Screen Classics #: Film's First Family

The Untold Story of the Costellos

Screen Classics #: Film's First Family
Terry Chester Shulman
RRP:
NZ$ 59.99
Our Price:
NZ$ 56.99
Paperback
h229 x 152mm - 304pg
14 Sep 2021 US
International import eta 7-19 days
9780813151946
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
Scandal, adultery, secret marriages, divorce, custody battles, suicide attempts, and alcoholism - the trials and tribulations of the Costellos were as riveting as any Hollywood feature film. This eccentric and talented clan was one of the twentieth century' s most famous families of actors, until their achievements were eclipsed by their own immutable penchant for self-destruction. Patriarch Maurice Costello was considered the first screen idol until his career, marked by accusations of spousal abuse, drunkenness, and physical assault, abruptly ended. Costello' s daughter, Helene, was the first actress to star in an all-talking picture, but her career was ruined by a very public divorce from Lowell Sherman, who testified that his wife was a drunk and an avid reader of pornography. And though the original members of this family may be gone, the legacy lives on - most notably through actress Drew Barrymore. Written with unprecedented access to the family' s personal documents and artifacts, as well as interviews with several family members, Film' s First Family explores the dramatic history of the Costellos and their extraordinary significance to the stage and screen. AUTHOR: Terry Chester Shulman is an acclaimed author and a veteran historical journalist whose work has appeared nationally in magazines and newspapers. 34 b/w illustrations

Anna Held and the Birth of Ziegfeld's Broadway
Brief, Madcap Life of Kay Kendall, The
Film's First Family: The Untold Story of the Costellos
Hitchcock and the Censors
Jayne Mansfield: The Girl Couldn't Help It
Mean...Moody...Magnificent!: Jane Russell and the Marketing of a Hollywood Legend
Vitagraph: America's First Great Motion Picture Studio

A fascinating, endlessly insightful, and beautifully written portrait of a tempestuous family that played a pivotal role in the development of American film. Shulman' s prose brims with intelligence and wit as he follows the Costellos through trials and triumphs and, heartbreakingly, back again. Film' s First Family is a captivating, first-class contribution to film literature. --Vanda Krefft, author of The Man Who Made the Movies: The Meteoric Rise and Tragic Fall of William Fox At long last, there is a well-researched account of one of cinema' s most overlooked dynasties. Author Terry Shulman meticulously traces the thespian lineage from family patriarch Maurice Costello and wife Mae to their daughters Helene and Dolores Costello, Warner Bros. ' Belle of the Screen' whose tempestuous marriage to John Barrymore blended America' s two greatest acting families of the last century with grandson John Drew Barrymore and great granddaughter Drew Barrymore continuing the family tradition. A requisite addition to any cinema library. --Alan K. Rode, author of Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film Finally we can learn the truth about this storied family! Relying on primary source material, and with tight, succinct prose, Terry Chester Shulman has provided a wealth of narrative about the troubled, talented, beautiful, and doomed Costellos. --Tracey Goessel, author of The First King of Hollywood: The Life of Douglas Fairbanks Incorporating careful research and fascinating unpublished diaries, correspondence, and interviews, Terry Chester Shulman recreates a forgotten time, place, and family who contributed a unique style of acting that molded early film history. The narrative traces the lives of Maurice, Dolores, and Helene Costello--as well as that other famous family, the Barrymores--to provide an important reminder of how the greatest celebrities of their time were mere humans and, sometimes, their own worst enemies. Shulman' s book will evoke a reader' s need to revisit the film work of both gifted families with new insights and great compassion. --Gabriella Oldham, coauthor of Harry Langdon: King of Silent Comedy Maurice Costello was one of the first true movie stars, but if he is remembered today it is primarily because his daughter Dolores married John Barrymore, merging two American acting dynasties. Author Terry Shulman had access to Costello family archives and interviewed Dolores Barrymore Bedell (the daughter of John Barrymore and Dolores Costello) and Helene Costello' s daughter Deirdre to research this sweeping storyenough juicy material to have filled several volumes. --Leonard Maltin Shulman' s Film' s First Family: The Untold Story of the Costellos is a good read on a prolific acting dynasty--underrated to this day--and is as good on their lives as it is on their careers. --Allan R. Ellenberger, author of Miriam Hopkins: Life and Films of a Hollywood Rebel
Terry Chester Shulman is a historian who has written features for popular history publications, including Civil War Times Illustrated, Blue & Gray, Civil War, and Wild West. He has also reviewed a number of film biographies as a history book reviewer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Status: No local stock, title imported to order
ISBN-13: 9780813151946
Published: 14 Sep 2021
Published In: United States
Imprint: University Press of Kentucky
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Format: Paperback
Height: 229mm
Width: 152mm
Pages: 304

In stock - for items in stock we aim to dispatch the next business day. For delivery in NZ allow 2-5 business days, with rural taking a wee bit longer.

Locally sourced in NZ - stock comes from a NZ supplier with an approximate delivery of 7-15 business days.

International Imports - stock is imported into NZ, depending on air or sea shipping option from the international supplier stock can take 10-30 working days to arrive into NZ. 

Pre-order Titles - delivery will vary depending on where the title is published, if local stock is available in NZ then 5-7 business days, for international imports it can be 10-30 business days. In all cases we will access the quickest supply option.

Delivery Packaging - we ship all items in cardboard sleeves or by box with either packing paper or corn starch chips. (We avoid using plastics bubble bags)

Tracking - Orders are delivered by track and trace courier and are fully insured, tracking information will be sent by email once dispatched.

View our full Order & Delivery information