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A Tree Is a Tree
Book by Vidor, King
317 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1953
3 people are currently reading
107 people want to read
About the author
King Vidor
17 books2 followersKing Vidor was an American screenwriter, film director and producer.
Vidor was born in Galveston, Texas, where he survived the great Galveston Hurricane of 1900.
A freelance newsreel cameraman and cinema projectionist, Vidor made his debut as a director in 1913 with The Grand Military Parade.
In Hollywood from 1915, he worked as a screenwriter and as director of a series of six short juvenile-delinquency films for Judge Willis Brown before directing his first feature, The Turn in the Road, in 1919. A successful mounting of Peg o' My Heart in 1922 won him a long-term contract with Goldwyn Studios (later to be absorbed into MGM).
Three years later he made The Big Parade, among the most acclaimed war films of the silent era, and a tremendous commercial success. This success established him as one of MGM's top studio directors for the next decade. In 1928, Vidor received his first Oscar nomination, for The Crowd, widely regarded as his masterpiece and one of the greatest American silent films. In the same year, he made the classic Show People, a comedy about the film industry starring Marion Davies, and his much-loved screwball comedy The Patsy, which also starred Davies and was his last silent film.
Vidor's first sound film was Hallelujah!, a groundbreaking film featuring an African-American cast.
Some of his better known sound films include Stella Dallas, Our Daily Bread, The Citadel, Duel in the Sun, The Fountainhead, and War and Peace. He directed the Kansas sequences in The Wizard of Oz (including "Over the Rainbow" and the twister) when director Victor Fleming had to replace George Cukor on Gone with the Wind, but did not receive screen credit.
Vidor died at age 88 of a heart ailment at his ranch in Paso Robles, California, on November 1, 1982.
Vidor was born in Galveston, Texas, where he survived the great Galveston Hurricane of 1900.
A freelance newsreel cameraman and cinema projectionist, Vidor made his debut as a director in 1913 with The Grand Military Parade.
In Hollywood from 1915, he worked as a screenwriter and as director of a series of six short juvenile-delinquency films for Judge Willis Brown before directing his first feature, The Turn in the Road, in 1919. A successful mounting of Peg o' My Heart in 1922 won him a long-term contract with Goldwyn Studios (later to be absorbed into MGM).
Three years later he made The Big Parade, among the most acclaimed war films of the silent era, and a tremendous commercial success. This success established him as one of MGM's top studio directors for the next decade. In 1928, Vidor received his first Oscar nomination, for The Crowd, widely regarded as his masterpiece and one of the greatest American silent films. In the same year, he made the classic Show People, a comedy about the film industry starring Marion Davies, and his much-loved screwball comedy The Patsy, which also starred Davies and was his last silent film.
Vidor's first sound film was Hallelujah!, a groundbreaking film featuring an African-American cast.
Some of his better known sound films include Stella Dallas, Our Daily Bread, The Citadel, Duel in the Sun, The Fountainhead, and War and Peace. He directed the Kansas sequences in The Wizard of Oz (including "Over the Rainbow" and the twister) when director Victor Fleming had to replace George Cukor on Gone with the Wind, but did not receive screen credit.
Vidor died at age 88 of a heart ailment at his ranch in Paso Robles, California, on November 1, 1982.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 6, 2023
For the most part, unless you are something of an aficionado of classic Hollywood films, you're likely to notice the author of this memoir and say to yourself 'King Who?'.
You may, of course, have seen 'The Wizard of Oz', directed (mostly) by Victor Fleming. When Fleming was removed from the 'Oz' filming late in production in order to take over duties for the filming of 'Gone With the Wind', King Vidor was called in to finish 'TWOO'. It was left to KV to film the sepia-toned Kansas sequences (which included Judy Garland singing 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' and the subsequent tornado).
KV was an excellent film director and, apparently, one that was rather well-liked in showbiz circles (mainly for being level-headed and egalitarian). Starting in the silent era, he helmed such memorable films as 'Hallelujah' (one of the first major studio films with an all-African-American cast), 'The Crowd', 'Show People', 'Street Scene', 'Stella Dallas', 'The Citadel' and 'Solomon and Sheba', among others.
He also had the 'misfortune' to be behind the camera for the likes of 'Duel in the Sun', 'The Fountainhead' (a personal favorite due to its Ayn Rand-wackiness in a gorgeous setting), 'Beyond the Forest' and 'Ruby Gentry': films which nowadays hold considerable camp appeal (through no fault of KV).
He was awarded an honorary Oscar in 1979, mainly for his impressive innovations.
I would imagine there are few Goodreads folk who are ever in the market for a memoir by a film director - or, rather, if it's someone like Quentin Tarantino, then perhaps. But perhaps not if it's by someone who hails from the early days.
Nevertheless, KV's memories are lovingly detailed and he comes across as not only engaging (and light-spirited) but as something of a humanitarian in the way he viewed the purpose of filmmaking (particularly as opportunities allowed in the earlier years of his career). Not surprisingly, KV's tone is very down-to-earth. Again, this breezy and genuinely fascinating autobiography will be best appreciated by those with a deeper interest in Hollywood's earlier days of glory. For me, it could easily have been longer, with lots more stories.
You may, of course, have seen 'The Wizard of Oz', directed (mostly) by Victor Fleming. When Fleming was removed from the 'Oz' filming late in production in order to take over duties for the filming of 'Gone With the Wind', King Vidor was called in to finish 'TWOO'. It was left to KV to film the sepia-toned Kansas sequences (which included Judy Garland singing 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' and the subsequent tornado).
