writing, but nonetheless, I felt it was heartfelt, and something he felt sincerely compelled to write. Fans of Grahame's will find this an interesting piece to read; even a casual fan or classic film fanatic like myself will also find it a unique kind of memoir to sum up the final, tragic days of a classic star's life. What if she had allowed medical treatment? Who knows if it would have saved her, or not. I only wish that she had, in fact, met her end in Liverpool among a family who truly surrounded her with love, compassion, and care in those last few days.
May 13, 2017
https://oneblogtwobroads.com/2017/05/...
3.5 out of 5 stars
I won this book from GoodReads and then quite by coincidence, I watched The Bad and the Beautiful last weekend. That movie is the movie that Gloria Grahame won her Oscar for. She was quite the actress and a name that probably a lot of people don’t know about. I think you might remember her from Oklahoma! as Ado Annie. (a role that she wasn’t thrilled with because she really couldn’t sing) This book tells the story of her very last days. She calls Peter, her ex-lover, out of the blue. She is in England, where he lives, and she wants to see him. He doesn’t expect to see someone that is deathly ill. She has cancer and will not go to the doctor or the hospital. He brings her home to his mother’s house and that’s where the story takes off. His family is a lot of fun. His mother is leaving for a vacation in Australia soon and she won’t if Gloria is dying in her house. The family really pitches in to work it all out. We also get a glimpse at the relationship that Peter and Gloria had. Peter was almost thirty years younger than Gloria, which now wouldn’t be so much of a scandal.
This is a very short read, only 170 pages. The story really takes place in such a short time but it feels much longer, like a lot of life is lived in just a couple of days. If you are an old movie fan as I am, I think you will enjoy it. (As much as you can enjoy a story about someone dying) I am going to look up some of her other movies and binge.
I received this book from GoodReads and the review is my own humble opinion.
3.5 out of 5 stars
I won this book from GoodReads and then quite by coincidence, I watched The Bad and the Beautiful last weekend. That movie is the movie that Gloria Grahame won her Oscar for. She was quite the actress and a name that probably a lot of people don’t know about. I think you might remember her from Oklahoma! as Ado Annie. (a role that she wasn’t thrilled with because she really couldn’t sing) This book tells the story of her very last days. She calls Peter, her ex-lover, out of the blue. She is in England, where he lives, and she wants to see him. He doesn’t expect to see someone that is deathly ill. She has cancer and will not go to the doctor or the hospital. He brings her home to his mother’s house and that’s where the story takes off. His family is a lot of fun. His mother is leaving for a vacation in Australia soon and she won’t if Gloria is dying in her house. The family really pitches in to work it all out. We also get a glimpse at the relationship that Peter and Gloria had. Peter was almost thirty years younger than Gloria, which now wouldn’t be so much of a scandal.
This is a very short read, only 170 pages. The story really takes place in such a short time but it feels much longer, like a lot of life is lived in just a couple of days. If you are an old movie fan as I am, I think you will enjoy it. (As much as you can enjoy a story about someone dying) I am going to look up some of her other movies and binge.
I received this book from GoodReads and the review is my own humble opinion.
June 1, 2018
Very much enjoyed this memoir by Peter Turner about his relationship with the actress Gloria Grahame. At first the book felt a bit disjointed, as he goes back and forth in time, but it gradually comes together into a compelling and touching story.
I've read some critical reviews in which people have said that Turner comes across as very self-centered and selfish and that there should have been more of a focus on Grahame's personal life and her career. I think Turner's depiction of himself at a very distressing time in his life was honest - after all, he wrote the book only five years after Grahame died, and the circumstances of her illness and death were very strange. This definitely isn't the book to read if you want a comprehensive overview of Grahame's personal life (which was very complicated) or extensive career in film, theater and television. I'm sure there are other books for that. This book is more like a snapshot of a few short years at the end of her life, and how Peter Turner was caught up in that time.
There’s an afterword written in 2016 which felt to me to be somewhat redundant, but it did fill in a few gaps.
I've read some critical reviews in which people have said that Turner comes across as very self-centered and selfish and that there should have been more of a focus on Grahame's personal life and her career. I think Turner's depiction of himself at a very distressing time in his life was honest - after all, he wrote the book only five years after Grahame died, and the circumstances of her illness and death were very strange. This definitely isn't the book to read if you want a comprehensive overview of Grahame's personal life (which was very complicated) or extensive career in film, theater and television. I'm sure there are other books for that. This book is more like a snapshot of a few short years at the end of her life, and how Peter Turner was caught up in that time.
