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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 791
EAN: 9780811854672
ISBN: 0811854671
Label: Chronicle Books
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 240
Publication Date: September 28, 2006
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Sales Rank: 57260
Studio: Chronicle Books
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
Tough, sophisticated, witty, and handsome—from Rudolph Valentino to Buster Keaton, Cary Grant to Jimmy Stewart, Humphrey Bogart to Steve McQueen, each of the actors featured in this book brought a magnetic presence to the screen and made a powerful and enduring mark on film history. Produced by Turner Classic Movies, this stylish and definitive guide as the inside scoop and off-the-record reveals of fifty unforgettable actors and is also the focus of a month-long film festival on the channel. The lives and accomplishments of each actor are celebrated in an insightful career overview, accompanied by an annotated list of essential films, filmographies, behind the scenes facts, Academy Award wins and nominations. Full of surprising trivia, film stills, posters, and stunning photos, Leading Men pays tribute to the most charismatic, enduring, and elegant actors of the silver screen—an essential resource for movie buffs and pop-culture enthusiasts alike.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Should have used bolder type for the text...otherwise fine...
The only real drawback to LEADING MEN is the decision to use very light, hard to read font for the text instead of bold print that would stand out and make reading about the various stars more accessible. Even with reading glasses, I find it a strain to read the text unless I'm under a very strong light.
This is the only criticism I have of the book as a whole. The photos chosen for the various players are excellent, the text is concise and to the point, and all of the "essential" films of each actor are pretty much on the mark with a few exceptions.
Since these kind of subjective lists never please everyone, I'm sure some will quibble over the omission of their favorite actor.
A good book of its kind, but the text problem using light font is a big no no as I see it and prevents me from giving it the higher rating it would have deserved. The same flaw appeared in LEADING LADIES, where again the font used for the text was too light which made reading the text a chore instead of a pleasure. You'd think they would have learned from the first printing.
Rating:  - Great Info
This is a quality release from Turner Classic Movies. The book includes, TCMs picks of the actor's greatest movies (with synopsizes), selected facts, and a small biography on each of the 50 stars.
If you have a soft spot for classic movies and their stars, this is a great book. It is written in the same format of the 50 Most Unforgettable Actresses, which I also give high marks.
Rating:  - Grandma loved it.
For those interested in the Hollywood stars of yester-year, this is great book. My grandmother loved it, and I got her the leading ladies book, too.
Rating: - I loved this book!!!!
I love this book. It has so many incredible actors that I lvoe and admire. And this book introduced me to the incredible Joel McCrea and John Gilbert. I just wish Tyrone Power, Charlton Heston, Richard Burton, Glenn Ford, Warren Beatty, Steve Cochran were also included. But...I love this book and it's a treasure.
I hope a Volume 2 will be released.
Rating: - Not a serious book but does the job.
Published by TCM, this book aims at profiling the "50 most unforgettable actors of the studio era". The book is not meant to be a serious scholarly work. Move history buffs will find little new information revealed in this book. Instead we are given concise profiles of the leading men from Hollywood's golden era.
Each star gets about a page long blurb highlighting their careers, lives as well as their five most memorable pictures according to the editors. Each proflie also includes multiple pictures and several bits of interesting trivia related to each star.
The criticism of this book undoubtedly is who was left off the list. The books publishers acknowledge it would have been impossible to compile a list that would be completely satisfactory to everyone. I think they were spot on for the most part however I did disagree with some of their selections. Steve McQueen's heyday took place after the Studio Era. Harold Lloyd was an exceptional comedian but not a leading man in my opinion. James Dean is an icon however 3 films is too short of a career to include him on the list. Joel McCrea and Mickey Rooney were great actors but did not have as great careers as some of those left of the list. I thought Robert Montgomery, Fred MacMurray, Tony Curtis, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Joseph Cotten (who wasn't even mentioned in the honorable mention list) had stronger resumes and deserved recognition in this book.
But again, everyone will surely want to substitute at least ... Read More
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