Library Journal Excerpt

Ford, Peter. Glenn Ford: A Life. Univ. of Wisconsin. (Wisconsin Film Studies). Jun. 2011. c.344p. photogs. filmog. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780299281540. pap. $24.95.

There have been several biographies of film stars written by their children; some are infamous, a few are influential, many are bitter, and others willingly embrace the mythology of the famous parent. Peter Ford’s biography of his father, the actor Glenn Ford, is a frank portrait of a conflicted man and a respected star of Golden Age Hollywood. Glenn lived long enough to witness both the steady decline of his fame and the deaths of many of his friends and colleagues and was, on a fundamental level, unable to open his life to his son. Peter succeeds in objectively revisiting his father’s life and work while peeling back without fear the painful layers in their mutual history. What emerges is a fascinating biography of an often overlooked actor who in his long career starred in many classic films, including Gilda, Blackboard Jungle, and 3:10 to Yuma. VERDICT This biography should rank with Maria Riva’s Marlene Dietrich as one of the best examples of a family biography and should appeal to film scholars and film fans alike.—Teri Shiel, Westfield State Univ. Lib., MA Library Journal Excerpt