There’s an afterword written in 2016 which felt to me to be somewhat redundant, but it did fill in a few gaps.
August 15, 2020
This book was very disappointing. Peter Turner lacks self observational skills and this limits the impact of this book. He seems more in love with the idea of dating a movie star than in the woman Gloria Grahame was. On several occasions he lists the films she was in and several anecdotes revolve around Grahame being recognised by fans. The film adaptation is a much more touching and heartfelt version of this story - Annette Benning and Jamie Bell have created a better remembrance of Grahame than Turner did in this book. I wish he had focused more on their conversations, on his bisexuality, on family dynamics, on Grahame’s actually very interesting personal history in love and plastic surgery, instead of making Grahame’s horribly painful and lonely death about him. I don’t often say it, but the film is far better than the book. Or better yet listen to the You Must Remember This podcast episodes about the fascinating Gloria Grahame.
September 7, 2025
Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool based on memoir by Peter Turner
There is a lot to like in this different, unusual, provocative, melancholic motion picture about some of the life of Gloria Grahame.
Gloria Grahame is a former star, who has won the Academy Award for her performance in The Bad and the Beautiful, opposite Kirk Douglas and in competition with other formidable actresses, from features like Singin’ in the Rain, Moulin rouge and Come Back, Little Sheba.
In her role, we have another Deity of Hollywood, nominated herself for four Academy Awards, alas, without yet winning one, famous for her parts in American Beauty, Bugsy, in which she has her real life husband, Warren Beatty, as partner, and the more recent and excellent The Kids Are All Right and 20th Century Women
Annette Benning is at times resplendent, attractive, and radiant in her roles on the stage within the film, or outside the theater, but she also has the courage, the self-assurance to present a tormented figure when she is very ill.
Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool presents various stages in the life of the protagonist, from the zenith of her career and the peak point reached in her romance with the other hero, to the moments when…film stars die, including this one.
We learn quite early that Gloria Grahame is very ill and it is not like she did not show it, on the contrary, one could say that it is evident that her condition is serious and if we add to this psychology studies that demonstrate that people who are positive, optimistic live longer and so do older, retired men and women who keep busy, if only with caring for plants and the Japanese on the island of Okinawa and their ikigai philosophy, we can see that the destitute, depressed and morose star is not looking at a bright future.
However, she has had the chance to at least attempt of her condition, after the cancer had been diagnosed, only when her doctor in America has suggested chemotherapy and explained the side effects of this treatment, which involves hair loss, the actress has rejected the remedy, telling her British physician that she could not agree with it.
Nobody would give you a role without hair, she says, and considering the day and age, the retrograde, outright cruel conceptions of that period, when women had to accept the roles offered by men, one could see things from her perspective.
In fact, the Harvey Weinstein scandal that has erupted last year has revealed that, although things have changed, women still had (have?) to suffer harassment, humiliation, abuse from powerful heads of studios, producers and other key figures in the film industry who are in large proportion…men.
Gloria Grahame does not want her family in America to know about her terminal illness, as she has found refuge in the home of her much younger lover, Peter Turner, on whose memoir this film is based.
Peter Turner is portrayed by the brilliant Jamie Bell, whose career was launched with the fulminant, phenomenal Billy Elliot, and in this romance, he has the difficult task of playing a man who experiences multiple emotions, from exhilaration, exuberance, joy, serenity, ecstasy to grief, sorrow and despondency.
It is not an easy, conventional relationship, even if it will surely become more noticeable, seeing as for millennia (?), older men had no problem with getting involved, often abusing and enslaving much younger women.
Which is not the case here, for young Peter is infatuated, devoted to the star that he so admires, even when by accident he manages to upset the older woman who has asked him something about her advanced age and something like he may feel that she is outré, with her penchant and when he answers with a joke that may have been not necessarily, anyway a jest of some kind, Gloria gets mad.
Her condition is aggravating and a conflict ensues in the household where Peter Turner has to fight, physically at one point, with his brother and other members of the family, who, admirers of the former star as they are, feel that the family has to be announced and an ambulance has to be called.
Peter understands that due to her psychological, mental condition, transporting her all the way to the United States, where she does not want to travel, would mean her death sentence and he has to avoid that.
Alas, the son does arrive and states that all measures have been taken and his mother would take an airplane, next morning, for America, where her doctor will see her and she will be very well cared for.
The motion picture offers short stories from the past of the formidable actress, including real footage from the Academy Awards ceremony where she has been awarded the Oscar for her role in the outstanding memorable narrative of a producer and the star he finds and redeems out of misery and destitution, The Bad and The Beautiful.
Gloria Grahame was very curt, indeed she would have one the ski jet offered at the Oscar Ceremony of this year, 2018, for the shortest speech by a long shot, since all she cared to say after taking the statuette was…thank you.
There is a feeling that her life as a Hollywood “film star” who would not die in Liverpool has affected her thinking, attitudes and acts, maybe including her rapprochement to this young man, who is only 29.
In a discussion with her mother aka Vanessa Redgrave and sister, the latter mentions the fourth husband and his youth, to which the actress replies that he was no child, only to get in return that indeed, he was when she first slept with him.
“Peter Turner: Has anyone ever told you that you look like Lauren Bacall when you smoke?
Gloria Grahame: Humphrey Bogart. And I didn't like it then either.”
There is a lot to like in this different, unusual, provocative, melancholic motion picture about some of the life of Gloria Grahame.
Gloria Grahame is a former star, who has won the Academy Award for her performance in The Bad and the Beautiful, opposite Kirk Douglas and in competition with other formidable actresses, from features like Singin’ in the Rain, Moulin rouge and Come Back, Little Sheba.
In her role, we have another Deity of Hollywood, nominated herself for four Academy Awards, alas, without yet winning one, famous for her parts in American Beauty, Bugsy, in which she has her real life husband, Warren Beatty, as partner, and the more recent and excellent The Kids Are All Right and 20th Century Women
Annette Benning is at times resplendent, attractive, and radiant in her roles on the stage within the film, or outside the theater, but she also has the courage, the self-assurance to present a tormented figure when she is very ill.
Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool presents various stages in the life of the protagonist, from the zenith of her career and the peak point reached in her romance with the other hero, to the moments when…film stars die, including this one.
We learn quite early that Gloria Grahame is very ill and it is not like she did not show it, on the contrary, one could say that it is evident that her condition is serious and if we add to this psychology studies that demonstrate that people who are positive, optimistic live longer and so do older, retired men and women who keep busy, if only with caring for plants and the Japanese on the island of Okinawa and their ikigai philosophy, we can see that the destitute, depressed and morose star is not looking at a bright future.
However, she has had the chance to at least attempt of her condition, after the cancer had been diagnosed, only when her doctor in America has suggested chemotherapy and explained the side effects of this treatment, which involves hair loss, the actress has rejected the remedy, telling her British physician that she could not agree with it.
Nobody would give you a role without hair, she says, and considering the day and age, the retrograde, outright cruel conceptions of that period, when women had to accept the roles offered by men, one could see things from her perspective.
In fact, the Harvey Weinstein scandal that has erupted last year has revealed that, although things have changed, women still had (have?) to suffer harassment, humiliation, abuse from powerful heads of studios, producers and other key figures in the film industry who are in large proportion…men.
Gloria Grahame does not want her family in America to know about her terminal illness, as she has found refuge in the home of her much younger lover, Peter Turner, on whose memoir this film is based.
Peter Turner is portrayed by the brilliant Jamie Bell, whose career was launched with the fulminant, phenomenal Billy Elliot, and in this romance, he has the difficult task of playing a man who experiences multiple emotions, from exhilaration, exuberance, joy, serenity, ecstasy to grief, sorrow and despondency.
It is not an easy, conventional relationship, even if it will surely become more noticeable, seeing as for millennia (?), older men had no problem with getting involved, often abusing and enslaving much younger women.
Which is not the case here, for young Peter is infatuated, devoted to the star that he so admires, even when by accident he manages to upset the older woman who has asked him something about her advanced age and something like he may feel that she is outré, with her penchant and when he answers with a joke that may have been not necessarily, anyway a jest of some kind, Gloria gets mad.
Her condition is aggravating and a conflict ensues in the household where Peter Turner has to fight, physically at one point, with his brother and other members of the family, who, admirers of the former star as they are, feel that the family has to be announced and an ambulance has to be called.