KV was an excellent film director and, apparently, one that was rather well-liked in showbiz circles (mainly for being level-headed and egalitarian). Starting in the silent era, he helmed such memorable films as 'Hallelujah' (one of the first major studio films with an all-African-American cast), 'The Crowd', 'Show People', 'Street Scene', 'Stella Dallas', 'The Citadel' and 'Solomon and Sheba', among others.
He also had the 'misfortune' to be behind the camera for the likes of 'Duel in the Sun', 'The Fountainhead' (a personal favorite due to its Ayn Rand-wackiness in a gorgeous setting), 'Beyond the Forest' and 'Ruby Gentry': films which nowadays hold considerable camp appeal (through no fault of KV).
He was awarded an honorary Oscar in 1979, mainly for his impressive innovations.
I would imagine there are few Goodreads folk who are ever in the market for a memoir by a film director - or, rather, if it's someone like Quentin Tarantino, then perhaps. But perhaps not if it's by someone who hails from the early days.
Nevertheless, KV's memories are lovingly detailed and he comes across as not only engaging (and light-spirited) but as something of a humanitarian in the way he viewed the purpose of filmmaking (particularly as opportunities allowed in the earlier years of his career). Not surprisingly, KV's tone is very down-to-earth. Again, this breezy and genuinely fascinating autobiography will be best appreciated by those with a deeper interest in Hollywood's earlier days of glory. For me, it could easily have been longer, with lots more stories.
October 17, 2018
Vidor's autobiography is an excellent first hand account from the pioneering days of early silent film that takes us a little past the end of Hollywood's golden age and studio system. From the outside his achievements rightly place him among the greatest directors the medium has ever seen but his films match his writer's voice with this autobiography and you will probably not find a single peer of his in the history of film who was less pretentious and seemingly more honest. So what we get here is his straightforward and remarkable story up until the time he wrote it* and it is probably as edifying in terms of learning about film theory and production as it is regarding Vidor himself and the various people he knew including Charles Chaplin, W.R. Hearst, Howard Hughes, David Selznick, Greta Garbo, Gary Cooper and the list can go on an on.
*The book was published in 1953 before he had retired and significantly before 1967 when he spent a year trying to solve and make a film out of the unsolved mystery of William Desmond Taylor's murder in 1922. If you want to read about this, see the fascinating book, "A Cast of Killers" by Sidney Kirkpatrick.
*The book was published in 1953 before he had retired and significantly before 1967 when he spent a year trying to solve and make a film out of the unsolved mystery of William Desmond Taylor's murder in 1922. If you want to read about this, see the fascinating book, "A Cast of Killers" by Sidney Kirkpatrick.
April 5, 2019
"David Selznick once queried me concerning ‘the icebox element’ in one of my pictures. By this he meant the thought and discussion that a good film ought to provoke when the family returns home from the theater for a midnight snack.”
October 14, 2022
Fascinating memoir! Too bad this remarkable book is so difficult to find!
Want to read
June 16, 2020Page one: “I saw in the scene music reduced to movement; I felt its rhythm, tempo, beauty, humor; I was aware of form and composition, of line and action. I wanted to record it, to show others what had been shown me; there must be some way of capturing and preserving what I saw and felt.”
I’m going to love this book.
#classicfilmreading
I’m going to love this book.
#classicfilmreading
April 30, 2008
A really enjoyable memoir by director King Vidor, from his early days as a newsreel cameraman, through the silent film era and his days with Goldwyn. Fascinating stuff. This book is worth seeking out.
July 26, 2013
This is a terrific autobiography of one of my favorite directors. It truly appears to be written by Vidor himself, as it's full of quirks and cleverness without any of that canned trite feel of so many so-called memoirs by film folk. It's also quite informative, particularly about the early days of American film and the transformation from silent to sound. It's upbeat and funny. It doesn't whine about lost times (because truly the whole industry flipped when sound came in and the studios took a tighter hold). It's an interesting look at the way an artist -- which Vidor is -- works with and against the powers that be.
Vidor, if you don't know much about him, did some of the finest silent era films: The Crowd, Show People, and The Big Parade, among others. If you haven't seen them, I highly recommend them. You'll be surprised at how relevant they still are, and by the sheer artfulness of their production. He also survived well into the talkie era, doing films that include Stella Dallas, The Fountainhead, and Our Daily Bread. His work generally has a class conscious bent, which is in part why I like his films so much. They're also funny at times -- he has an eye for creating realistic, complex characters who struggle, and from this comes a kind of morbid humor.
This book, A Tree is A Tree, is also full of anecdotes about actors and actresses (if you're looking for that). He's generous, even when he's slipping in a barb. You can deduce where the trouble is without Vidor coming out and saying it. And to me, that's what a good memoirist ought to do. It's too bad that this book is out of print, and that few people seem to know about it. Pick up a used copy somewhere. It's worth it.
Vidor, if you don't know much about him, did some of the finest silent era films: The Crowd, Show People, and The Big Parade, among others. If you haven't seen them, I highly recommend them. You'll be surprised at how relevant they still are, and by the sheer artfulness of their production. He also survived well into the talkie era, doing films that include Stella Dallas, The Fountainhead, and Our Daily Bread. His work generally has a class conscious bent, which is in part why I like his films so much. They're also funny at times -- he has an eye for creating realistic, complex characters who struggle, and from this comes a kind of morbid humor.
This book, A Tree is A Tree, is also full of anecdotes about actors and actresses (if you're looking for that). He's generous, even when he's slipping in a barb. You can deduce where the trouble is without Vidor coming out and saying it. And to me, that's what a good memoirist ought to do. It's too bad that this book is out of print, and that few people seem to know about it. Pick up a used copy somewhere. It's worth it.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews