To mark the centenary of the birth of the "Wahoo Kid" — Hollywood's
legendary producer and studio head Darryl F. Zanuck, the Film Society
hosts a screening of one of the producer's hit films, HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY, which will be introduced by Mel Gussow, the author of DARRYL F.
ZANUCK: DON'T SAY YES UNTIL I FINISH TALKING, the most informed
biography of this authentic movie mogul. New Millennium Press is
reissuing this entertaining and valuable guide to the life and work of
one of the most (if not the most) famous producer Hollywood has ever
known, with a foreword by his son, Richard D. Zanuck, who continues the
family legacy as a highly successful producer with many important film credits.
Darryl F. Zanuck was born in Wahoo, Nebraska in 1902 and arrived in
California during the Silent Era. By the time he was 31 years old he
controlled his own studio, Twentieth Century Fox, which he co-founded
with Joseph Schenck. Known as the directors' studio, Fox, under Zanuck's
rule, gained prestige through films by Ernst Lubitsch, John Ford, Elia
Kazan, and Joseph Mankiewicz, among a distinguished group of American
directors. Zanuck left the directors alone but was famous for developing
and doctoring scripts his whole life. Never seen without a cigar hanging
from his mouth, the legends surrounding his antics are as celebrated as
his enduring film classics.
The author of this Zanuck biography, Mel Gussow, is a former New York
Times drama critic, and is currently a staff writer and cultural
reporter and the author of several books, including one on the work of
Edward Albee. Mr. Gussow is the winner of the 1978 George Jean Nathan Award.
Based on Richard Llewellyn’s best-selling novel, HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY
(John Ford, 1941; 118m) is the moving story of a close-knit, hard
working Welsh coal miners family at the turn of the century. Beautifully
filmed (an entire Welsh village was constructed in California) and
directed by John Ford, the film received five Academy Awards including
Best Picture (Darryl F. Zanuck) and Best Director in 1941.
Author Mel Gussow will introduce the screening. Richard D. Zanuck is
also expected, depending on his schedule. A book signing in the Walter
Reade Theater’s Frieda and Roy Furman Gallery will follow the
discussion. Regular admission
|