Peter understands that due to her psychological, mental condition, transporting her all the way to the United States, where she does not want to travel, would mean her death sentence and he has to avoid that.
Alas, the son does arrive and states that all measures have been taken and his mother would take an airplane, next morning, for America, where her doctor will see her and she will be very well cared for.
The motion picture offers short stories from the past of the formidable actress, including real footage from the Academy Awards ceremony where she has been awarded the Oscar for her role in the outstanding memorable narrative of a producer and the star he finds and redeems out of misery and destitution, The Bad and The Beautiful.
Gloria Grahame was very curt, indeed she would have one the ski jet offered at the Oscar Ceremony of this year, 2018, for the shortest speech by a long shot, since all she cared to say after taking the statuette was…thank you.
There is a feeling that her life as a Hollywood “film star” who would not die in Liverpool has affected her thinking, attitudes and acts, maybe including her rapprochement to this young man, who is only 29.
In a discussion with her mother aka Vanessa Redgrave and sister, the latter mentions the fourth husband and his youth, to which the actress replies that he was no child, only to get in return that indeed, he was when she first slept with him.
“Peter Turner: Has anyone ever told you that you look like Lauren Bacall when you smoke?
Gloria Grahame: Humphrey Bogart. And I didn't like it then either.”
February 20, 2018
Dummies guide on how to cash out your options.; - You happen to have shagged fading Hollywood celebrity MILF on the yellow brick road to tinsel town fame but: you didn't make it. No worries, there is more than one way to skin the cat. Next up: said MILF dies, so write a (terrible) book about it. Wait for a new batch of fading celebrity you-know-whats to fight it out for the leading role in the movie. Bingo.
March 23, 2022
Why did he write this? If someone wrote this about me I would come back to haunt them.
March 7, 2019
A sad story, sadly told. The book is purportedly about Peter, who is taking care of a former lover through her decline with cancer. You would think you would feel sorry for Peter, or sad, but he doesn’t come across as very aware of what is going on, or very capable of handling the situation. Peter comes across as young and self-centered, but basically a good bloke. If anyone, you feel for Peter’s mom, who seems to handle the stress and do most of the work involved here. Interesting to read for the story of Gloria Grahame’s career, and for the culture clash of Hollywood acting elite and a blue collar Liverpool family, with a hometown actor, of “transient sexuality” I believe he said, that is the link between both. The personalities come together as you would expect – what an interesting mixture - and the book captures the strains.
March 27, 2021
Thoroughly enjoyed it but would have liked more....
January 31, 2024
maybe is because the movie was playing in my mind the whole time I was reading it, but I've wept the whole time 🥹
September 14, 2017
I remember buying the French translation of this strange, uneven yet affecting memoir, in the late eighties, when I was still living in Paris, but actually never finding the time to read it. Fast forward to 2017: thanks to the movie adaptation, the book is now back in print in the US, with a short but interesting afterword by the writer, and at last I’ve opened it and read it. It is a short book, and it does read very fast, actually. Of course, as an obsessive cinephile, what made me buy the book in the first place, all those years ago, and made me want to read it now, is its riveting central character: Gloria Grahame, one of the great icons of post WWII Hollywood. A sultry, vibrant, gloriously unique and talented actress, Grahame became the star of many noir movies (including the masterpiece In a Lonely Place, based on a book that has been recently republished), but she also showed her range under the direction of some superior directors. She is an unforgettable figure, and her tumultuous (and sometimes downright scandalous) private life adds a layer of fascination to her character. Peter Turner, the author of the book, was a young British actor when he met her in 1978 in London and became her much younger lover. This slim volume is about their reunion, in the early eighties, that happens after a breakup he never could fully understand and under very tragic circumstances: Grahame is now very sick, she’s in fact about to die from a cancer that she has refused to treat, and she ends up, bedridden, in Turner’s family house in Liverpool. The book is as much about Grahame’s last days as it is about the lovable, eccentric, sometimes chaotic Turner family, that is dominated by Peter’s mother, a wonderful woman who reigns in the kitchen as she does over her whole clan. The whole situation is in itself quite bizarre, and Turner, his siblings, and his Mom, are well aware of it, yet, because they all truly love Grahame, they do their best to try to resolve it. Tenderly funny moments and poignant ones ensues. Turner’s writing isn’t especially great, it’s even rather banal most of the time, but it is serviceable, and the dialogues do ring true. Mostly, it is the way with which Turner describes the members of his family and Grahame that gives his memoir its heart, and it’s a very big heart. Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool is touching in many ways, without ever being annoyingly sentimental, and the last pages – with Grahame having only a few hours left to live being finally brought back to the US by two of her children – are heartbreaking. Turner’s portrait of Grahame is especially lovely as he shows us the human being he knew and loved, a woman far different from the image that she projected on screen. She comes across as a warm, complex, grounded person, a frustrated actress who never really cared for stardom nor for Hollywood, a highly seductive woman who loves to charm and who loves life. The book, however, is not a biography of Grahame, and it only very briefly looks over her career or her life during her Hollywood heydays. Turner admits that he knew very little about who she was when he befriended her. In that sense, one learns very little about Gloria Grahame besides what Turner knows - and even then, he doesn't really goes in-depth into their relationship. He doesn’t try either to analyze her complicated persona. At the end, despite the moments in which Turner reveals the simple humanity of his lover, she ultimately remains as mysterious as the roles she played. One hopes that, one day, a biographer of the caliber of Patricia Bosworth (the author of the brilliant bio of Montgomery Clift) will write a book about this woman, whose life was, in the original sense of the word, extra-ordinary. Turner’s bittersweet memoir has to be read for what it is: a heartwarming portrait of a British family that, for a few days, cares for a fragile and very sick woman who happens to be a movie star. There is a sort of humility and simplicity to the book that is wonderfully appealing and that overcomes its shortcomings.
June 6, 2017
Budding actor Peter Turner met Oscar-winning actress Gloria Grahame in 1978. Having moved to England to star in a play, she was 55 and two decades beyond her Hollywood heyday (starring in The Big Heat, Oklahoma! and The Bad and the Beautiful). Grahame's friendship with Turner became romantic despite their 30-year age difference, and the two traveled to California and New York.
In 1980, Grahame was diagnosed with breast cancer, which she refused to treat. Instead of telling Turner, she broke up with him. FILM STARS DON'T DIE IN LIVERPOOL, Turner's slim, sad and heartfelt memoir, begins in 1981 when Grahame reenters his life after a year apart. She now has stomach cancer and a week to live. Turner, still living at home, takes her into his family's overstuffed house and comes to grips with her impending death.
The memoir covers both the chaos in the Turner home caring for the dying actress (still refusing medical care) and flashbacks to Turner and Grahame's relationship. Turner is remarkably candid about his callow 29-year-old self (he leaves the dying woman in the care of his mother and siblings one night while he meets friends for drinks), but then surprisingly reticent on Grahame's earlier life. She divorced filmmaker Nicholas Ray and later married his 23-year-old son (her ex-stepson); Turner blithely notes, "It was a family of complicated relationships."
Originally published in 1986, this reissue contains a new final chapter, in which Turner offers perspective three decades later on his touching tribute to the brave but complicated woman he loved. (The new chapter includes the revelation that Turner considers his sexuality as "fluid" which will give many readers an "Ah-ha!" moment about why there's very little physical intimacy mentioned in the book between the two.) Peter Turner's touching and heartfelt memoir remembers the tragic last days of his former girlfriend, Oscar-winning actress Gloria Grahame.
In 1980, Grahame was diagnosed with breast cancer, which she refused to treat. Instead of telling Turner, she broke up with him. FILM STARS DON'T DIE IN LIVERPOOL, Turner's slim, sad and heartfelt memoir, begins in 1981 when Grahame reenters his life after a year apart. She now has stomach cancer and a week to live. Turner, still living at home, takes her into his family's overstuffed house and comes to grips with her impending death.
The memoir covers both the chaos in the Turner home caring for the dying actress (still refusing medical care) and flashbacks to Turner and Grahame's relationship. Turner is remarkably candid about his callow 29-year-old self (he leaves the dying woman in the care of his mother and siblings one night while he meets friends for drinks), but then surprisingly reticent on Grahame's earlier life. She divorced filmmaker Nicholas Ray and later married his 23-year-old son (her ex-stepson); Turner blithely notes, "It was a family of complicated relationships."
Originally published in 1986, this reissue contains a new final chapter, in which Turner offers perspective three decades later on his touching tribute to the brave but complicated woman he loved. (The new chapter includes the revelation that Turner considers his sexuality as "fluid" which will give many readers an "Ah-ha!" moment about why there's very little physical intimacy mentioned in the book between the two.) Peter Turner's touching and heartfelt memoir remembers the tragic last days of his former girlfriend, Oscar-winning actress Gloria Grahame.
October 6, 2017
I understand why some previous reviewers were frustrated with the author's apathy and disengagement from the situation playing out in his family home... but at the same time, I have extreme sympathy for him. Sometimes impending death of someone you love just overwhelms you, and you do stupid things. You go out and party, or you let other people handle the difficulties that you just don't know how to deal with. From this book, I got the impression that Mr. Turner really knew Gloria Grahame... the small, very important details that meant a lot to her. A window being opened or shut, her makeup case being close by, what kind of nightgown she was wearing... all of these things don't seem very important when you think about someone dying of cancer, but in reality, to that person who is dying, those tiny details can mean the difference between feeling like an inanimate object and feeling like a person who matters.
Mr. Turner's family all did the best they could with a circumstance that really wasn't their responsibility.... I find myself getting angry at Gloria Grahame's children and other relatives who were too busy to come right away when it was revealed how sick Gloria was. The poor Turners just sort of got landed with a dying woman, and had to scrabble around trying to arrange things... and at the very last second, Gloria's kids show up and decide to haul her to New York, against the wishes of Gloria, her doctors, and the family who had been caring for her. If anyone seems selfish and inappropriate, it's Gloria's family. I think Peter Turner and his family did amazingly well, considering the situation.
As a fan of Ms. Grahame and a long-time classic movie buff, I felt rather depleted and sad after reading this. Not surprising, since I knew what it was about before starting, but still... very poignant and very sad. I hope Mr. Turner still has Gloria's black suede stilettos.
Mr. Turner's family all did the best they could with a circumstance that really wasn't their responsibility.... I find myself getting angry at Gloria Grahame's children and other relatives who were too busy to come right away when it was revealed how sick Gloria was. The poor Turners just sort of got landed with a dying woman, and had to scrabble around trying to arrange things... and at the very last second, Gloria's kids show up and decide to haul her to New York, against the wishes of Gloria, her doctors, and the family who had been caring for her. If anyone seems selfish and inappropriate, it's Gloria's family. I think Peter Turner and his family did amazingly well, considering the situation.
As a fan of Ms. Grahame and a long-time classic movie buff, I felt rather depleted and sad after reading this. Not surprising, since I knew what it was about before starting, but still... very poignant and very sad. I hope Mr. Turner still has Gloria's black suede stilettos.
April 17, 2018
Read to page 24, then abandoned ship. Boring.
Gloria Grahame was Ado Annie in "Oklahoma!"
Gloria Grahame was Ado Annie in "Oklahoma!"
July 14, 2015
A quirky melancholic tale of Gloria Grahame's last days, spent at her ex-lovers parents house in Liverpool. Switches nicely between the UK and USA and shows Grahame in a favourable light,certainly not a diva
December 25, 2019
I gobbled this story up. Loved its simple, yet complex, tale of love.
April 19, 2018
This is a short and interesting book written about 5 years after the death of Gloria Grahame and recently reissued in paperback with an afterword by the author 30 years later in connection with the release of a new movie based on his book. The author is a British actor/ writer, Peter Turner, a native of Liverpool, who had a relationship with Ms Grahame for the three years before her death in 1981. When the two connected, first as friends and companions- then as lovers, Mr Turner,who describes himself as "sexually fluid", was nearly 30 years younger than Gloria Grahame. She introduced him to Hollywood and New York; he provided constant reassurance that she was still beautiful.
Gloria Grahame, a talented actress who appeared in many noir films- even won a supporting actress Oscar, was an odd duck with a lot of hangups. She did not believe she was attractive- big feet and too thin an upper lip; in later years, she used a lot of makeup and had so many plastic surgeries that she suffered nerve damage.
Her personal life was a disaster, which, when it became public, made her box-office poison . Four marriages- four divorces. Marriage #2 to Nicolas Ray, the British director who guided her career in noir films, ended in divorce when she was caught in bed with Ray's 13-year-old son from a previous marriage, Tony Ray. Gloria had one son, Tim Ray, with 2nd husband Nick Ray. Marriage #3 to the writer-producer Cy Howard, ended in divorce. But she had a daughter, Pauletta, from this union. Marriage #4, believe it or not, was to her stepson Tony Ray.- the child she'd bedded when he was just 13. When they married, it was eight years later- the groom was 21. That marriage produced 2 children and lasted 14 years, unlike the others which lasted just 3 or 4 years. And the children of the marriages all got along with their mother and each other. But the fallout from the scandal caused her to have a nervous breakdown.
That's the backstory. When the book begins, out of the blue, Peter is summoned by Ms Grahame; she's in Liverpool in the hospital. He should come at once, rescue her from the hospital and the doctors who want her to undergo immediate surgery to remove a large tumor from her stomach. One doctor tells Peter that without the surgery she will die. Grahame refuses all treatment and asks to be moved to Turner's family home in Liverpool, where she thinks she can rest and recover on her own. Apparently all of this was fine with Turner's large and loving family. They knew Gloria, liked her, and did not hesitate to take her in and try to keep her clean and comfortable. But they could see she was gravely ill, unable to keep any food down, not even liquids.
The book moves between the author's memories of the good times they had together in NY and CA; then back to Ms Grahame in the bedroom in Liverpool, getting weaker and weaker.
Frankly, I found the deathbed scenes to be creepy, which is why I cannot wholeheartedly recommend this book even though there was a lot of interesting material on Gloria Grahame.
Gloria Grahame, a talented actress who appeared in many noir films- even won a supporting actress Oscar, was an odd duck with a lot of hangups. She did not believe she was attractive- big feet and too thin an upper lip; in later years, she used a lot of makeup and had so many plastic surgeries that she suffered nerve damage.
Her personal life was a disaster, which, when it became public, made her box-office poison . Four marriages- four divorces. Marriage #2 to Nicolas Ray, the British director who guided her career in noir films, ended in divorce when she was caught in bed with Ray's 13-year-old son from a previous marriage, Tony Ray. Gloria had one son, Tim Ray, with 2nd husband Nick Ray. Marriage #3 to the writer-producer Cy Howard, ended in divorce. But she had a daughter, Pauletta, from this union. Marriage #4, believe it or not, was to her stepson Tony Ray.- the child she'd bedded when he was just 13. When they married, it was eight years later- the groom was 21. That marriage produced 2 children and lasted 14 years, unlike the others which lasted just 3 or 4 years. And the children of the marriages all got along with their mother and each other. But the fallout from the scandal caused her to have a nervous breakdown.
That's the backstory. When the book begins, out of the blue, Peter is summoned by Ms Grahame; she's in Liverpool in the hospital. He should come at once, rescue her from the hospital and the doctors who want her to undergo immediate surgery to remove a large tumor from her stomach. One doctor tells Peter that without the surgery she will die. Grahame refuses all treatment and asks to be moved to Turner's family home in Liverpool, where she thinks she can rest and recover on her own. Apparently all of this was fine with Turner's large and loving family. They knew Gloria, liked her, and did not hesitate to take her in and try to keep her clean and comfortable. But they could see she was gravely ill, unable to keep any food down, not even liquids.
The book moves between the author's memories of the good times they had together in NY and CA; then back to Ms Grahame in the bedroom in Liverpool, getting weaker and weaker.
Frankly, I found the deathbed scenes to be creepy, which is why I cannot wholeheartedly recommend this book even though there was a lot of interesting material on Gloria Grahame.
August 3, 2022
Anyone giving this 4 or 5 stars needs to justify it with citations and specifics because this book is garbage. And I'm not talking Trash, which has its merits. Listen, darling, if you have nothing nice to write about someone - please come sit next to me or hand me your galley...but if you are so self absorbed / unobservant / untalented as a writer that you can't convey the NEUROSIS that screams from the subject AND situation except to note it, reportage style, in between worthless notes on your own non-career - save the paper for the can, and go take a dump.
How did you bore me so badly when you were Gloria Grahame's last boy toy...literally? Like, every connotation of that phrase, literally? Younger than her oldest son, not included in decisions for her well being, at her beck & call as lucidity would allow. It is a neat, but completely transparent trick, to talk around why you were Ms. Grahame's companion. I didn't expect details, but candor would have been more gracious.
And what about your poor family whose home you overran? We don't understand your relationship to them. Never was it explained how bills were sorted. The extent to which the family consented to this invasion is unclear...yes, they were kind, maybe star struck, but...who agrees to this carte blanche??? Especially when Grahame's non-celebrity children land on the house & treat the family - as best we can tell - as the servant's cast from Upstairs Downstairs? No one minded? They're a hive mind mentality? No one objects or expects anything? The truth is - you didn't know the truth because you were so self absorbed, you didn't make notes about anyone's feelings.
This material - the situation at the family's house - is such a distilled moment in a fascinating celebrity's life - that it should be animated, strange, and captivating. It fails to be any of those things. I would love to see a good writer's treatment of this material as a workshop.
To those seeking a higher ground - it might have been a contemplation on fame and mortality as well. Again, Turner lacks the insight to cultivate a more philosophical approach to the material. To see such rich material squandered is a pity.
How did you bore me so badly when you were Gloria Grahame's last boy toy...literally? Like, every connotation of that phrase, literally? Younger than her oldest son, not included in decisions for her well being, at her beck & call as lucidity would allow. It is a neat, but completely transparent trick, to talk around why you were Ms. Grahame's companion. I didn't expect details, but candor would have been more gracious.
And what about your poor family whose home you overran? We don't understand your relationship to them. Never was it explained how bills were sorted. The extent to which the family consented to this invasion is unclear...yes, they were kind, maybe star struck, but...who agrees to this carte blanche??? Especially when Grahame's non-celebrity children land on the house & treat the family - as best we can tell - as the servant's cast from Upstairs Downstairs? No one minded? They're a hive mind mentality? No one objects or expects anything? The truth is - you didn't know the truth because you were so self absorbed, you didn't make notes about anyone's feelings.
This material - the situation at the family's house - is such a distilled moment in a fascinating celebrity's life - that it should be animated, strange, and captivating. It fails to be any of those things. I would love to see a good writer's treatment of this material as a workshop.
To those seeking a higher ground - it might have been a contemplation on fame and mortality as well. Again, Turner lacks the insight to cultivate a more philosophical approach to the material. To see such rich material squandered is a pity.
January 16, 2018
Having heard glowing reviews about the recent film adaptation of this book I decided to read it before seeing the finished product and, to be honest, I'm not really glad I did!
Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool is an autobiographical account of the last days of the actress Gloria Grahame, told by her erstwhile partner, Peter Turner. They had a relationship for around three years which ends prior to a phone call from Lancaster, where she has been acting in a play to say that she is gravely ill. Turner responds by bringing her home to his parents' house (where he is staying while acting in a play himself) in Liverpool. So far so good, but Turner's actions from then on seem odd and unlike how most people would act when someone they care for is desperately sick. He continues to act in his play, socialises with family members and leaves his mother and siblings to care for Gloria. At times he seems at best, inconvenienced by Grahame's illness and, at worst, impatient with her. He focuses on a dying woman's attempts to make herself look good and makes her sound pathetic and sad in his description.
I'm not really sure of Turner's motivation in writing this account, I can only assume that he was trying to cash in on his connection with an Oscar winning actress. Nowhere does he really talk of his love for her, there is no passion here, it seems almost fortuitous that she chose to call him for help as he has benefited from it. The whole book left a bad taste in my mouth to be honest. I can only assume that the book provides a loose basis for the movie as I wouldn't want to see an adaptation of this sad, and somewhat soulless, story as I read it.
Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool is an autobiographical account of the last days of the actress Gloria Grahame, told by her erstwhile partner, Peter Turner. They had a relationship for around three years which ends prior to a phone call from Lancaster, where she has been acting in a play to say that she is gravely ill. Turner responds by bringing her home to his parents' house (where he is staying while acting in a play himself) in Liverpool. So far so good, but Turner's actions from then on seem odd and unlike how most people would act when someone they care for is desperately sick. He continues to act in his play, socialises with family members and leaves his mother and siblings to care for Gloria. At times he seems at best, inconvenienced by Grahame's illness and, at worst, impatient with her. He focuses on a dying woman's attempts to make herself look good and makes her sound pathetic and sad in his description.
I'm not really sure of Turner's motivation in writing this account, I can only assume that he was trying to cash in on his connection with an Oscar winning actress. Nowhere does he really talk of his love for her, there is no passion here, it seems almost fortuitous that she chose to call him for help as he has benefited from it. The whole book left a bad taste in my mouth to be honest. I can only assume that the book provides a loose basis for the movie as I wouldn't want to see an adaptation of this sad, and somewhat soulless, story as I read it.
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